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Opening a New Path in the Desert


Pope Francis in his papal homily in Abu Dhabi, UAE, last 4 February 2019, touched the hearts of many people living away from their families. The following paragraphs are taken from that --
It is most certainly not easy for you to live far from home, missing the affection of your loved ones, and perhaps also feeling uncertainty about the future. But the Lord is faithful and does not abandon his people. 
A story from the lives (life) of Saint Anthony, the Abbot, the great founder of monasticism in the desert, may be helpful to us. He left everything for the Lord and found himself in the desert. There, for a time, he was immersed in a bitter spiritual struggle that gave him no peace; he was assaulted by doubt and darkness and even by temptation to give in to nostalgia and regrets about his earlier life. 
But then, after all this torment the Lord consoled him and Saint Anthony asked him: "Where were you? Why did you not appear before to free me from my suffering?" But then he clearly heard Jesus' answer: "I was here, Anthony" (Saint Athanasius, Vita Antonii, 10). The Lord is close. It can happen that, when faced with fresh sorrow or a difficult period, we think we are alone, even after all the time we have spent with the Lord. But, in those moments, where he might not intervene immediately, he walks at our side. 
And if we continue to go forward, he will open up a new way for us; for the Lord specializes in doing new things; he can even open paths in the desert (cf. Is 43:19)
It is not easy to feel alone and deserted, stuck in the middle of the wilderness. At certain points in our lives, we do experience this. For some reasons, we feel unloved and many people's hearts get hard that they cannot give others love as they are changed by difficult circumstances in the different stages of their lives.

How can we be like trees that can absorb the pollutants from air yet give back oxygen, when we feel lost and alone in our journey in life? It is a tough battle in the mind, a challenging spiritual struggle that can make one restless and energy-drained.

Pope Francis, our Pope of Hope, has a very clear message: The Lord is close.  The Lord specializes in doing new things. The Lord can even open paths in the desert. We need to continue going forward, pray and lift things up to Him.

Isaiah 43:19 says --
     See, I am doing a new thing
     Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
     I am making a new way in the wilderness
     and streams in the wasteland.

 We all have reasons to smile amidst sufferings. Pope Francis' being here is a new thing. And yes, we can perceive it 'springing up'.

No matter what our situation is, the Lord is either walking beside us or carrying us, passionately making a new path in the desert for us. Not only that, He directs us to the oasis of peace.

---

Image credits:  Pixabay
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