207th Meditation
“Perfect surrender to the Divine Will in times of tribulation helps us to store up great treasures for eternity” (St. Vincent Pallotti).
We usually find it easy to fulfil God’s Will when it is shown to us in an attractive way and even brings with it a natural joy. In these circumstances, praise to God flows easily from our hearts.
It becomes more difficult when we are going through a kind of spiritual dryness and have to make acts of our will to put ourselves at the service of God’s Will. This surrender becomes particularly meritorious when we are in times of tribulation and see no light, when we can hardly distinguish the Will of God… Our Father allows such trials so that we may grow and mature.
Indeed, there is a spiritual danger if we do God’s Will especially when our senses also willingly participate. As nice as it is to do so when everything comes easy to us, it may happen that in this case we are more focused on our own happiness and our own feelings than on the Will of God and on the Father Himself.
On the other hand, when we do His Will in times of dryness or even in tribulation, our love for God becomes more selfless and pure.
Let us think of our Saviour’s love, with what purity it shines forth in His prayer in Gethsemane, when the Lord gave Himself completely to the Father’s Will in that hour of His agony (Mt 26:39-44)! Or think of His crucifixion, when He asked the Father to forgive His executioners (Lk 23:24).
Acts of love for God, then, are particularly meritorious when we offer them to the Father in times of tribulation. We must not squander the opportunities He offers us by allowing hardships and sufferings, when they present themselves as crosses on our path.
If we turn to our Father, He will give us the strength we need, and we will be able to show Him our love in tribulation. Then we can receive that spiritual comfort which Jesus also received in His deep affliction in Gethsemane: “Then an angel appeared to him, coming from heaven to give him strength” (Lk 22:43).
The fact that our Father allows crosses to befall us in our lives is also a sign of His love, even if it is difficult for us to understand. Indeed, it is not always necessary to understand it. It is enough to surrender with confidence to God’s will: He will do all things well!