Last week I talked about the first big step towards holiness: trusting God. We need to trust that God loves us and he knows what is best for us. True and lasting happiness will most easily and assuredly be found when we choose to accept God’s will for our lives. During the Covid situation, I was given the grace of being able to trust that God was ultimately running the world. While I certainly wasn’t happy with all the decisions that were made at the Diocesan, State, and federal levels, I trusted that God would take care of me and all things would work together for good.War, climate change, earthquakes, and the like do not shake my faith. While I certainly wonder why God allows certain disasters, I still believe that he knows best and everything will ultimately work out.

I like to remind people that God will earn your trust. Whenever I put a person, situation, or my new day into God’s hands, it turns out better than I could have expected. He has earned my trust. I encourage you to start trusting God with your marriage, your children, your finances, and your daily schedule. Put things in God’s hands and see what happens.

That brings me to the second step in my two-part recipe for a change of heart. When we trust God, things don’t always work out “perfectly.” I still find myself struggling with patience, getting yet another frustrating email, having the work pile up in the office, etc. Even though I trust God and turn things over, it doesn’t work like magic. When I dig into the frustration, it seems that God and I have different ideas of success. I think of success as having all the answers, getting everything right, never screwing up and being patient and loving all the time to everyone. Isn’t that what the Gospel was all about? Following Jesus is supposed to make me perfect, right?

God, on the other hand, dreams of being with his people. He wants to do life together. He doesn’t seem to care a great deal how many things I get done in a day or whether I am liked by all the people. He is helping me live a life of love.

The second big “heart change” is to allow love to become our primary focus and goal. There are so many other needs that seem more pressing — writing this article, putting food on the table, paying our bills, getting the kids to all the stuff, finding “Mr. or Mrs. Right”, turning in my homework on time, buying more stuff and figuring out where to store it all, binge-watching the latest whatever… Deep down, however, the human heart yearns to be truly known and loved, to belong, to be precious to someone who will never leave me or abandon me. We yearn for community and connection and a life full of meaning and purpose. Our hearts yearn for God himself. Part of the journey into holiness is to let go of my preconceived notions about “being the perfect Christian.” Am I content that I am His, and He is mine? Am I content to live each moment with God and in love with him and his people?

Peace and joy,
Fr. Joel