Grace in Time of Chaos

By Lara Paniagua, Miami --

"Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ." ... Look forward to the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world." (1 Peter 1:13)

Everything became so vivid in the past four months, drastically accelerating like a stack of dominoes. One event catalyzed the next, each one intertwined in a web of evil motives with no end in sight. Yet, truth was unveiled and came to surface and revealed where people stand, what they defend, and exposing the great divide.

“In one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided, the father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. (Luke 12:53)

​A sudden change happened to our world pretty much overnight. Don’t get me wrong, it has been brewing. But it seemed to have come to play together all at once. It affected how we live, our safety, our freedom of expression, our ability to stand up for our values and our Church’s teachings, our right to receive the sacraments — the very source of our physical and spiritual sustenance.

We are being barraged by a non-stop propaganda of division, fear, and isolation from the Lord. We know this is no less than the work of the devil himself. Our God is not a god of division, confusion, nor anger. He is the God of Mercy Who is also just. He gave us the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes to guide us towards a respectful and happy life. He taught is to love our neighbor (Matthew 22: 39). Hence, it is important for us to know the events in worldwide society and where the problems truly stem from… those who are not doing the work of our Lord.

What has impacted me most is society’s reaction. I see radical divisions. I see how some face these times with fear while others have newfound grace to endure current situations. Many people have been called to be on watch and to be in prayer these past months. Some experienced conversion though a bit short of fully understanding God’s grace working within them. While others rushed to churches as soon as the doors opened, driven by zeal for Christ and knowing well the Eucharist can be taken away again.

We must always remember the church is a place of healing. If you want true healing, true immunity,  you will always find it at Mass. It is heaven on earth. It is where we receive the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Christ. If only we can grasp but a grain of such wisdom hidden from the wise but revealed to the little ones (Matthew 11:25), we will suffer no fear when attending Mass where something more potent than medicine is awaits us. What more do we want and really need? 

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