25th Sunday after Pentecost (Readings 4th S after Epiphany) 2.11.08 Confirmation
We are all like a boat on the water. Some just setting out, some nearly finished, others somewhere in the middle.
A boat is vulnerable, not only physically but in our case, spiritually. We might succumb to the snares of the devil.
When we pray, Deliver us from evil, it is mostly sin we mean. That is the worst evil, far worse than physical harm.
But we trust that The Lord is in our boat, and He may appear to be asleep but He never is. We trust that He will act on our behalf.
A lot of problems are more complex than just a physical rescue.
We tend to focus on the short term, but we pray also for a whole lifetime. Lord, save me from drowning (ever).
Some medicines or drugs are slow working. We could say the grace of Confirmation is like this. It is a sacrament we receive only once yet its effects are calculated to last a liftetime.
To be 12 year old. What lies ahead? Life is full of surprises, a mixture of joy and sorrow. A fairly sure guarantee there will be turbulence ahead, some surging waves.
But we entrust to the Lord. This sacrament, will be there in the background, making things happen, delivering me from evil.
A lot of people have been confirmed and lost the faith, left the Church. We might say the sacrament was wasted in their case. Not necessarily. The slow acting medicine might still be operating on them, and steering them into better waters.
Our prayer for the current candidates is that they stay on course through all weathers.
No need to wander off and come back; just stay on course. Set sail for eternity.
As we pray for them we can reclaim this sacrament – those who have received it. The seven gifts:
Wisdom and Counsel: to be so close to God we judge actions correctly.
Understanding and Knowledge: to value all things correctly, knowing what to value and discard
Fortitude to hold firm in a very difficult or hostile environment
Piety to live a holy life in an unholy world
Fear of the Lord to know that God is God and is everything and never ceases to be so.
By slow-acting I do not mean to imply there is anything slow on the Holy Spirit’s part. The slowness comes from our sinful condition, and also just from the fact that we live in time. We cannot have all our grace at once. The problems we face at 50 are different from those we face at 15. The same Holy Spirit will be there for us at both ages.
So the distribution of graces is steady over a lifetime. Any slowness caused by our own spiritual dullness can be accelerated by more fervent prayer. A lot of the time we are in low gear as far as spiritual intensity is concerned. We can put our foot down a little bit and simply ask for more grace. It will come.
We can ask to win the lottery and we probably will not. But if we ask for more wisdom, fortitude etc we will receive them. God wants to complete us spiritually. He does not like to leave things half-finished.
So we find ourselves all out there on the water, trying to get to the other side. It is not so hard, but it is not hard to get into trouble either. We pray for each other that God bring each boat home;
that we keep Him there in the boat, and never doubt. Fear the Lord but nothing else.
We keep encouraging each other until we all get there.
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