Monday, August 11, 2014

Hide Me

Over these last weeks, I am appreciating more than ever the Refuge we have available to us in this torn, aching, wounded world.  If we don't realize that parts of our planet are in great distress just now, we have been living under a rock.

And whether or not we know of the distress around, we may be sure of this:  we can live on and under and within THE Rock.  Jesus is our Rock, our Refuge.  He is our Hiding Place, our fortress, our one true cloister.

I see the truth of this when I consider so many saints gone before us... martyrs who much preferred death to the possibility of turning away from Christ.  What grace they received - exactly when they needed it.  This gives me hope.

In Acts 16, for instance, we read of Paul and Silas thrown into jail after having been given many lashes.  Their feet were chained to a stake.  Surely they were miserable.  I can imagine myself there, whining and grumbling and feeling sorry for myself.   But were Paul and Silas wailing, angry, groaning?  No.  They were praying and singing hymns to God.

And consider St. Ignatius of Antioch, as he was on his way to be fed to lions.  "Leave me to the beasts," he wrote, "that through them I may be accounted worthy of God.  I am the wheat of God, and by the teeth of the beasts I shall be ground, so that I may be found the pure bread of God.  Greatly provoke the wild beasts so that they may be my grave and leave nothing of my body, so that I won't be a burden on anyone.  Then I will truly be a disciple of Jesus Christ."    

What grace!  The same grace that was given to St. Stephen as he was being stoned.   The same grace (we can believe it) that is offered to people undergoing persecution for Christ today. 

I see Stephen as a perfect patron for those of us who strive to view life "through the grille."   He fearlessly spoke the truth of God, and those who listened were stung to the heart (Acts 7:54).  And then, as we know, they stoned him (Acts 6 and 7).

If  anyone ever "viewed and responded to circumstances 'through the grille,'" it was Stephen.  Even as his persecutors were preparing to kill him, he boldly exclaimed "'Look!... I see an opening in the sky, and the Son of Man standing at God's right hand."

I am sure this acute view of reality buffered the saint's agony as stones were hurled at him.  "As he was being stoned, he could be heard praying, 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.'  He fell to his knees and cried out in a loud voice, 'Lord, do not hold this sin against them.'"  (Acts 7:54, 59, 60) 

"The cloistered heart."  I wrote some years ago, "is the heart of David dancing before the ark; of Mesach, Shadrach and Abednego in the fiery furnace; of Paul in prison, Daniel in the lions’ den, John on Patmos, Peter in chains.  The world is not safe from evil – even the body isn’t safe from harm – but within the cloistered heart there is refuge.  The Lord is with me, He is within my cloister.  My heart, as long as He is in it, is safe."  (from the book The Cloistered Heart). 

I must remember this.  In the madness all around, I must remember....

Within the cloistered heart there is refuge.  The Lord is with me.  

My heart, as long as He is in it, is safe. 










To our e-mail subscribers:  this post contains videos, which can be viewed on the blog itself.  As always, advertisements on these are not chosen nor endorsed by me.  

This post is linked to Catholic Bloggers Network Linkup Blitz 

To continue looking at our Refuge in Trials, click this line



3 comments:

  1. Beautiful Nancy...what balm to the soul! I have been reading a book for a review on the Sacred Heart and how much it talks about hiding in the Heart of Jesus. I have been coming across many posts and little quotes now that I am reading that book.

    Thanks for the JMT song...haven't heard that one in ages!

    Hope all is well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks very much, Theresa. I hope to gather up some saintly quotes on hiding in the Heart of Jesus, to put on here a few days from now. He IS our ultimate Hiding Place, as we know. I hope your review will be on your blog... I'll be watching for it!

      The JMT song is one of my all time favorites. I think of it as one of the "ultimate cloistered heart songs." :)

      Delete
  2. Let me hide in You, O Lord..for You are my high tower..my refuge and shelter in times of distress. In You I find safety..and I am free from the hands of my enemies. May my soul abide within Your Heart even as it opens itself up for You to find Your refuge within me, too!

    ReplyDelete

Enter your comment here...