Do you not know
or have you not heard?
The LORD is the eternal God,
creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint nor grow weary,
and his knowledge is beyond scrutiny.
He gives strength to the fainting;
for the weak he makes vigor abound.
Though young men faint and grow weary,
and youths stagger and fall,
They that hope in the LORD will renew their strength,
they will soar as with eagles’ wings;
They will run and not grow weary,
walk and not grow faint.
Preparing makes me anxious. Before a trip, I pace around the house checking locks and wall outlets. While lesson planning for a class of rowdy Sophomores, I often get caught up in thinking about possible interactions and each major and minuscule detail. I rehearse each aspect and identify moments of upcoming social gatherings that could lead to awkwardness.
Today’s First Reading shows that faith in the Lord can quell anxiety and offer strength to remain vigilant against the anxieties of daily life. We hear “they that hope in the Lord….will run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint”. Yet even with this reminder, I still ask myself the question that the exiled Jews are asked is the First Reading, “Do you not know or have you not heard?”
Which is it for me? Do I not know or have I not head? Is it both? Why?
Today, I ask God to allow me to trust my faith and, to grow in it, so as to experience the quiet peace that the Lord is offering us this Advent.
—Jerry Kinney teaches Spanish at Creighton Prep and moderates the Operation Others program.
Help us to have perfect trust in your protecting love. Bless us with your strengthening power so nothing may frighten or worry us. We trust that in living close to you, we shall see your hand, your purpose, your will through all things. Amen.
—St. Ignatius of Loyola
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