Keep It

First Reading: Galatians 3:22-29

Brothers and sisters:
Scripture confined all things under the power of sin,
that through faith in Jesus Christ
the promise might be given to those who believe.

Before faith came, we were held in custody under law,
confined for the faith that was to be revealed.
Consequently, the law was our disciplinarian for Christ,
that we might be justified by faith.
But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a disciplinarian.
For through faith you are all children of God in Christ Jesus.
For all of you who were baptized into Christ
have clothed yourselves with Christ.
There is neither Jew nor Greek,
there is neither slave nor free person,
there is not male and female;
for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants,
heirs according to the promise.

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 105:2-3, 4-5, 6-7

R. (8a) The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
Sing to him, sing his praise,
proclaim all his wondrous deeds.
Glory in his holy name;
rejoice, O hearts that seek the LORD!
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
Look to the LORD in his strength;
seek to serve him constantly.
Recall the wondrous deeds that he has wrought,
his portents, and the judgments he has uttered.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
You descendants of Abraham, his servants,
sons of Jacob, his chosen ones!
He, the LORD, is our God;
throughout the earth his judgments prevail.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.

Gospel: Luke 11:27-28

While Jesus was speaking,
a woman from the crowd called out and said to him,
“Blessed is the womb that carried you
and the breasts at which you nursed.”
He replied, “Rather, blessed are those
who hear the word of God and observe it.”

NAB

When I was 22 years-old and freshly out of college, I decided I needed to help Jesus move His plan for my life along. You see, for the last four years, I had a very specific, very strong call on my heart in regards to a certain area of my life. And I knew it was from the Lord. No doubt about it (still none). I labored throughout college to prepare for this calling, and once I had diploma in hand, I was ready—ok God let's do this thing!—really ready. But the invitations and opportunities didn't present themselves, not yet, and I was confused and frustrated and frankly, let down. So I did what any ISFJ personality type would do and decided that if something's going to be done right, I'd better do it myself. Jesus clearly wasn't opening the doors that needed to be opened, so I picked up my proverbial jackhammer and gave Him a hand.

You know where this is going, right? I stopped listening to Him. I stopped giving Him a chance to work in His own lovely time. I stopped practicing patience and understanding, trusting that the Lord remembers what He promises, that He remembers His covenant for ever. I stopped believing that He would fulfill His Word. Like a stupid sheep, I ran off the path He had for me. And I paid for it. Thankfully, the Lord redeemed what I had muddled, like He tends to do in His mercy, but not without a lot of suffering on my end.

During this time, I thought a lot about Our Lady, and what makes her so whole, so blessed. I reflected often upon this Gospel from Luke, because in it, Jesus reveals what He admires most about His mom: her faith. While the woman in the crowd speaks total truth (Mary's womb was blessed as she carried God in it), Jesus goes beyond even that honor. Mary is most blessed because she heard in her heart what God had spoken to her, what He reveled to her, what He promised her, and she believed Him. She didn't understand the practicalities; she wasn't handed a timeline; she wasn't briefed on all the details of her Son's life. Mary simply trusted that the Lord remembers His Word for ever, and she kept it.

The Lord redeemed what I had muddled.Click to tweet

Are you struggling with God's timing? Find a new prayer, write a new prayer, pray it for patience and acceptance in your life. Reach out to a sister so you're not carrying this burden alone.

Olivia Spears is a middle school religion teacher turned SAHM who is married to her high school best friend. You can find out more about her here.