The associated reading for this reflection can be found in your Every Sacred Sunday Mass journal or online here.
Last year, my husband Kevin and I found ourselves living the dream. Our small Catholic business was doing well, enough for me to resign from my job and work on it full time. Kevin was thriving as a missionary, and as a speaker for Theology of the Body. We just moved to a new province, and were so excited for this wonderful adventure we felt God had called us to. But as we settled in, Kevin was diagnosed with cancer. Cancer has taken not only his thyroid and some lymph nodes, but his vocal cords, and consequently, his ability to speak. This sent us into a devastation unlike anything we’ve ever experienced. All at once our plans for the future, all our dreams, seem to crumble away.
Have you ever felt like this? Like everything is going well until it isn’t? Like every single thing that could go wrong is going wrong? Or like the world around you is in shambles?
The Gospel today paints a very grim reality and future that we all will ultimately face: one that is filled with destruction, calamity, persecution, hate, and wars. Sound familiar? My husband’s bout with cancer and his current physical disability is the form of this Gospel in our lives. Yours may differ in a sense, but we are all in some ways, living on this side of the valley of tears. But what else does Jesus say? Do not be afraid. Because here is the clincher in all of these devastations:
Jesus is with us.
Even during the lowest of our days, where all seemed dark, God never fails to make His presence felt. Kevin and I will testify to His constant goodness and faithfulness as we’ve traveled through the highs and lows of dealing with cancer. If this stage in our journey is any indication, it is that God gives grace that is not only sufficient, but abounding and overflowing to cover whatever comes our way. This is the good news of today’s Gospel, that amidst everything – He is present. He is present in a world that is plagued by wars and natural disasters, as He is present in your own sufferings. He is present and faithful to you.
Tisa Muico is an illustrator and a wife to a lay missionary, currently living out her calling serving Christ through her art. Inspired by the lives of the saints, she co-founded Friends in High Places - a small Catholic stationery business - with her husband Kevin. She is on an endless pursuit of good coffee, and the true, good, and beautiful. You can find her on Instagram and on her website.
