Bulletin Column from March 12, 2023

Israel makes the same mistake in this weekend’s first reading, that we often make. The situation is that God has delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt. However, they are now in the desert looking for water. Then, they begin to grumble and complain to Moses and they even go so far as to long for a return to Egypt. Essentially, their first impulse is to return to Egypt. They want to go back to the slavery which they know, rather than advance into the unknown while having to trust the providence of God. We often do this in our own lives. We make certain resolutions to pray a Holy hour, or confess our sins, or reform our lives. At first, this often goes very well. Then, however, we hit a period of dryness or a period of darkness. Our first impulse is often to give up and return to our comfortable, but less holy, way of life. We must resist this impulse. In order for Israel to reach the promised land, they had to go deeper into the desert. The same is true for us. When we hit dry spells, or periods of darkness in our spiritual lives, we must go deeper into the darkness. We must go deeper into the dryness. Then, we will come out on the other side and reach the promised land. By going deeper into the desert Israel learned to abandon themselves to Divine Promise and to humbly submit themselves to his Power and Will. Ultimately, they experienced the infinite abyss, which is the Goodness of God, when he brought them into the promised land. Likewise, when we enter deeper into the darkness or dryness of our spiritual lives, we learn to abandon ourselves to God. We learn to cling to him without reserve and to let go of our false securities. Ultimately, this also leads us to profoundly experience the sublime Providence, Power, and Love which God has for each one of us.