August 22 marked the turning point. Once again I was able to learn what trust means. I’ve been back in Vienna since Sunday morning. The summer was a mixed bag. Yet faith offers an alternate view. Hence I am very grateful for it all. I was able to experience once more: The foundation of our hope is not wishful thinking. Even less a psychological prop to protect weak minds. An escape from the dearth of earthly existence.
Several issues have piled up inside me over the summer. I won’t go into everything, but at the top of the list, as so often in recent years, is the whole issue of “financing”. The feeling or the temptation to believe that you’re on your own. As if nobody was interested. Which is not true, but the feeling was there at times. I don’t want to exaggerate either. Sometimes, the “perceived” burden burdens you more than you want to admit to yourself. I suspect you can understand that. And then a message from one of our BeFreelers (youth mass leaders) saying that he would be abroad in a few weeks and would be meeting some people who might be able to help, asking if he could help with the fundraising. And then the messages promising prayer. This is just one example of many where the Lord keeps showing me: Chillax. I am the one pulling the strings here. It is my project. Still, I wanted to remind the Lord (I did) that while these promises of prayer are all well and good, I/we still didn’t know how we were going to pay a major bill because pledged money hadn’t arrived as we had expected. And that caused us problems in terms of cash flow. Things were to become quite problematic around August 20th.
At the beginning of August, I still had no idea how we were going to pay the bill on time. Half-jokingly, I told some more nervous coworkers not to worry. Yes, the Lord hadn’t responded to our repeated reminders. But a serious conversation with His mom was still outstanding.
We started the novena (9-day prayer) before August 15th (Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady). Then on the 16th there was a promising appointment abroad. Then on the 22nd (Memorial of the Queenship of Mary) came the answer. Friends had prayed another novena to the Mother of God in preparation for the 22nd. The 22nd turned out to be the precise day of resolution. A benefactor decided to support us generously, and we could pay our bills. I could sleep peacefully again. Oh you of little faith, I thought to myself. When will you finally learn. As the German saying goes: „God always helps. At the latest just in time.“ At the same time, this was another confirmation that the entire project is HIS work, not just “our thing”.
That brings me to the next point. I have great reverence for what the Lord has in mind and desires for the new John Paul II. campus. And our whole team, the members of our church community, those that support this mission and this vision – we are all allowed to be part of this plan. And the responsibility that it entails. I really believe it’s Him. Of course, you always have to be very careful about things like this. Don’t just put statements in God’s mouth that He wants this or that. And yet. In my eyes, the whole financial story of this project is simply far too much of a coincidence to be a coincidence. There is more to it than that. And it would be irresponsible if we didn’t take further steps, if we didn’t try to walk in step with Him. But how?
There is exactly one year to go until we are moving. I would like to encourage all of us as a church community, those who call this place home, to ask ourselves what it is that the Lord wants from us this year. He obviously has a lot planned for this place. And that can be quite daunting, seeing our weaknesses, or our small size considering the magnitude of the task at hand. But typically for Him: He wants our cooperation. Our 2 fish. Our 5 loaves. These fish, these loaves, they have different names for each of us: Talents. Time. Faith. Finances. Prayer. Trust…and many other things as well. And yet He wants to use them, makes the fruitfulness of what He wants to do dependent on our “yes”. Yes, each of us has our own worries and concerns, those of our family, the things that cause anxiety and sleepless nights and keep us busy. And yet: “I tell you, look up and see the fields ripe for the harvest.” (John 4:35). “[…] so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.” (Luke 10:2).
But it’s not just about volunteering and putting yourself out there and taking on responsibility or donating money. What has come back to me again and again in recent months is that we have to be careful. We must not try to build the kingdom of God with the means of “the world”. Faced with the growing threat of the Nazis, the Jesuit priest Alfred Delp warned Christians in his day: “Perhaps we have believed and hoped too outwardly. Perhaps we have confused our bright flags with the banners waving on the ramparts of earthly castles. Perhaps we have succumbed to the rhythm of the earth and this age like a secret temptation? Have we confused the reign of Christ over the new age we live in with the power over this new age? We must ask the question and answer it in the honest silence of our hearts, facing the hours of decision that are dawning.”
We are not to be focused first and foremost on “external success”, but on the conversion and reconnection of human life in God. We want to see people secure in God. He alone can fulfill man’s deepest longing. That is what we are about. The kingdom of God is first and foremost a relational event. The encounter with the merciful love of God in Jesus Christ. The transformation in Him and, oh dignity of man (!): the divinization by the power of the Holy Spirit. Above all, this requires supernatural means: worship. Prayer. A deep relationship with the Lord and with one another. Radicalism in charity. The sincere pursuit of a holy life. As the song reminds us: “Holiness is all I long for. Holiness is all I need.” The decision to make Jesus the center of my life and to follow Him, come what may. Discipleship begins with this decision. Imagine what the Lord could do among us if we are a Church where the majority of members are sincerely struggling for holiness, supported by an unshakeable hope, a faith that can move mountains, a love that is contagious, a space in which the gifts of the Holy Spirit are given a living reception, and we might also be graced to hear these words of those that find succor in our midst: “Truly, God is among you!” (1 Cor 14,25)
Let us pray for each other. For this year. For what the Lord asks of us out of love. For the people of this city and beyond it, who do not yet know His love.
God bless!
Fr. George LC
