December 6
Daily Gleanings of the Saintly LifeTwentieth Friday after Trinity
O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. S. Matthew 15:28.
THERE is no mental attitude so free from earthliness, so capable of looking straight at God in His holiness, consequently so near union with Him, as this spirit of faith, which, as one of the fathers says, rises beyond all limits of human reason, of nature, and of experience. Let these strive to fetter the soul as they may, the eagle's wings of faith will soar above them. Darkness may lie, vast and chaos-like, between the soul and God; but faith will pierce that darkness, and its pene- trating ray will reach straight to the Bosom of God. Bitterness may whisper to the afflicted soul that God is no longer the loving, tender Lord it once rested on; but faith overstretches all experience, and teaches that He is the same to all eternity, though out of very love He may hide His Face awhile. Temptation suggests that the soul is forsaken, left a prey to the enemy; but faith boldly proclaims that God was never nearer, never more tenderly watchful over His child, than amid that conflict the very fierceness of which is a sacred chain binding him to his Lord. Thoughts of despair may assault the trembling con- science, but faith with uplifted hand points to the endless abyss of God's mercies. Faith can triumph over the outcries of nature, the anguish of conscience, the hard experience of life. The grace that springs from true faith is so firm, it fills the mind with such strength, that
The soul, reposing in assured belief, Feels herself happy amidst all her grief; Forgets her labour as she toils along, Weeps tears of joy, and bursts into a song.