What God Desires 

   “If God desires it to rain, desire the same.  If God desires the sun to shine, desire the same.  If God desires to make things pleasant, desire the same.  If God desires to visit you with hardship and travail, desire the same.  And rejoice, for to have but one will with God is the secret of happiness.” (Frances Xavier Hguyen Van Thuan, “The Road of Hope.) 

   Cardinal Van Thuan was imprisoned for his faith for thirteen years after South Vietnam fell to the North.  Nine of those years he was in solitary confinement.  While in prison he began writing messages of hope for his fellow believers on scraps of paper which were then smuggled out.  “The Road of Hope” is a compilation of those notes.

   The faith of men such as Cardinal Van Thuan always amazes me.  In the most difficult times his concern was for his fellow believers rather than self.  He desired the desires of God even when it meant his own imprisonment.

   Many today are all in for God as long as things are going well for them, but as soon as adversities arise they become more concerned with self.  We need the example of the Cardinal and others like him in times of trial and difficulty.  We need those who will always desire the desires of God and encourage us to do likewise regardless the cost.

   Edmund Burke is quoted as saying, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”  We have two choices; we can do nothing and let evil prevail or we can stand for our faith and confront evil.  God help us make the right choice. 

We desire what You desire.

We desire to overcome evil.

Strengthen us to always stand for the good.

Help us confront evil on every front. 

Amen