Monday Inspiration

Ruthless trust in a ragamuffin today is a rare and precious thing because it often demands a degree of courage that borders on the heroic. When the shadow of Jesus’ cross falls upon lives in the form of failure, sorrow, rejection, abandonment, unemployment, loneliness, depression, the loss of a loved one; when we are deaf to everything but the shriek of our own pain; when the world around us suddenly seems to be a hostile, menacing place, we may well cry out in anguish, “How could a loving God permit this to happen?” And the seed of distrust is sown, plunging us into a moment of choice: Will we turn away from God, or will we turn toward him even though the darkness hides him from our sight? To choose the light of God in the dark night of despair is an act of heroic courage.

Brennan Manning, New Orleans, September 24, 1997