S1 Ep. 25: Finding God in a Fractured World

Transcript

Carol Vassar:

From SS. Isidore and Maria Parish in Glastonbury, Connecticut, I'm Carol Vassar, and this is Living in Faith, Hope, and Love. Each week, our Pastor, Father Mark Suslenko, delves into Scripture, shares insights from the saints, prophets, and theologians, and discusses practical ways to cultivate faith, strengthen hope, and embody love in the world around us. Through his reflections and spiritual encouragement, this podcast aims to inspire you to live your Catholic faith with joy and purpose. Welcome. 

Humanity shows us moments of breathtaking kindness - and moments of deep brokenness. In today’s episode, Father Mark explores what may lie beneath that brokenness: a crisis of faith. What happens when we lose sight of God’s presence within us? And what might be possible if we reclaim it? Here's Father Mark: 

“Finding God in a Fractured World,” by Father Mark S. Suslenko, Pastor, SS. Isidore and Maria Parish, Glastonbury, Connecticut

Father Mark Suslenko:

If you look around at humanity, we can often see many occasions when people rise to the occasion. They may reach out to someone who's hurting. There may be a tragedy that folks respond to. We hear stories of random acts of kindness that simply spill over and, really, truly, in a positive way, affect the lives of folks. We all have stories to share of how we've been touched by the generosity and goodness of people. We've also witnessed the innocence that life can possess, such as found in the birth of a new child.

Humanity has the potential for such great goodness. But we would be naive to think that that is the full picture of human life, because as quickly as we can recall a moment when humanity is at its best, we hear of one when it's not. And we live in a world that is becoming more and more unpredictable, where violence is becoming all too common, even so much so that we may even find ourselves becoming a bit numb to it.

It is a violence that is often the result of prejudice; a violence that is often the result of deep-seated anger. And each one of us, as we look at those events, as they continue to portray themselves, can come up with a list of all kinds of reasons why those things occur. We can even find ourselves pointing to the reality of mental illness as a cause. However, whatever the reason, it can never be seen as an excuse, for such heinous things are beyond excuses.

As I was pondering the latest catastrophes that our nation has seen peripherally listening to the readings for mass this morning, I began to think that of all of the things that we can name as causes for what we witness, I think there's one that it's at the base, and it is a crisis of faith; a crisis of faith. Humanity is losing faith in God.

And this is so important to understand if we're going to ever get a sense of who we really are and what we can be. I am amazed at how eloquent St. Paul continues to be in his teaching, and he tells us that faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of what is not seen.

Spend some time thinking about that very powerful sentence: faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen. You see, we tend to make faith a matter of the brain, that if I can prove that God exists somehow and empirically, then it can take the leap and jump and have faith. But if I can't reason that God exists, then I can find the reason to abandon the pursuit of faith. The faith isn't an action of the mind. It's an action of the heart and the soul. It is precisely faith that confirms in us a solid fact, and the solid fact is that God is. God is.

When a person comes to faith, true and authentic faith, they find themselves searching within for deeper meaning and deeper understanding. They feel the tug and pull to the "more" of life. They begin to feel a presence within that is not of their own. They begin to realize deep within their soul that they're part of this bigger presence as they begin to touch God in a very intimate way.

Faith realizes what we hope for: that if we listen to the longings of our hearts, we're really hoping, as Saint Augustine tells us, to rest one day completely in God; that there is this dimension to ourselves that wants that unity, that wants that completeness, that wants that fulfillment, that wants that peace. We feel that burning within if we listen carefully enough. And it's faith that allows us to realize that hope.

And then faith is also evidence of things not seen. So when a person begins to develop, their life of faith begins to develop their relationship with God, they begin to then interiorly change. They begin to see things differently. There's a contemplative awareness that is brought to life that is not there before. And because they see the wellspring of presence and love and holiness in depth within themselves, they can begin to see that same thing operative in the lives of their brothers and sisters. So, this transforming process occurs so that the person who truly understands the gift of faith, who truly is in touch with the presence of God within, who has this intimate understanding and connection with the divine, is going to be someone who then goes out into the world and lives differently.

So, you see, the crisis of faith is so important to understand because in order to solve our world's problems, we can't take God out of the solution. In order for us to live authentic lives as God has designed, we must do that from the perspective of faith. A person who truly has this contemplative awareness of God within, who truly has a sense of the sacredness of human life, and the sacredness of all creation, is not a person who can then turn around and find a violent solution to enact. A person who truly has a sense of faith and the wonder of God's presence is not a person who can then find themselves prejudiced. A person who has this sense of faith and the wonder of God's presence isn't a person that is going to hold on to anger and grudges. A person who has this inward sense of God's abounding presence isn't someone who's going to take a militant stance on anything. A person who has this inner sense of faith and the indwelling of God's presence is going to be a person who seeks peaceful means to conflicts.

So, you see, this crisis of faith is so important to understanding where we are in our world, because in so many countries, and even here, an understanding of faith is beginning to erode, and people are losing connections, not only with their faith traditions, but with that indwelling sense of God's presence. And the person who understands that indwelling sense of God's presence when they live and they act and they move in the world, they will then become a temple of evidence to what is not seen. They will become a temple of the truth. 

And you can't get to this place by every once in a while deciding to utter an Our Father to heaven, or giving a wink at God's presence as you go about the business of your day. We get to this point through struggle, through listening, through deepening our sense of ourselves, through creating quiet, prayerful space in our lives, of removing ourselves from some of the distractions and the securities and the illusions under which we find ourselves living life. And these illusions are the very ones the world wants to convince us to believe as true. But at the end of the day, they're not. 

And then this indwelling sense of God's presence is something that I don't just pull out when it's convenient or put it on the shelf when I go home. It's something that is carried with me throughout all of the events of my life. It's with me as I clean up the dishes after dinner. It's with me as I get in my car, as I go to work, and face another day of traffic. It's with me as I seek to resolve a conflict with a friend that I may have. It's with me when I seek to be forgiving, when it's difficult to forgive. And it's with me when I look out at the world's problems and try to offer consolation and hope. It's with me when I'm tempted to fall into despair and hopelessness, and it picks me up and focuses me on the three great gifts that God gives us: faith, love, hope. It allows me to see beyond what may seem to be apparent and hooks me into the greater vision of life, which isn't what benefits me; it's what benefits our Lord.

And so as we continue to work our way through where we find ourselves to be as a human race, let us remember of all of the things that can be considered reasons for how we got to where we did these days, let's give some thought, heart and mind, to the fact that it may be due to a crisis of faith, and if people could be brought back to the truth of God and the truth of themselves, maybe some of this stuff would cease, and we may even find the right solutions to rectifying them.

Carol Vassar:

Father Mark Suslenko is the pastor of SS. Isidore and Maria Parish in Glastonbury, Connecticut. If you like what you've heard today, please subscribe to Living in Faith, Hope, and Love on your favorite podcast app and take a moment to leave a review.

SS. Isidore and Maria is an active parish community, so whether you’re a long-time parishioner or are just getting to know us through this podcast, we welcome you to join us at Masses or any of our other community events and services. Visit our parish website - isidoreandmaria.org - for a full schedule of Masses, services, and other happenings. That's isidoreandmaria.org. We're also active on Facebook and Instagram.

On behalf of Father Mark, I'm Carol Vassar, and we thank you for listening to this episode of Living in Faith, Hope, and Love.