By Shane Dwyer
WE are all aware that things have been difficult in 2022.
Weather events and international tensions have impacted at a time when we thought that things might get back to ‘normal’ post-Covid. Perhaps we are little exhausted by it all.
For me, the difficulties of 2022 were brought home when my mother died unexpectedly, and I was unable to find a way to get to her funeral.
One of my sisters suggested the funeral wait until I could get there, but I couldn’t let my newly widowed father wait that long.
It was a deeply surreal experience watching my mother’s funeral on YouTube.
Recently Brisbane archdiocese employees received advice on how to remain resilient in difficult times. It was perfectly sound advice.
And it made me think about what I do to deal with difficult things when they impact.
Central to what gets me through, and certainly helped my mother, is keeping very close to God.
This is not as easy for many of us as it sounds.
When we get busy or if things are difficult, God can become at best an afterthought – or perhaps the one we blame for not making life easier.
Things often only begin to turn around when we make the decision to go in search of the one who alone can bring us peace.
But how do we do that? It takes time. Not a lot of time necessarily, but time.
In his text ‘Rejoice and Exult’ (Gaudete et Exsultate), Pope Francis wrote of the need for regular prayer but also noted that the prayer need not be long nor deeply felt.
What he means is that we are to turn to God whether we feel like it or not, understanding that even a moment’s prayer is worth so much.
It opens us up to the realisation that not everything is our responsibility, and sometimes all we can do is what we can do.
We leave the rest at the feet of God.
It is easy to become isolated.
Already, as Australians, we have a tendency to compartmentalise our faith as something that is ‘private to me’ but has little or no impact on my friendships or work.
Add into the mix a pandemic that has caused us to isolate even more, as well as troubles around the country and the world that perhaps make us feel a little unsure, and we have a perfect storm.
We need to take deliberate action if the seed of faith that has been sown in us is to flourish and produce fruit.
That faith cannot be taken for granted.
If it is, it will be carried off by the ‘birds of the air’, crowded out by ‘the thorns’, or simply wither and die through lack of moisture” (see Luke 8:1-15).
In a certain sense, what each of us chooses to do to support our faith and reach out to others doesn’t really matter.
What matters is the decision to take responsibility, and simply doing ‘something’ to reach out to God and to other people of faith.
Some things you try may help (getting involved in your local faith community, joining a prayer group, attending some of the events being offered by the Archdiocese, doing an online course…) but that isn’t necessarily the case.
However, each thing you try will teach you something about yourself and what you need, and represents your desire to engage with God. As they say, that ‘is gold’.”
As part of your personal strategy to remain resilient in difficult times, call on your faith and take responsibility for its ongoing development.
And as my mother often said when feeling a little overwhelmed or exasperated, ‘God help us’.”
Shane Dwyer is the associate director of Adult Formation for Evangelisation Brisbane. If you are looking to dive further into your faith journey, you might be interested in Evangelisation Brisbane’s latest series The Cathedral Seminars –https://app.tickets.org.au/eb/CathedralSeminar-Lent
