Not a Blind Hope
God is always with us. If we have confidence in our Lord Jesus Christ, everything will go well with us … First let us stand firm in our confidence in God and open ourselves to the providence of God … without which it is not possible for us to withstand either a small or a great difficulty. (Lett., 1129, p. 245)
Though St. Vincent Pallotti firmly hoped in God’s merciful design for his life, his hope in God was not a blind hope. In other words, he did not hope in God and remain idle, doing nothing about the problem at hand. On the other hand, while hoping and trusting that God would provide according to his plan for him, St. Vincent did whatever humanly possible and at the earliest to remedy the troubled situation. St. Vincent firmly believed that the founding of the Union of Catholic Apostolate was the greatest example of his hope in God. For him, in the context of his time, bringing together laypersons, secular and religious societies, bishops and cardinals to form an Institute aimed Universal Apostolate was definitely a wonderful manifestation of God’s plan given to him in God’s loving providence. Yet, when the Society was criticized and the order of its suppression was promulgated, St. Vincent did not remain idle, blindly hoping that God would do everything for him. Instead he acted immediately and did whatever was possible within his power to avert the danger that was about to fall on the Society, believing that he was concerned with the affairs of God and that he would provide. Thus, St. Vincent, while trusting in God did not hesitate to trust in his own God- given powers to remedy the problem in question.
Is my hope in God a mere blind hope? Do I expect God to do everything for me without humanly cooperating with his designs? While believing in God’s providence for me, do I do the needful to remedy the difficult situation? While trusting in God’s providence, do I hesitate to trust in my God-given powers to better a situation?
So Abraham called that place “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.” (Gen. 22:14)