When you read the stories of the saints, one of the common things you see with them is how they face big obstacles, but they embrace them with an incredible trust that God is with them for their journey.

There are the martyrs, who could have kept their Christianity silent and hidden, but instead chose to take risks to spread the faith; and while for that faith they suffered greatly, because it so much good resulted as the faith was able to grow. And there are those who maybe did not suffer martyrdom but had incredible difficulties in living out their vocation as they faced adversity. I think of people such as Saint John Bosco, who became a priest but got such little support (and even opposition from some other priests) at first in ministering to youth in Italy to help them find a better life; or Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton who lost her husband and then had her “friends” turn on her when she became Catholic in America just after the Revolutionary War and worked to start the Catholic school system. The stories are all different, but all of them also all entail this deep trust in Jesus.

I think we need this now more than ever, because life can be overwhelming. Jesus knows this, and in this week’s Gospel Jesus tells His disciples to “not let your hearts be troubled.” This is probably the most commonly used Gospel for funeral Masses, as Jesus reminds the apostles that all will be okay, but there are two key takeaways that I always reflect on at a funeral.

One is the road ahead is difficult, but Jesus will be there for us at the finish line to embrace us and to love us. We all face Good Friday(s), but these lead to Easter. As Saint John Paul II would say, we are an Easter people – so this should give us comfort to truly be not afraid, as Saint John Paul II also loved to remind us.

But secondly, we also must remember we are not sitting about the world in a form of some quietism waiting to get to heaven to “escape” from the world. Quite the contrary. We use virtues to make this world a better place. And this is the second part of the Gospel. Jesus says in the Gospel “believe because of the works themselves” and “where I am going you know the way.” Jesus has done many works of mercy, including washing the feet of the apostles. Jesus will be sending the Spirit to them so that they will not be bound by fear but will go out and truly make a difference and change the world.

And so it is with us. Jesus is with us not just waiting but coming to us to help us continue the journey. We celebrate First Communions this weekend, and one of the things I reflect on often at First Communion Masses is how it is a very special moment in our lives to celebrate, but we live out having Jesus in our hearts by bringing Him to one another. It sounds easy, but living out the faith can be quite tough as we all know – from being patient with our families, to showing tolerance to people who are hard to get along with, to going the extra mile to help people in need, to living out the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. But we must remember Jesus gives us His Body and Blood so we can feed a hungry world. And lest we think discipleship is easy, we remember that it entails taking up our crosses to follow Him – but we never bear them alone.

Life is such a blessing but it can be a real challenge too – but our job isn’t to just give up on the world, but to engage it – and to remember there will be storms that come, but Jesus is with us to calm them and lead us to the other shore and help us to bring others into the boat too as fishers of men. May our hearts not be troubled, for Jesus is with us every step of the way.

Have a blessed week,

Fr. Paul

Download a PDF copy of this post HERE.

May 3, 2026