Growing up in an Italian family, there are certain phrases or loud words of advice I should say, that are engraved in my mind. Of course, if I’m telling you that I’m Italian, I have to let you know the percentage- 100%. Hopefully, now you believe how credible of a story this is…
If I try to think back to these moments of advice, I can vividly see my grandfather sitting at the head of the kitchen table. Before I went to high school, before I went to college, and before I started my first job he gave me “advice”. The words were said in his thick Italian accent, “Don’t trust nobody.” Over and over again at different milestones, he would repeat those words to me. I usually would feel the need to roll my eyes or nod in agreement, depending on my mood.
As a teenager, when I heard these words I automatically thought, “Yes Gramps. You are so right. Everyone is sketchy and out for themselves. It’s a hard bad world.” Of course, this advice did reign true for most dating relationships for a teenage girl, but hearing this advice always brought questions. “Why can’t we trust people? How do we earn someone’s trust? Am I trustworthy? Will I ever be able to trust someone completely?”.
In today’s readings, there is a lot provided to us as a Church. There are many different topics I could reflect on, but as usual, God grips my heart to one word and there I rest. In the Responsorial Psalm, the hymn proclaims, “The decree of the LORD is trustworthy”. And BOOM. Right at that word is where my heart stops. It stops in demand and it stops there in rest.
Recently, I’ve been having a hard time in my life with trust. Not following my Grandpa’s advice, there are a lot of people I have put trust in. Not because they earned it, but because of their title, religious position, or the expectation I had in them. There is a lot of trust that has been lost. We should all know by now that there is no Cardinal rank, Bishop’s staff, or Sister’s veil that qualifies trust; which is disheartening to say and sadly true. My heart doesn’t always sit well with my Grandfather’s advice. I know deep down that this is not the way God intended us to be; on guard, self-protecting, and untrustworthy. This is not what God’s plan was! This is not the way He intended our relationships to be.
Jesus challenges us in the Gospel today. I believe this challenge He presents shouts to those who cannot trust themselves. He challenges us to rid ourselves of anything that makes us sin! When I hear His words, I want to yell, “I’M SORRY WHAT JESUS? YOU WANT ME TO CUT OFF MY HAND AND FOOT, AND THEN PLUCK OUT MY EYEBALL?! That seems extreme!”. I’m sure His disciples were thinking the same thing. Even though these words are harsh and very shocking to us, they allow us to draw back into the question of trust.
Who can I trust is not leading me to sin? What vices do I have that do not build self-trust? What moments of temptations do I need to remove from my everyday life? Trusting God, yourself, and others takes serious work. It is a job of development, foundation, and authenticity. As I mentioned before, I’m from a loud Italian family. Which means I am a loud Italian, but one who does not shy away from speaking the truth. Sometimes trusting ourselves in our own lives looks like standing up for what is right and speaking the truth, even if your voice shakes.
In circumstances that have lost much trust in my life, I repeat the Word I can trust. “The decree of the LORD is trustworthy.” If the only One I have in my life that I can state complete trust in is Christ than I have more than I’ll ever need. I want to remind you this day to be a saint, to trust like our Father Abraham, to trust like Our Mother of Mercy, to follow the examples of thousands before us. Please know that you are only in need of trusting God, now and forever. Amen.
Briana is a Catholic Doctrine teacher at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel school in Cleveland, OH. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Theology and Catechetics from the Franciscan University of Steubenville, OH and is excited to use these skills to bring her students closer to Christ and His Church. “My soul has been refined and I can raise my head like a flower after a storm.” -St. Therese
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