God Answers Our Call for Help

Several months ago, our pastor asked my husband and I to mentor couples who are preparing for marriage. As I read through his email, I chuckled to myself, thinking what a coincidence it was. My parents had mentored engaged couples for years. In fact, as a permanent deacon, that was my dad’s main ministry. Since his marriage to my mom was far from perfect, it gave me hope that maybe my husband and I could be of some help to the couples we are assigned to. In fact, perhaps we could be of more help due to our struggles, giving witness to our fidelity to each other despite the ups and downs of life. 

Even as we met with our first engaged couple for the first time, my husband was just a couple weeks away from his second major back surgery. Although it would eventually relieve him of some pain, it would also cause him pain. His three month recovery process would have him using a walker, then a cane, all the while wearing a restrictive back brace. He would need help using the restroom and showering, getting out of bed and getting dressed. All the while, I, his partner “in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health” was called to care for him, encourage him and support him. 

Jesus never promised it would be easy. He knew the reality of life on Earth. He lived through the hardship. And He promised to help us carry our burdens. 

Perhaps one of the heaviest burdens we bear is our sins. We make resolutions, and then break them. We try to be better and then fail. We try harder and then fail again. Perhaps the reason this burden becomes so heavy is because we try to carry it on our own. We forget about the power of prayer and the grace poured out in the sacrament of Confession. God wants to make “our yoke easy and our burden light” but sometimes we fail to call out to Him for help. 

We see God’s loving mercy so clearly in today's readings. In the first reading, God promises to withhold destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah if He were to find only 10 just people therein. In the second reading, Paul reminds us, “even when you were dead in transgressions…he brought you to life along with him” through the forgiveness of sins. In the Gospel, Jesus assures us, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”  

Time and time again in the Scriptures, God tells us how much he wants to be there for us. Even though the actual weight of our burdens may not change, the fact that He is there by our side, makes them so much lighter. So whether we be living the ups and downs of married life or struggling through an illness or battling with a recurring sin, may we truly believe what we proclaim in today’s Psalm Response:  “Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me.”

By Tami Urcia