I have to say that these words stayed with me for a long time. It is true that no matter what we have to face in life, we can find the necessary courage and strength as long as we can see a solution for what is worrying us. In 2005, I spent two whole months in hospital. To be honest, there were times when I felt anxious and uncertain about my situation. I used to dread having to undergo tests by lying flat in those big machines as a laser probed every part of my body. There were also times when I grew very impatient and when I could not open my mouth to voice my prayer. However what kept me going were the words of my specialist. “We will get there. It will be ok but is may take us a bit of time to arrive at our destination”. These words gave me the necessary perseverance to keep looking ahead to the time when I could leave the hospital.

However, it is rather a very different story when in spite of everything that we do or are prepared to go through the end result will remain unknown or uncertain to us. This is precisely where the message of the gospel of today can provide us with great help. Peter asked Jesus, “If it is you make me walk on the water”, Jesus invited him. Peter did actually walk on the water but he lost confidence and stopped focusing on Jesus. This is the reason why he started to sink. Yet even at this very moment, Jesus was present to help him.

There are situations in our lives that we can handle. There are problems that we meet with, that we can see a solution for them even though they might seem heavy and daunting. However, it is also a fact that we also encounter situations in our lives when inspite of everything that we do the answer or the solution lies beyond our control. What are we going to do in these situations as believers in Jesus Christ?  We need to do what we can do to the best of our ability. We are called to take the best advise that we can, we need to talk to someone who might be able to point out to us the best option or direction that we can adopt. We need to reflect seriously and consider the situation from different angles. However, if after having done what needs to be done we find that the answer is beyond our control, then we need to trust God with it. Lord I have done what I can, I have explored different possible ways of what I can do. The end result does not depend on me for different reasons, and so I abandon myself in your hands. I trust that you want the best for me and therefore I know that you will guide me in this time of uncertainty to what is best for all concerned.

Very often we find out that even when we do not know what to do in a particular circumstance, God surprises us by taking the initiative to guide us to the best solution. In today’s first reading we find the prophet Elijah hiding in a cave and wishing that he was dead. Elijah had just been put under severe pressure by Jezebel the wife of the King of Israel Ahab. Jezebel had influenced the king to abandon his faith in Yahweh and to follow her gods. Jezebel was the schemer behind the King’s back to try to force the people of Israel to abandon their allegiance to Yahweh in order to follow pagan ways. Elijah had just had a magnificent encounter with over four hundred prophets of the false God Baal. Elijah managed to demonstrate powerfully on Mt Carmel that Yahweh the God of Israel was the only true God. Jezebel could not stomach this and she threatened to kill the prophet Elijah in the same manner in which the four hundred prophets of Baal met their death. Elijah got frightened. He became paralyzed. He retreated to a cave and wished that he was dead. Yet at that very moment, God came to his rescue. He told him to get up and go to the entrance of the cave and through the feeling of a gentle wind, Elijah realized that God was with him. This gave him the necessary courage to continue with his mission.

I have just accompanied over five hundred and seventy young people from the Diocese to the events of World Youth Day. A lot of people worked very hard to make this possible. It was a major undertaking because of the responsibilities involved. We all had a great time. There were moments of sheer exuberance as well as moments of very deep prayer and reflection. There were moments of pure fun as well as moments when serious thinking and decision making was needed. As we reached the final day to celebrate the last Mass with Pope Benedict XVI I started to think about what benefits all these young people were going to experience. I was hoping that at least most of our young people would experience something special from this event. I began to wonder whether most of them considered this to be just another trip to Sydney with their friends. I started to wonder about what tangible fruits these young people were going to experience. Yes I reasoned that all this take time and that I needed to let God do His work in the hearts and in the lives of these young people. I was very conscious that myself and the responsible team did our best to enable our young people to be open to what God had in store for them.

My heart and my mind were full with these thoughts as I met with our young people on Sunday night before they were to catch the buses to take them home early the following morning. As I lay reflecting on this issue I was approached by a teacher from one of our secondary schools. He told me that one of his students had shared with him his desire for the priesthood. I told him that I would like to meet and have a chat with this young man. We are now embarking on a process that might lead this young man to start his priestly formation in the not too distant future.

In these situations, we need to remember one very important and basic principle. “We do our best, and we leave God the rest”. Prayer is not everything but it is the first thing. Prayer needs also to be accompanied by our proper, relevant and wise actions.

God Bless