“Jesus, I trust in You”. (St. Faustina)
The most remarkable Sunday in April is Divine Mercy Sunday. Recalling a past memory, I remember the image of Divine Mercy surrounded by white and red ribbons. I recall red shimmering candles that were arranged in a heart shape at the foot of the image. All of these decorations created a sentimental ambiance that seemed to inflame within my heart the fire of love for Jesus in the Divine Mercy image.
Looking at the image of Divine Mercy, the words: “Jesus, I Trust in You” caught my attention. These words seem simple, yet they contain a valuable spirituality in our Christian lives. I have to confess that many times, when I had prayed the Divine Mercy Chaplet and Litany, I unintentionally and unconsciously let the words “Jesus, I Trust in You” become vocal prayer without thinking and pondering over them. I let these words pass swiftly from my lips without the awareness of their profound meaning. I ask the Lord for his forgiveness and would like to share with you that Jesus desires us to trust in Him and believe in His mercy and love. May the Lord help us to discover the spiritual value of this prayer when we recite the Divine Mercy Chaplet and Divine Mercy Litany.
In the eyes of a businessman, a “Living Trust” is considered as a legal document between a grantor and a trustee after the grantor dies. This legal document can be seen as an ‘agreement’ between two parties. Yet, in the eyes of faith, trusting in God is not an agreement, but it involves the action of the heart. Trusting in God, an individual exercises a confident reliance and hope in God. One who trusts in God enters into a commitment as God invites the soul into a loving relationship with Jesus.
Jesus calls us to refocus on God’s love and commit ourselves to trust Him. Jesus calls us to believe in his merciful love and that it is always greater than any sin we have.
When I say I trust someone, I simply rely on that person. I put my confidence in that person who would be able to protect me. When we pray “Jesus, I trust in You,” we sincerely mean to rely on Jesus, depend on Him, and entrust ourselves to His protection.
‘Trust’ is a challenge in practicing the three theological virtues faith, hope, and love.
In faith, sometimes we must act like the child who accidently climbed too high on a tree. He must trust his father’s love in order to follow his father’s order to jump down into his arms. He must trust that his father’s hands are waiting to embrace him when he makes the leap. God’s hands are extended beyond our needs to hold us and protect us from danger. In our fears and anxieties, we too, must trust our Heavenly Father and ask for the courage to jump into God’s saving arms. Although our lives are full of fears, worries and uncertainties, we are invited to trust that Jesus is always with us. More specifically, our faith is deepened as we practice total surrender to God’s will, obey his commands, and believe that He has a plan to navigate us through our perils.
Trusting in God is an act of hope as we move to reach out to Jesus who will strengthen us to bear the burdens of life like Isaiah had said: “Those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles.” (Isaiah 40:31)
Jesus is a God of Hope. We run away from Jesus simply because we do not trust in Him. Rather, we often place trust in our human friends, doctors, medication, science or other advanced techniques. We put our trust in the wrong people, places and will find ourselves disappointed when things do not turn out the way we wanted or had expected. Do we believe that even in our disappointment, there is a grace to be unfolded? Hope will assure us that Jesus is beside us even when things do not turn out the way we had prayed for. He is our stronghold even in our hardships. By trusting in Jesus, we can have a different perspective on how we can accept trials and challenges as opportunities to deepen our belief and reinforce our will-power to exercise the virtue of hope.
Trusting in God is an action of love. When Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15), there is a call to have an interior act of trust that expresses itself outwardly by keeping God’s commands. When we trust, we love and obey the orders of those whom we love. If we love God, we trust Him and obey Him. The disciples trusted Jesus’ words and lowered their nets on the other side of the boat. In doing so, they caught plenty of fish. When we pray, “Jesus, I Trust in You,” we must lower our pride and anxiety without doubting, arguing, or reasoning. Rather, we pray these words with the attitude of total surrender and obedience to God the Father. We obey God like the patient who obeys the doctor in order to get well. Our sick souls must do the same by putting our trust in Jesus’ care when we say “Jesus, I Trust in You”.
May the mantra “Jesus, I trust in you” be like spiritual vitamin to nourish our souls and the medication to heal our spiritual sickness.
Let us Pray:
Lord, you are a gracious God. May the prayer “Jesus, I Trust in You” inflame within us the fire of faith to believe in You and our Loving Father. Enlighten within us a light of living hope and show us your ways to our Heavenly Father. You are the God of Hope that guides our lives, and we place our trust in You. You are a merciful God who knows our sinfulness, weaknesses and limitations. Without You, we cannot do anything. We come to You as the child who is in his mother’s care for protection and salvation. We love You, hope in You, and put our trust in You. We ask these in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.