All Shall Be Well

All shall be well

Jesus said, I have told you all this so that you may find peace in me. In the world you will have trouble but be brave: I have conquered the world. One aspect of hope is to have the firm confidence that, in the end, God is going to work everything out well for me, for my family, for mankind

Jesus said to St. Julian of Norwich: “All shall be well, and all shall be well. All manner of things shall be well.” 

Hope is the firm confidence that God works all things for good for those who love him.

Where to place our hope

Often we experience the ways in which God works everything out in this life – but not all things get worked out the way we want in this life – some things won’t be worked out until Heaven and the Resurrection of the Body. That is why we do not place all our hope in this life. We place our hope in the promise that in the end God will make all things well. 

CCC 314 - “We firmly believe that God is master of the world and of its history. But the ways of his providence are often unknown to us. Only at the end, when our partial knowledge ceases, when we see God face to face will we fully know the ways by which – even through the dramas of evil and sin – God has guided his creation  to that definitive Sabbath rest.”

Only at the end…by this we mean The Last Judgment

The Last Judgment will come when Christ returns in glory…Then through his Son Jesus Christ he will pronounce the final word on all history. We shall know the ultimate meaning of the whole work of creation and of the entire economy of salvation and understand the marvelous ways by which his Providence led everything towards its final end. (It’s ultimate perfection.) 

No perfection here below

Let’s be clear - there is no perfection here below. That is why we wait for it and we look forward in hope for Heaven – the ultimate end and fulfillment of the deepest human longings, the state of supreme, definitive happiness. But there is no perfection here below – so don’t place all your hope here.

Some people think they would be happy with a different life. This is a temptation: You would not be happy with a different life 

There is No perfect husband  (except me of course). There is no perfect home, health, work, experiences, travel…The grass is not greener on the other side

But let us not fall into cynicism or despair because God in His Divine Providence right now is working everything to your benefit

So hold fast. Be confident and optimistic. Remain faithful. Don’t lose your head and do or say something stupid

Be docile and cooperate with all God is doing and allowing in your life, regardless of whether you think it looks good or bad. Don’t Resist Him

Take a nap or a hot bath. Have a drink. Laugh. Spend time talking and listening to God in prayer

He is working everything out well. All will be well!

Justice triumphs over injustice

The Last Judgment will reveal that God’s justice triumphs over all the injustices committed by his creatures and that God’s love is stronger than death. CCC 1040

Atheism is a protest against the injustices of the world and of world history.. A world marked by so much injustice and innocent suffering cannot be the work of a good God.

Evil, suffering and injustice are proof that God does not exist. If God did exist and He was good then he would stop all of this suffering.

O.K then – there is no God. Now what are you going to do? Suffering and injustice still exist. Now what?

To protest against God in the name of justice is not helpful A world which has to create its own justice is a world without hope. We can’t and we wont. A world without God is a world without hope (Ephesians 2:12)

Only God can create justice. Justice will be seen in the Resurrection from the Dead and Life Everlasting. The Last Judgment is an image of Hope

Spe Salvi 43: The innocent sufferer has attained the certitude of hope: there is a God, and God can create justice in a way that we cannot conceive, yet we can begin to grasp it through faith. Yes, there is a resurrection of the flesh. There is justice. There is an “undoing” of past suffering, a reparation that sets things aright.

The purely individual need for a fulfillment that is denied to us in this life, for an everlasting love that we await, is certainly an important motive for believing man was made for eternity;

But only in connection with the impossibility that the injustice of history should be the final word does the necessity for Christ’s return and for new life become fully convincing.

God can’t make what has happened not to have happened

God can’t make what has happened not to have happened. He can’t change the past – that would be a denial of human freedom. Throughout the lives of all people God is directing all things to make sure we all receive all that we need to be fulfilled, complete and happy – even if we do not become aware of it until heaven.

Some people can ruin that process in themselves by impenitence. In the end, the injustices we experienced in this life will be repaired and restored in such a way that God was directing all things toward our supreme fulfillment in heaven. He was winning in us and for us all along.

Hope says, “it will turn out well for me, for my family, for mankind.” Chose to live in this reality

Despair says, “It will turn out badly.”

Both he who hopes and he who despairs choose these attitudes with their will. This determines their conduct both despair and hope are choices. Despair is a decision against Christ - “He will not come through for me in the end.”

Hope is a decision for Christ: “I place my bet on Him. That He is winning in my life right now.”