Grace and Peace of God, from God, be with you all. As I begin this note to you, the song “Never Would Have Made It” keeps replaying in my mind like a stuck record. Truly with all the lawlessness, all the anger, all the defensiveness, and most of all… all the fear that has permeated the very air we breathe, leaves a residue of doubt and disbelief in the presence of FAITH stretched to the limits. Yes, stretched! Our day-to-day life cannot, must not rely on what WAS, but what IS.

As a little girl, I didn’t understand the grown-up tears as these lyrics were sung, with passion. “My faith looks up to Thee, Thou Lamb of Calvary, Savior divine! Now hear me while I pray, take all my guilt away,” What guilt? “As Thou hast died for me, O may my love to Thee, Pure warm, and changeless be, A living fire!” My little girl mind didn’t understand the words, but I felt the hurt and witnessed the tears. “While life's dark maze I tread, And griefs around me spread, Be Thou my Guide; Bid darkness turn to day, Wipe sorrow's tears away, Nor let me ever stray from Thee aside.”

Things were hard at times in our family. These days alcoholism is a sickness back then it was family shame. It was to the Altar, the hurt, pain and helplessness, that my Mother brought and shed her tears. Somehow cleaning and dusting the Church, placing pillows to kneel on for Communion, setting up for Communion brought peace and hope.

These song lyrics remind us that “God is a right now God, He'll never fail you if you trust in Him. God is a right now God, ask and believe and ye shall receive.”. Pr. O