MY LORD GOD, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore, I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone. Amen                Thomas Merton

Last week, Frank asked us to reflect on our Lenten pilgrimage into the desert and reminded us that as pilgrims, we must be “men and women of prayer constantly in conversation with God about what is happening around us and within us.” I recently listened to James Finley’s meditation on this well-known prayer of Thomas Merton. This week, in the first reading, we read of Moses’s encounter with God in the burning bush and his call to lead the Israelites on a pilgrimage into the desert. His destination? To a land “flowing with milk and honey.” Sounds like heaven to me! From the description that we are given, it seems that he faced that task with fear and trepidation; and who wouldn’t! I wonder if Moses’s prayer might have been similar to Thomas Merton’s prayer. It may also offer us some help for us as we face our “deserts” during our life pilgrimage to our final heavenly destination:

1)     Merton begins “My Lord God.” God told Moses, “Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.” We begin our prayers reverently, humbly recognizing who God is, and who I am in the presence of God.

2)     Merton and Moses both realize that the path to which God is calling them is unknown and they are unsure where the path will end. “I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end.” Moses says to God, “When I go to the Israelites,……what am I to tell them?” How often have we asked God to lead us down the “right path,” but unsure and maybe afraid of where that will lead us? When I feel lost, can I let go of control and allow God to take charge? Can I really trust Him? Finley asks, “Can I accept God’s unconditional love for me and my eternal destiny known to God alone since the beginning of time?”

3)     Then, out of the doubt and fear come hope. “I believe that the desire to please you does, in fact please you! And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.” This is Merton’s prayer and Moses’s response to God as he goes forward. Both of them put their faith and trust in God who has revealed Himself to them. I often want to do God’s will, but do I trust God enough to go down this unknown path I’m facing? Can I be certain that God will “lead me down the right road, though I may know nothing about it?”

4)     After asking the questions and letting go of the doubts, both Merton and Moses conclude that God is trustworthy, that there is no need to fear because I have the confidence that God will never abandon me. Though we may “seem lost and in the shadow of death,” can we do the same?

As you continue your Lenten journey, may your practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving lead you safely through the desert of fear and doubt to a place of confidence in God’s unconditional love for you, and trust that the One who is the Waymaker will show you the way to the joy of the Resurrection!

In it with you,

Sue