21st Sunday after Pentecost: Summing Up the Sense of Providence We Should All Possess

We conclude our mini-series on the "Sense of Providence. It's something we should all possess. 

Our capable spiritual guide sums up his ideas in a single paragraph. It begins with an idea that all of us should have embedded in our hearts and minds at tall times: "Though I should walk in the valley of darkness, yet will I fear no evil: for Thou art with me."

Why should this idea be ever-present? It's not like most of us live in a constant state of darkness (by the grace of God). It's simply that life has it's ups and downs, right? And we hope that we get our share of the ups, even while knowing that the next down may be lingering right around the corner.

Does this mean we live in a constant state of mild anxiety, wondering "When will the other shoe drop?" It might for some of us. But if it does, that's exactly what why we need this Sense of Providence.

We could, of course, take the "positive thinking" route. Those of us who train ourselves to be upbeat all the time, to eschew "negative thinking" may have a leg up on the rest of us. But even here, having known my share of "positive thinkers," none of us is exempt from bad things happening from time to time. Surely, we don't need to give examples!

Most of us, however, likely fall somewhere between the habitually anxious and the habitually upbeat. It's likely mostly a matter of temperament. We may be naturally inclined to be more or less of sunny disposition. 

We recall here that our Holy Religion urges us to be cheerful at all times. And that's good, of course, even if it presents a serious challenge to those of us not naturally inclined to see the silver lining in every cloud.

Whatever our temperament, though, this Sense of Providence will likely prove indispensable. It will naturally be our constant and friendly aid as we go about our business from day to day. And if we aspire to grow in holiness, indeed to do our best to become a saint, it will supernaturally serve assist us. 

Knowing that God has our back - always - can help us through all the temptations and pitfalls that await us as we travel through what Holy Mother Church has wisely labeled this "Vale of Tears."

With that, we hand the baton to Father Vann and his apt summary of the Sense of Providence:

The Sense of Providence (Part 4 of 4)
Father Gerald Vann, O.P.

    “Though I should walk in the valley of darkness, yet will I fear no evil: for Thou art with me. There are times when, even though normally speaking we have achieved some measure of the sense of God’s presence, He seems very remote from us; we seem to be out alone in the dark. It is then above all that we need to have trained ourselves to think of events in terms of His will, and to love and accept that will whatever may fall out. And in times like these in which we live, how much we need that loving awareness of His watchfulness: we can see only the evil, the suffering, the despair, of the world, and it is hard to believe that out of all that evil any good can come; it is hard not to doubt, hard to trust. But that is just the value of these small and personal beginnings. To be accustomed to see the hand of God, the loving hand of God, in all the small events of one’s own life, and therefore to go out to meet them, to accept them gladly, or at least with loving determination, because they are God’s will: that is the way to prepare to meet the great things in the same spirit and so to find confidence and peace and happiness in spite of all that can come to disturb and upset us…The Lord is our Shepherd: whom shall we fear?”
 

Happy 21st Sunday after Pentecost!