John Henry Newman, an established Anglican went to Rome to discern if Jesus was calling him to become a Roman Catholic. One day, on his voyage home he prayed. “Lead me Lord!…I cannot see the way…lead me kindly light.”

The words brought such peace to him that he was able to hear clearly the voice of Jesus. Newman became a saint and was a significant mind in the Catholicism of nineteenth century.

His life begs the question of us, do I believe? Do I trust Jesus who speaks to me so vitally in the Scriptures, Who commingles with my humanity in the Eucharist? Am I confident that He will lead me where I need to go?

Blessed John Paul said, “Only faith enables us to experience the presence of God in Christ in the very center of our life.” We can only reach our core as human beings with silence. Only with a stilled heart can we really listen for His Voice.

We stand in the middle of an age that longingly desires to see God’s face and yet is willing to give Him up for material priorities and thus be enslaved by material things.

Even our freedom is compromised in our choice to stay away from the Christ who forgives yet it is only in Christ that the true meaning of the human condition and our supreme dignity as children of God comes alive and lives freely in communion with Him.”

Faith in the Son of Man, John Paul II states “is the heartbeat of the new evangelization, because faith actively opens our hearts and minds more and more to the teachings and light of Christ.”

But as people of faith we must overcome our fear of letting go of material things in order to lead others out of fear and into the lights of confidence, safety and joy, not just in being human but being God’s holy children!

To understand faith we must seek Him in the Family of the Trinity and be willing to let go of our pride, our plans and our prejudices. We must be able to give everything to him as he has for us.

“Lead me Lord!…I cannot see the way…lead me kindly light.”