John Henry Newman, an 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 the 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?

Saint John Paul said, “Only faith enables us to experience the presence of God in Christ in the very center of our life.” We live in an age that on one hand desires to see God and yet on the other is willing to give Him up for material priorities and thus become enslaved by worldly things. Even our freedom is compromised by our simple choices to stay away from the Christ who forgives. We can easily forget that the true meaning of our human condition as children of God depends on our conformity with Jesus.

The scriptures tell us today that as people of faith, we should overcome our fear of letting go of worldly things in order to lead others away from fear and into confidence, not just in being truly human but in becoming God’s holy children!

To understand faith, we must seek God through Christ 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.”