"I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us."--Rom. 8:18 (RSV)
My pastor often talks about the "pre-blessing blitz." It's the increase in various types of spiritual warfare that occurs before a time of blessing and is often directly proportional to the greatness of the blessing that is coming.
The last week to 10 days leading up to today's glorious celebration of Easter were pocked with a variety of hassles at work. The month before our parish's church was dedicated was marked by all kinds of problems, topped by the fact that the marble altar that was being shipped from Italy got lost in transit. (You may ask, How do you lose two tons of marble? I don't know, but it happened!)
The saints were very familiar with the pre-blessing blitz, though they may not have called it that. St. Teresa of Jesus (a.k.a. of Avila) noted in The Interior Castle that a time of great blessing from the Lord is often preceded by a time of great trial. St. John Vianney, who often encountered spiritual warfare in a very direct way as a confessor, learned over time that an increase in spiritual warfare often indicated that a great sinner was about to repent, or, as he put it, he was about to "catch a big fish." :-)
St. John Vianney developed a great perspective to the pre-blessing blitz, one that very much reflects the truth expressed by St. Paul in the verse given above. It's said that one night he heard a great commotion down in his parlor. He went downstairs and found the evil one in anger throwing furniture around the room. He said, "Oh, it's only you," and went back to bed!
On Holy Thursday as I was reflecting on the latest Holy Week blitz and the increasing persecution of Catholics and Christians in our nation, all in light of the Passion and death of Jesus, it occurred to me that life is a pre-blessing blitz. The intensity of the spiritual warfare is not constant; the Lord knows that we are but dust, and in His mercy He gives us breaks in the battle. But the ebbs and flows that we experience do not change the fact that we are always in the midst of a battle. And this should not surprise us, for the blessing to which we are heading is the greatest blessing of all: eternal life on high with Christ Jesus!
Lord Jesus, help me to always remember that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory to be revealed to us. Help me to take on the mindset of St. John Vianney and the other saints, seeing things through the perspective of eternity and remembering always that "He who is in me is greater than he who is in the world." Amen.
