Then he said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.” (Luke 6:5)

“The goodness of God since my Baptism; his divine Providence in drawing me away from dangers, in effecting a change of place, of condition, even of health, in order to preserve me from enslavement to studies, from the vanity of success, from attachment to creatures, from the servitude even of gratitude. Our Lord wanted to be my Master in everything, pretty much as He was Saint Paul’s, because I would have loved too much those who were good to me or loved me. I have been a bit like Jacob, always on the move. The purpose of all this was to lead me to the eucharistic vocation. I needed Marseilles to render my love for that vocation exclusive, to make of it a center; I needed Lyons to give me the practice of it and to set me on the road to the Cenacle. Now, this dear Cenacle, in God’s own good time.” (Saint Peter Julian Eymard, February 5, 1865)

St. Peter Julian’s Great Retreat in Rome was a time of extraordinary grace. Taking the time to look back at his life, God’s Wisdom illumined his sometimes-obscure paths. We read his word and see he truly states that Jesus Christ is LORD. “Our Lord wanted to be my Master in everything…” This is the same for each one of us.

Whatever the situation we find ourselves in, God is already acting. He is the Lord of Hosts.

We walk the way of contradiction and the Way of the Cross. We believe the veil will be removed one day, and we will clearly see all that is now obscured. We walk by faith, look up, and say, “My Lord and My God!”

Let us pray:

“At the conclusion of your way of the cross, we ask you, Lord, to teach us to keep watch, together with your Mother and the women who stood by you on Calvary, in expectation of your resurrection. May it be a beacon of hope, joy, new life, fraternity, acceptance, and communion among peoples, religions, and systems of law. So that all the sons and daughters of man will be truly recognized in their dignity as sons and daughters of God, and never again treated as slaves.” Pope Francis’ concluding prayer for The Way of the Cross, Good Friday, April 19, 2019, at the Coliseum in Rome