The story of trust

The texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary commemorate the feast of the Holy Family. The history of the Covenant between God and the people of Israel is related in the Book of Genesis as Abram, in old age, is promised an heir who will be the start of a family of people who will number greater than the stars. As he reaffirms his faith in God and trusts that this promise will be fulfilled, he is instructed to change names of he and his wife to Abraham and Sarah. The child is born and is named Isaac, which according to Friar Jude Winkler means "laughter". Certainly trust and a sense of humour are attitudes which contribute to the development of healthy relationships. These relationships may be with God, between family members or with others. The mystery of the revelation of our "vocation" in the Divine plan sometimes seems to come "too late" in our lives. We struggle to find the "humour" in situations which, in our opinion, may have been avoided if I knew then what I know now. The preparation of the soul for the attitude of trust and openness may take decades. It may be accelerated as the Gospel of Luke indicates the "trust" of the young mother Mary as she hears the elder wisdom of Simeon and Anna in the Temple and moves according to her trust to be the person missioned with the human development of this child in the remote backwater of Nazareth who is heralded as Messiah and who is of Divine origin. The action in our lives in our "vocation"  needs faith that trusts the support for our journey will be provided. This spiritual maturity is not necessarily tied to physical maturity, but many people find this trust in the "second half " of their journey.