I learned a little prayer many years ago that has become more important as time goes by. It comes from the night prayer of the Church: “Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.” These words from Psalm 31 are meant to be a prayer for restful sleep or a prayer during uncertain times of distress. These are also the last words of Jesus as he died on the cross, and they are repeated at Catholic funerals as a prayer commending a loved one into God’s hands.
This prayer returns to me when life feels uncertain or seems to be moving beyond my reach. Every time I am on an airplane revving up for takeoff, I pray those words: “Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.” When faced with a big decision, a big question, a big need or problem that is beyond my understanding, I return to this prayer, take the next step and put the result in God’s hands. And I remember sitting with my brother when he was dying from cancer and he asked me about death. I did not know the answer to his question, but the words of this prayer came back to me, and I shared them with him to put himself into God’s hands and to let God catch him.
I think the prayer of commending one’s life and spirit into God’s hands is a prayer of providence. It does not mean resigning or letting God do all the work for you. Rather, it means taking the next step that is just beyond our reach or control and entrusting ourselves, our spirits and the results into God’s hands no matter what comes.
In the biblical story of the feeding of 5,000, Jesus asked the disciples to feed the throng of people with woefully limited resources. It was not until they put their trust in his word and started feeding people with five loaves and two fish that the multiplication happened. This was not the last time he would ask them to step beyond their reach and trust him. I don’t think it ever gets easier to trust beyond one’s control, but it does get more familiar. Providence is like that.
In 2017, I was asked to lead an effort to be more engaged with the Church in the Holy Land. I wondered how to begin. How could we grow closer in supporting the many needs? What could we do to make a difference? Ultimately, we were led to the Church in Damascus, Syria — a suffering Church in the midst of war. It is the Church that converted and baptized St. Paul. We formalized this relationship on Jan. 25, 2018, the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul. Last month, I learned from Archbishop Samir Nassar, the archbishop of Damascus, that at the time of our reaching out to Damascus with an invitation to partner together, they were losing the assistance of a previous partner who could no longer support them. He
said God’s providence brought us together at that moment.
Every time we gather for Mass, we take time to announce the needs of the Church and the world. One reason we do this is our belief that where there is a need in the Church, the Holy Spirit will provide the gift. It is the needs of the Church and the world that call forth and liberate the gifts of the Church for the Church and the world. It’s important to lift and hold up the needs so that the gift can be shared. Sometimes, the need calls to me. It is my gift that is required. Or it is your gift that is needed. This is the way of providence.
It has been said that hindsight is 20/20. Things seem clearer when we look backward, but the way forward remains cloudy. There is an African proverb that says, “To look back is the first step forward.” Providence looks back to see how God has guided and provided for us, and it can spur us forward to take a step into the dark, trusting that God is with us along the way. It does not make things easier, but it can become more familiar as we go, because we have been here before. Trusting builds trust. Hoping builds hope. Loving grows love. This is the way of providence. Let us not be afraid to commend our spirits into God’s hands and step out in faith. Let us pray and walk by faith, trusting that God provides and guides us along the way.
Deacon Friesen is director of the Center for Mission, which supports missionary outreach of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. He can be reached at friesenm@archspm.org.
