Homily for the Memorial of St. Francis of Assisi

Can we trust in God even though bad things happen?

The Book of Job answers this question through the rhetorical questions that came to Job out of the storm because Job had questioned the truth of Divine Providence. "Have you ever in your lifetime commanded the morning and shown the dawn its place? Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth? Tell me, if you know all."

It is natural for people to question God's wisdom in times of darkness and despair. Yet, even when life's demands seem to take away all our strength, we must trust that God will not desert us. We try to remember the many ways we have been blessed. No matter how despairing the crisis may seem, God's grace gives us the faith to trust in His presence and that there is always hope, if not in this world, definitely in the next.