Nothing Is Impossible With God

"Nothing will be impossible with God" (Lk 1:37).  So said the angel Gabriel to Mary at the Annunciation, a sentence which was surely true for her and which has rung true through the ages.  Often we forget it when faced with situations that back us up into the "I-can't-take-it-anymore" corner.  A mother faces three suicides in her family;  young adults overdosing on heroin, some dying, others impairing their health for the rest of their lives;  a family killed by a package bomb, the tales are endless and no less tragic nor challenging.
In the mid nineteen century, a newly ordained priest entered a small village ravaged by post-revolution cynicism and a-morality, where hope had died. Mocked, spat upon, ignored, the young priest, faced an impossible situation, but by prayer, fasting and consistency, not by eloquent preaching and academic prowess, gradually won back the hearts that had survived the guillotine, but had hardened into stone. Eventually, the church was full on Sundays, the lines for confession kept the Cure busy all day long as penitents streamed from all of France and beyond to receive absolution from one who could tell them even before they opened their mouths what they had done wrong and how ready God was to forgive them.  Indeed, a special train station was built in Ars because of the man who had arrived there on foot. New life rose from the ashes of the French Revolution. No one could have predicted such a change.
May the faith of St. John Mary Vianney inspire us and give us courage when we feel overwhelmed by the impossible.  No, Nothing is impossible with God.l
Bro. Rene