Show Notes
Overall Takeaway
When we are disappointed, it’s easy to lose hope in God. Take the time to reconnect with past pains, bring them to Jesus, and allow Him to give us hope again.
Key Verses from Sunday Readings
“In those days, in their thirst for water,
the people grumbled against Moses,
saying, ‘Why did you ever make us leave Egypt?
Was it just to have us die here of thirst
with our children and our livestock?’”
“And hope does not disappoint,
because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
“Many of the Samaritans of that town began to believe in him
because of the word of the woman who testified,
‘He told me everything I have done.’
When the Samaritans came to him,
they invited him to stay with them;
and he stayed there two days.”
Where Catholicism Meets Psychology
* Participated in a guided imagery exercise in this week’s show to identify an unresolved hurt or disappointment in your life.
* When we face disappointment or lose a dream, we often immediately blame God as the Israelites did. Although God sometimes asks a lot of us, He never disappoints. His ways are not our ways; God sometimes doesn’t act in the way we want or see best.
* We rely too much on our human perspective and assume we “know” that the cause of our disappointment is rooted somehow in God’s failure or cruelty. We tend to harden our hearts. As humans, we tend to block out those pains and disappointments and move on without dealing with them. We have a natural inclination to not bring those things to God.
* Consider the Samaritan woman and her lost hopes. Jesus comes to her and gives her more than she ever could have hoped for: an encounter with the Messiah. Previously a shunned outcast in our village, she is the one to bring Jesus to others after allowing Jesus to come to her.
Action Items
Participate in this week’s guided imagery exercise. Remember a past hurt or disappointment and visualize its color, form, shape, and details. Recognize that it exists and bring it to Jesus, Mary, Joseph or a favorite saint, or your guardian angel in prayer and tell them about it. Not because they don’t know, but because you don’t know. Ask for help in carrying it, for greater hope, and for the steps needed in healing.