The believer is never alone.

Recently, I visited a believing grandmother who can no longer attend church regularly because of her advanced age. I asked her: “Grandma, don’t you feel sad? ‘ And I received the embarrassing reply, ‘Mr. Pastor, no! I am never alone. When I have a moment, I sit down and pray. I have someone to pray for. Sometimes the children come, write, and even want to take me in, but I am fine here for the time being. When I pray, I feel that they are near me, and I often imagine that Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and my deceased are near me.” These are the words of a woman of faith for whom prayer means considerably. She understands the strength that the Lord Jesus offers in the Gospel to the apostles:

“He who loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him; we will come to him and make our abode with him” (Jn 14:23).

In its totality, this gospel is a preparation for the apostles for the moment when they will be without Jesus. Jesus prepares them because he loves them. He lets them know that when he fulfills his mission as Savior and Redeemer, he will not leave them alone even when he goes to the Father. He explains to them not to worry and that He will take care of them uniquely. Furthermore, they are informed that he must go, but they will meet because he is going to prepare a place where he wants to have all his own who will believe in him and live according to his words; that is, he is going to prepare a place for them and us in eternal bliss.
It is an essential and strengthening thought for us that here on earth, we will also be united with Jesus after his departure, but we are also in for a meeting that will know no end, a farewell…
These words of Jesus can also be understood as a light that sheds light on the moment when a person falls into a state of a kind of pessimism, hopelessness, and fear. If we trust in these words of Jesus at that time, one feels strong, and such a believer also realizes that he cannot keep this fantastic idea, which turns into action, that is, into a kind of message, for himself and therefore passes it on to the next generations.

This obliges us today. Today we are not content with believing, but we also have the desire to transform words into action, prepare and transmit to future generations of brothers and sisters the true faith, which is worthy of the noble reward that the Lord has prepared for those who love him.
One such proven way or thing is a good prayer: regular, devout, in union with God. We are already here to create an oasis in our hearts where one is refreshed, encouraged, and recharged. Whoever approaches the teachings of the Lord Jesus in the right way will never feel alone. Because even if he prays alone like the grandmother mentioned above, millions and millions of brothers and sisters are praying with him all over the world who are physically far away, but in God, such a soul lives, moves, and has existed.

In the fifties, a priest friend of mine also found himself in prison. He also survived several months in solitary confinement. That is something complicated. He didn’t see anyone for weeks, just a little light-up through a small window. And yet, he wasn’t allowed to sit; he didn’t even have anything to sit on. On top of that, he was interrogated day and night, sometimes for hours. What kept him going, that he survived at all? The thought that he was in the hands of God! When it was hardest, he used to say that he would whisper like Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Father, not my will but yours be done!”
He was considered a Vatican spy, a traitor, and a nation’s pariah. He who taught to love the country taught children to honor their parents and superiors and earned his living by honest work. Today, he is a man without a criminal record because the nation has recognized its mistake and rehabilitated him. He speaks like this: “Already in the seminary, I realized as a young theology student that I would either belong to Christ wholly and completely or I would leave. I didn’t leave. My exercise of devotion to Christ paid off. I could see that in my own life.”

We do not know what the Lord has in store for us. What tests of faithfulness we will have to undergo. Many brothers and sisters have betrayed the Lord Jesus in life’s difficulties. But today, Jesus wants to strengthen us. He goes to the aid of those who remain faithful to Him, who keep His words.

Faithfulness to Christ is a guarantee for us that Jesus will remain faithful to all of us, to those born before, and to you, dear young friends. The believing Christian is never alone. Jesus is with him. He is in our hearts when we pray, when we show love not only for God but also for our neighbor, and even when we want to enjoy our youth to the full.