Confusion is not of God, we know this. The question is, how do we respond to it? Our best example, as with most things, can be found in Mary.
At the Annunciation, did Mary understand everything? No. But she knew enough to say yes. She had the basics down:
- God loves her.
- God has a plan.
- God knows best.
All she had to do was remain in prayer, and remain faithful. She pondered things in her heart. She didn’t have all the answers, and if we were to imitate her humility, we’d have to admit that we don’t either.
In C. S. Lewis’ The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, Peter and Susan were questioned gently by the Professor:
“Logic!” said the Professor half to himself. “Why don’t they teach logic at these schools? There are only three possibilities. Either your sister is telling lies, or she is mad, or she is telling the truth. You know she doesn’t tell lies and it is obvious that she is not mad. For the moment then and unless any further evidence turns up, we must assume that she is telling the truth.”
The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis
If we know our friends to be faithful, oughtn’t we have the charity to give them the benefit of the doubt? If we know people who consistently and sincerely seek the Truth, then perhaps the best thing we can do is get out of their way and let them continue the search. We most of us are in a state of confusion to some degree in interpreting the signs of the times, some seemingly more so than others. But when we see faithful priest vs. faithful priest, faithful bishop vs. faithful bishop, faithful writer vs. faithful writer, duking it out online and off, then perhaps we should consider that it is not the time to lift the sword but to bow down in prayer, because we are in dark times. It is time to cling to what we know and live as we believe.
They listen, for example, when we tell them that God has said: It is no credit to you if you love those who love you, but only if you love your enemies, and those who hate you. They are full of admiration at such extraordinary virtue, but when they observe that we not only fail to love people who hate us, but even those who love us, they laugh us to scorn, and the Name is blasphemed.
from a homily written in the second century
If we are to live the Lord’s New Commandment, we will often need to be on top of our moods… It may be more natural for us to act in just the opposite way, to give in to critical spirit, to let slip harsh words, to use bad language, to become easily annoyed… These are signs of a lack of supernatural struggle.
In Conversation with God, V5 #79.3, Francis Fernandez Carvajal
As well it may be good to study the teachings of St. John of the Cross, particularly what he says about the night of the spirit. It is a difficult teaching to comprehend and I don’t pretend to grasp it fully. I do know that we need to give up our attachment to recognition, to praise, to the satisfaction that our words have “converted” someone, and even spiritual consolations.
It is a matter, for example, of blinding one’s own reason, of renouncing one’s own will or the asserting of one’s personality, not only in what concerns material goods but even in regard to moral and spiritual goods. In the night of the spirit the soul must walk in darkness, it must be placed in emptiness with respect to the senses and also with respect to its spiritual faculties.
Divine Intimacy #347, Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, OCD
Mary’s job was not to explain God’s ways to people, to make sure they understood what God’s plan was. She just said yes to God working in her own life. It is not an attitude of non-caring — it is the attitude of the disciple who understands her own insignificance as an instrument of God. Her significance will be magnified, as God sees fit, in God’s time. The Truth will be revealed.
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