God’s grace is often disconcerting. 

From the ruins caused by natural disasters (earthquakes, floods, storms and volcanoes), new communities emerge and life continues. From the evil works performed by deranged killers and perverse ideologies, good triumphs and mercy and compassion bring healing and hope. From the mediocrity of lives that are only partially lived, comes the promise of a richer, fuller life. From the most hopeless tragedies of life, hope springs eternal. 

God is not abandoning us—although it all too often seems that way. Even in our darkest hours, there is the light of God’s disconcerting grace. Let’s pray for the wisdom, and the courage, to accept whatever trials come our way, and to seek the hopeful signs that are present even in our greatest moments of despair. 

Someday we shall understand that among the greatest graces God has given us in our life are precisely those disconcerting ones which make us think that God is abandoning us, when, on the contrary, he is attracting us; those which cause us to judge that we are falling away from our ideal, when, on the contrary, we are drawing nearer to the sweet goal of our hopes. (Servant of God Archbishop Luis María Martínez)