Facing life’s difficulties requires trust in God Kimberly Hahn told several hundred people who attended her talks on “Communion of Saints: Striving for Holiness in Troubled Times” at St. Matthew Church in Franklin on Saturday, Nov. 4.
“Hope is choosing to trust God even in the face of hardship,” Hahn said. “God doesn’t want you to live in fear. He wants you to live in faith.”
Hahn is a trustee of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology in Steubenville, Ohio, which sponsored the talks at St. Matthew. Her husband, Dr. Scott Hahn, was originally scheduled to present with Mrs. Hahn, but was unable to appear because of illness. Mrs. Hahn, an author and speaker, went on with her portion of the event.
“There are all kinds of different challenges we face, but we don’t face them alone,” Kimberly Hahn said.
“Trusting God is the key,” she added. “Trusting in our heavenly Father and persevering in our suffering is what gives us hope.”
Christ also faced difficulties. “In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus never abandoned hope,” she said.
She noted the Scriptural passage in Hebrews 12:2: “For the sake of the joy that lay before him he endured the cross, despising its shame, and has taken his seat at the right of the throne of God.”
“He knew what he accomplished” in his suffering, Hahn said of Christ.
Jesus’ suffering on the cross transformed our suffering, Hahn said. “Our suffering has meaning. … You can be united to the cross and bring some good out of this difficulty.”
In baptism, we receive graces from God, Hahn said. “We have to respond to the graces we receive.”
“He gives us the grace to be a witness,” she said. “Each day is a moment we choose Christ and are committed to him.”
As followers of Christ, we are called to engage in spiritual warfare, Hahn said. “The outcome of the spiritual warfare is already settled. … The evil one already lost,” she said. “Even though he is powerful, our Lord is much more powerful.”
We must use the same weapons Christ uses in this spiritual warfare, Hahn said, and that includes studying Scripture. “The word of God is a sword,” she said. “Who would not put God’s word in our hearts?”
Another weapon is prayer and worship. “He is the source of our strength, and we tap into that in worship,” she said. “One of the most practical things you can do in your spiritual warfare is to attend Mass.”
“The evil one does look to disrupt your life,” Hahn said. “God wants you to know you are safe in Him.”
