The Glory of Faith
By Frank R. Iacono
In a spot experience I had awhile ago, I was drawn to see and consider the merits of divine faith in elevating life.
On that particular day, I had just about ended my usual visit to a family relation at her nursing residence. Before leaving, I wheeled her into the lounge for a change of scenery. Only two female residents were present…one, slumped drowsily in a recliner; the other, with head focused downward, perched in a wheelchair near a blank television set.
The stillness and silence in the room was stifling. To inject some animation and also occupy my relation, I clicked on the TV at very low volume. My eyes then strayed over to that lady nearby, and I was taken aback by a tiny green crystal rosary, winding through her caressing hands. Not that praying is unusual–I just didn’t expect it there and then.
I left the residence sunken, thinking that I may have disrupted that woman by my assertiveness. The discomfort lingered, causing me to reflect on her more.
Though she is well cared for in that facility, I’m sure she has down times emotionally, like every human, and being away from her beloved home and family does amplify feelings of separation and loneliness. But she has faith, her rosary told me so, and this softens and alters the moment, because her acceptance of God logically gives her a sense of connection and thereby precious company in poorer times.
By comparison, how could a nonbeliever in spirituality, who sees the future’s end as an abyss of nothingness, experience the same heavenly benefits, in a similar situation, as does that lady of faith.
I’m thankful for the goodness of faith, and especially for the direction it provides for a peace sharing life. Belief in a hereafter, and belief in God’s judgment, are compelling reasons to foster human respect and kindness to all, in the challenges of daily life.
That praying lady was a living portrayal of faith at work. Surely if she had a choice, she’d opt for being home again. However, faced with that unlikelihood, she makes a consoling life for herself by her faith, always in contact with Jesus, particularly through her tiny green crystal rosary. I welcome seeing that devotion, it reinforces my own convictions about God and eternity.
