Dear Friends,
St. Francis de Sales was a bishop and he’s a Doctor of the Church. He lived in France and Switzerland during the 16th and 17th centuries. He is the author of the classic book, “Introduction to the Devout Life.” A spiritual director once told me to read it every five years. Every five years we are in a different place spiritually and re-reading it you’ll draw something different form it. St. Francis de Sales was very gentle with the souls he worked with. His way of teaching brought many back to the faith after having left during the wave of Protestantism that swept through Europe. He was gentle because of what he experienced as a young man in college. At that time he was filled with anxiety and doubt, he was very hard on himself. He was convinced he was destined for hell, even though everything about him said otherwise. This anxiety and doubt plagued him for months and months. He received some relief when at Mass and by receiving the Eucharist. But the anxiety came right back to him as soon as he left church.
One morning during this time he entered a church to pray and he found himself in front of an image of Our Lady of Good Deliverance. He prayed the Memorare and when finished with the prayer he felt his soul flooded with peace. The anxiety and dread were gone. A miracle. He never forgot this moment, and because of that time of anxiety and dread he would often say, “God has good in store for us, for He is Love.” It was in this state of mind he wrote his famous prayer on trust. I’ve handed this prayer out many times. It’s a longer prayer but it can be summarized in 8 words.
I can’t
You can
You promised
Please do
Addressing this prayer to God we say to
Him, I can’t. You can. You promised. Please do. In this prayer we not only see trust but also humility, faith, hope, and charity.
1st line, I can’t. In praying this we are saying to our Lord, “I can’t figure this out, I can’t do this alone, I can’t deal with all of this, I can’t.
2nd line, You can. In praying this we are saying to our Lord, “Your power can do anything, you can love me right now, you can bring light, you can strengthen me, you can protect me.”
3rd line, You promised. In praying this we are saying to our Lord, “You promised your love, you promised to protect me, you promised to send your Holy Spirit to help me, you promised to be with me always.”
4th line, Please do. In praying this we are saying to our Lord, “Lord I know you can do anything, do what is your will, help me feel your comfort, do a mighty work, do what leads me and others to your.”
I can’t
You can
You promised
Please do
This is the prayer of a Christian, a Christian who puts his/her trust in God and is docile to the will of God. Mary the Blessed Virgin is the first Christian, the first to receive the Sacred Body and Blood of Jesus, the first to receive the Eucharist. She heard the word of God and observed it. She lived this prayer.
We know Mary pondered many things in her heart. She pondered the many mysteries of Christ that happened right before her, the Annunciation , the birth of a King in a stable, the quiet life of the Messiah hidden at Nazareth, the three public years of our Lord’s teaching, preaching, and miracles, and our Lord’s crucifixion, death, burial, and resurrection. She pondered all of these things. Probably thinking over and over, “I can’t understand this right now I don’t know what all of this means.” I can’t.
But then in great faith our Lady would also pray, “But I know that one day I will understand, because you can do all things Lord. You can.
And in our Lady’s Magnificat found in Luke’s Gospel at the Visitation she sings of our Lord’s promise, “Has had come to the help of his servant Israel, for he has remembered his promise of mercy, the promise he made to our Fathers, to Abraham and his children forever.” You promised.
And finally the last line of the prayer, “Please do.” Our Lady is very docile to the will of God. At the Annunciation she says, “Let it be done unto me according to your will.” Please do Lord. And at the Wedding Feast at Cana she makes a request of Jesus. So filled with trust in how he will respond she tells the waiters, “Do whatever He tells you.” Please do.
I can’t
You can
You promised
Please do
In moments of contradiction, anxiety, stress, or fear let us pray in the way of Mary and the Saints, praying with trust, humility, faith, hope, and charity.
I can’t
You can
You promised
Please do
Let us be great Saints,
Fr. Christopher Ankley