Faith

There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.

Leonard Cohen

The first time I saw  Sacre-Coeur Basilicia  it was silhouetted against a brilliant blue sky. Climbing the many stairs to the entrance and finally stepping inside, I felt an immediate sense of peace. This wasn’t the feeling of awe I had when entering Notre Dame or the breath-taking beauty of Sainte-Chapelle, this was a  feeling of being out of harm’s way. I sat down on a pew toward the back and breathed in the tranquility that surrounded me. I remembered experiencing a similar reaction entering the small, white, clapboard church I grew up in.

Looking back, I wish that I could tell you my experience at Sacre-Coeur brought about a renewal of faith in my life. It did not. For many years, I have had a hit or miss relationship with God. If I am to be honest, it has often been more of a miss. Through the years, I have witnessed the hypocrisy of today’s church and convinced myself that if these were the people that represented God, He wasn’t for me. 

As I became older, it was easier to separate God from religion. I could disagree with many of the terrible things being done in His name and still maintain my faith. I have noticed that, even in the times we are now in, something will be brought to my attention that says to me, “Be still and know that I am God.” In the past few weeks that has included a beautiful rendition of the song, Anthem by Leonard Cohen, an interview with Bishop Michael Curry, and remembering a quote on a bracelet a friend gave me. The quote, “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.”, is from Julian of Norwich. Her writing , over 600 years old, is still reverent today.

My faith is challenged more today, than anytime in my lifetime. How do I rationalize the terrible things said to be done in God’s name with the God I know? I believe God gives us free will and we decide what to do with it. Don’t tell me about your faith in God. Show me. I will know by your actions if you are sincere.