When I Cried for Help, the Lord Heard, and Rescued Me From ALL My Troubles

Then Raphael called the two of them privately and said to them, "Bless God and acknowledge him in the presence of all the living for the good things he has done for you. Bless and sing praise to his name. With fitting honour declare to all people the deeds of God. Do not be slow to acknowledge him. It is good to conceal the secret of a king, but to acknowledge and reveal the works of God, and with fitting honour to acknowledge him. Do good, and evil will not overtake you. Prayer with fasting is good, but better than both is almsgiving with righteousness. A little with righteousness is better than wealth with wrongdoing. It is better to give alms than to lay up gold. For almsgiving saves from death and purges away every sin. Those who give alms will enjoy a full life, but those who commit sin and do wrong are their own worst enemies."

~ St. Raphael the Archangel, Tobit 12:6-10

As 2014 comes to a close I think I am going to take this as my advice for the new year. This year has flat out sucked at times. Like a Dyson. I mean seriously. My "Head Librarian" for 75% of the year was a Napoleonic termagent with delusions of grandeur and all the tact and refinement of a New York taxi driver but then I got laid off from the job that was not only part time but paid peanuts. My car is a hot mess, and don't talk to me about the hole I am in financially due to some choices SO not of my own making, More than once this year I had to choose between being medicated and feeding my kid or eating and having lights, water, and heat. You talk about robbing Peter to pay Paul and lying to Mary about the check in the mail? I didn't even bother. What was the point? I just told the collectors I didn't have the money and I'd get it to them when I did, and if they didn't stop asking me dumb questions I was going to stop answering the phone.

But then I look back and I see that whenever there was a difficulty...There was a way out. My church and priest came through for me on so many occasions. There is nothing like being part of a church that truly believes that they cannot say to the poor, "Go in peace, be warm, eat your fill" (James 2:15-17) without helping them, practically, with the means to do so.

At my job, I had so many coworkers and students who made my day joyful and bright that, Napoleonic termagent or no, I loved to go to work. For the first time in my entire twenty-five years of working, I did not go to bed thinking up ways not to go to work.

After I was laid off, I had time to think, pray, and plan. In that time I had the opportunity to take a (finanically inadequate) position in my home state. After some consultation with some of the wisest folks I know, I was determined to stay where I am. Why? Because this is where I truly believe God wants me. My son is here. My church is here. And as much as I love my blood family, the family I chose is here. So, in faith, I trusted God and turned down what seemed like the only port in a storm that had raged for the last seven years.

Then I met St Joseph. Again. A few years ago, after being sincerely disillusioned by the evProtestant church, I was on my journey to find my spiritual home. At the time, I was considering Roman Catholicism (and I still have a great fondness for several saints of the RC church because they pointed me East to Orthodoxy, but that is another blog post) and I was in dire straits at home. I asked, for the first time, the help of St Joseph and he came through like a champ. During the past few months, I read over and over the words of other saints who took St Joseph as their "advocate and comforter". To quote St Teresa of Avila,

"His aid has brought me more good than I ever desired to receive from him. ...I am quite amazed at the great favors Our Lord has given me, and the many dangers, both of soul and body, from which He has delivered me through the intercession of this blessed saint! 

I had heeded the advice of St Teresa in the past but now both she and St Faustina, whose Diary I read during this time, pointed me toward the foster-father of Our Lord.

And once again, St Joseph's prayers availed much. Within a week of my first prayer asking for his intercession on my behalf, I ran into an old classmate who told me about a position where he was working and that they were in need of help. I applied and a few weeks later I had the interview and today I have a job that pays so miuch more than I ever thought I would earn. It more than doubles the salary at my old position, and is almost twice as much as the job I turned down. My manager is a decent human being who understands that  you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar and my co-workers are just a fun a group as the ones I left.

Because of this position I will be able not only to repay my church, not because I "owe" them or because of a debt hanging over my head, but because I know how important it is for that well to remain as full as possible so that others can benefit from the practical as well as the spiritual help Fr N and All Saints can provide for them.

And now I will be able to give alms. It has been a pain to me to not be able to give to those I see who are in need. I have had so many friends who gave me money, paid a bill, put gas in my car, fixed my car, fed me, bought my meds...Whatever. They did not ask for repayment but now that I can I will and I will also be able to pay it forward in the little ways that help a person get by from day to day.

On top of all that, another blessing in disguise was given to me. It was wrapped in what felt at the time like yet another attempt to take something away from me but now, looking back, I see that it was another answered prayer. I asked a long time ago for my freedom and to be left alone. And now I have received this and it is a load off that I never realized I was carrying. I can only thank God for His infinite wisdom in this particular thing.

I. AM. FREE.

I will bless the Lord at all times;
   his praise shall continually be in my mouth. 
My soul makes its boast in the Lord;
   let the humble hear and be glad. 
O magnify the Lord with me,
   and let us exalt his name together. 
I sought the Lord, and he answered me,
   and delivered me from all my fears. 
Look to him, and be radiant;
   so your* faces shall never be ashamed. 
This poor soul cried, and was heard by the Lord,
   and was saved from every trouble. 
The angel of the Lord encamps
   around those who fear him, and delivers them. 
O taste and see that the Lord is good;
   happy are those who take refuge in him. 
O fear the Lord, you his holy ones,
   for those who fear him have no want. 
The young lions suffer want and hunger,
   but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. 
Come, O children, listen to me;
   I will teach you the fear of the Lord. 
Which of you desires life,
   and covets many days to enjoy good? 
Keep your tongue from evil,
   and your lips from speaking deceit. 
Depart from evil, and do good;
   seek peace, and pursue it. 
The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
   and his ears are open to their cry. 
The face of the Lord is against evildoers,
   to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. 
When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears,
   and rescues them from all their troubles. 
The Lord is near to the broken-hearted,
   and saves the crushed in spirit. 
Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
   but the Lord rescues them from them all. 
He keeps all their bones;
   not one of them will be broken. 
Evil brings death to the wicked,
   and those who hate the righteous will be condemned. 
The Lord redeems the life of his servants;
   none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.
~Psalm 34

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, please continue to have mercy on me, a sinner.

Relevant Reading 
The Book of Tobit
Tobit 12:6-10
Archangel Raphael and the Book of Tobit
James 2:15-17
A Prayer for Divine Mercy