“OMNIA IN BONUM (Rm 8:28).”
Meaning and application in our Christian life.
We are right to trust completely in our Father God. We may not always understand why certain things happen -setbacks, huge problems, things turn out the way we didn’t expect-.
During these difficult situations, we do not grasp why they should be so, especially when they don’t fit in with our way of thinking. But it is then during which we need to offer filial surrender, abandoning ourselves into God’s hands like a child who knows that his father always gives him what is best and say with faith: Omnia in bonum, that is, All things work unto the good! God has better plans for me and wants me to have recourse to Him with filial abandonment and trust in His Divine Providence.
Sometimes a child is attracted by things that could do him harm; and his father, even though he knows the child is going to be disappointed, has to say no. The child may not understand, but it is for his own good. Everything that happens to us is good and right for us: “for those who love God all things work together for the good (Rm 8:28).”
Our firm belief that God is caring for us “all leads us to be patient. Things are never as we want them to be, but as God’s providence allows: we have to accept them gladly, no matter how they appear. If we see God behind everything we will always be happy and peaceful and never get upset (St. Josemaria).”
Mother Mary, Queen of peace, Cause of our joy, pray for us, especially those who are suffering.
Fr. Rolly Arjonillo
Below you have a beautiful insight from a letter of the Prelate of Opus Dei, Msgr. Fernando Ocariz:
My dear children, may Jesus watch over my daughters and sons for me!
At times during the recent months, especially since the beginning of the world health crisis, we have heard the remark, “Everything will turn out well.” Often this is simply a way to accompany another person during a difficult time. But it can also take on a deeper meaning: that of Saint Paul’s words, which Saint Josemaria condensed in the aspiration omnia in bonum: “We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him” (Rom 8:28).
We can’t always see this good right away. At times we can’t even understand it. The fact that we strive to stay close to God does not shield us from the tiredness, perplexity and suffering that life entails. Still, this closeness can lead us to live everything in a different way. At this time we are also making our own the suffering in Lebanon, transforming it into prayer for the deceased and their families, for so many other people and for the country’s stability.
To truthfully say omnia in bonum is a question of faith and of our correspondence with that faith through the conversion of our heart—our love for God and other men and women—when we are faced with our own and our neighbor’s suffering. With faith we can, one way or another, help to make this good a reality.
Therefore if at times we see our faith weakening, let us pray with a sure trust: Lord, increase my faith (cf. Lk 17:5)—and with faith my love, and with love my hope and joy.
Your Father blesses you with all his affection,
Pamplona, 12 August 2020
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