It's never too late to walk with God

By Mary Regina Morrell
Catholic Online

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9

One of the best gifts I ever received came from my mom, who nurtured in me a deep love of music. As a child I grew up listening to her 45s and 78s, the house filled with an eclectic sound - tenor idol Mario Lanza or western idol Gene Autrey; operatic soprano Maria Calas or home spun legend Burl Ives; singing sweethearts Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy or rat pack pals Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra; music from Mozart's opera The Marriage of Figaro or musicals like Flower Drum Song.

Among her favorites, without a doubt, was the musical The Student Prince, in which Mario Lanza's pure tenor voice was the singing voice of the character, Prince Karl. One of the most beautiful songs from this musical, sung of course by Mario Lanza, left a strong impression on me and has been among the most meaningful pieces of music for me to this day. "I'll Walk With God" has been reflective of what I want for my own spiritual journey and speaks clearly of the source of any strength I may have found along the way. It is the title I chose six years ago for my monthly spiritual formation newsletter and a song I sing often in the privacy of my own home as a prayer, of sorts.

The image of walking with God is one that I have kept before me during all of life's ups and downs, in the joys and in the heartaches. Often I would find myself repeating some of the lyrics in order to give myself courage: "I'll walk with God, I'll take His hand, I'll talk with God, He'll understand, I'll pray to Him, each day to Him, And He'll hear the words that I say, His hand will guide my throne and rod, And I'll never walk alone, while I walk with God."

But sometimes, it would seem that I had fallen along the way and that God was walking a little too fast for me to catch up.

No matter how much I called or stretched out my hand God was just out of reach.

That's when a new image was called for, and God delivered what was needed in a most appropriate manner for me through another song -- "In Heavenly Love Abiding."

One day, a friend who shares my passion for old books, gave me an old hymnal he had found in a second hand bookstore. In it was a lovely hymn with lyrics written by Anna L. Waring to music composed by Felix Mendelssohn.

There, in the third verse, was the new insight that has helped me to keep moving forward: "Green pastures are before me, Which yet I have not seen; Bright skies will soon be o'er me, Where darkest clouds have been. My hope I cannot measure; My path to life is free; My savior has my treasure, And He will walk with me."

He will walk with me - now I could see it.

As a parent I had spent many days walking with my young children, keeping their pace, stopping when they stopped to look at something of interest, never letting them get out of my reach. How often I had seen my own father do the same thing with my children, stopping to investigate some treasure under the rock, or standing by the side of the road while little legs unwrapped themselves from some nearby tree.

I smiled at the thought of God stopping and waiting for me to finish with whatever had distracted me at the moment.

Truly, I had been walking with God, but not so much as God had been walking with me -- will walk with each of us -- as long as he has the invitation to be our companion or we accept the invitation to be his.

We ask you, humbly, to help.

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Contact

Diocese of Metuchen
http://www.diometuchen.org NJ, US
Mary Regina Morrell - Associate Director, Office of Religious Education, 732 562-1990

Email

mmorrell@diometuchen.org

Keywords

God, walk with God, Mario Lanza, music,

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