Between the Rock and the Hard Place

Journal prompt

Between the Rock and the Hard Place, a Wellspring of Joy

My strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9), our Lord reassures St. Paul.

We see this truth in St. Morwenna, who expends her life to bring joy to the people of Cornwall, symbolized by the springing forth of a water source in the cliffside spot where her strength was spent.

We see it also in the cave where Christ is born. The Almighty expresses the fullness of His love in the person of Jesus, who comes as a tiny baby in a mucky stable to share every corner of human life, even our vulnerability and pain.

We see it throughout our Lord’s ministry, where He bends down to the stone floor to wash a tax collector’s feet and allows His own feet to be cleaned by a prostitute. He is the stone the builders rejected, at home not among the wealthy and the noble but among ordinary people like us.

We see it in His rocky Tomb, where the salvation of the world takes place through a criminal’s death. The Light of the World descends into Hades, enlightening the souls overshadowed by darkness.

We may see it in our own lives, too, where in our meager, sinful, needy, and stony hearts, a spring of water wells up to eternal life. Strength made perfect in weakness: what does this mean in your life?