pastor’s corner

Sunday, August 16, 2026

“Learning to Trust God”

by Deacon Jason Lampron (guest writer)

     As I write this, our family has just returned from a week’s vacation on Cape Cod. After the unpacking, the laundry, and the realization that, somehow, we brought home more sand than we thought possible, I have been thinking about how quickly our children have grown up. My wife Stacy and I have been married for just over 24 years, and we have been blessed with three daughters. Raising three little girls into young adults has taught me many things—patience, humility, the importance of listening, and perhaps, most importantly, that I don’t always know what is best! As parents, one of the hardest things to learn is when to help, when to speak, when to remain silent, and when simply to trust. That last one can be especially difficult. We naturally want to protect our children. We want to make the right decisions for them. We want to prevent them from experiencing disappointment, failure, heartache, and pain. We want to know that they will be okay. But, eventually, every parent comes to the realization that we cannot control everything. Our children have their own choices to make, their own paths to discover, and their own relationship with God to develop. We know they are going to fall, and it is probably going to hurt us more than it will hurt them. That is where faith becomes more than something we talk about at church. It becomes something we have to live. Father Kwang preached last weekend beautifully, challenging us to increase our faith. That stuck with me all this past week, and I pray that it did with you as well. This Sunday’s Gospel gives us a remarkable example of that kind of faith. A Canaanite woman comes to Jesus, because her daughter is suffering. She pleads with Him: “Lord, help me.” Jesus does not immediately give her the answer she wants. In fact, He appears to remain silent. Yet she doesn’t walk away. She continues to trust. She continues to ask. She continues to believe that Jesus is the one who can help her daughter. And eventually Jesus says to her, “O woman, great is your faith!” Her daughter is healed. I think there is something especially powerful here for parents. How many times have we prayed for our children? We pray that they will be safe. We pray that they will make good choices and wise decisions. We pray that they will find good friends. We pray they will drive safely. We pray that they will know how much they are loved. We pray that they will keep God at the center of their lives. Sometimes we wonder if God is listening. Sometimes we don’t get the answer we hoped for. Sometimes God seems silent. The Canaanite woman reminds us that God’s silence is not the same as God’s absence. Faith doesn’t mean that we understand everything God is doing. Faith means that we continue to trust Him even when we don’t. As parents, this can be one of the greatest acts of faith we can offer—not only praying for our children but placing them into God’s hands. Truly taking to heart the words, “Jesus I trust in you!” Our family vacation was a wonderful reminder of how blessed we are to have time together. But vacations end and life continues to move on. Children grow quickly. Seasons change. Our three girls are already young women starting to make decisions of their own that will affect their lives forever. I have come to terms with the fact that my wife and I cannot control the future. But we can trust the One who holds the future—Jesus. And perhaps that is the lesson God is teaching me at this stage of my life: my job isn’t to have all the answers. My job is to have faith and keep bringing my family to Jesus. Sometimes that means praying together. Sometimes it means Mass when everyone would rather sleep in. Sometimes it means forgiving one another. Sometimes it means having a difficult conversation. And sometimes it means simply letting go and saying, “Lord, help me. I trust You with the people I love.” After 24 years of marriage and three young adult daughters, I am still learning that lesson. Maybe we all are. The Canaanite woman didn’t have the answers. She simply had faith. And Jesus called that great faith; and that gives me hope. May we have the courage to pray as she did, especially for the people we love most: “Lord, help me.” And then, even when we don’t understand His plan, may we have the faith to trust Him always. Peace & Blessings, Deacon Jason