Translating a World on the Edge

Mother Angelica, founder of EWTN said: Some people say I am a woman of great faith. I’m really a coward who keeps moving forward.

Wow! Do I agree with that!

Going backward is silly. Going forward is, at the very least, sensible. I know that. Except, many times I’m a coward about moving forward, because what’s ahead might mean danger, difficulty, opposition or pain. I don’t want any of that.

So maybe I think about quitting, because I want to avoid the hard work it will take to accomplish something–even if I know it’s worthwhile in the long run. It maybe the same for you, too, at times.

So what keeps us going? Is it just the process of putting one foot in front of the other? In a way, it is. But what pushes us to make that effort?

One answer is Faith.

The definition of Faith is the complete trust or confidence in someone or something. But often, when we’re going forward, it’s hard to have faith in ourselves. We need some real meaning for why we’re even trying at all. And we need confidence in someone beyond our cowardly self to give us that meaning.

Sometimes, the impetus beyond ourselves is our children, our spouse, a good friend, or God.
But in order to move forward, we must put our trust in–or have Faith–in someone else. And we must love that someone else as much as we love ourselves.

Love for someone else is what gives us courage. Love gives us the courage to act–in fact, love is an action. It takes us through danger, difficulty, opposition, and pain. And it is the great impetus of love between people that causes us to put one foot in front of the other in the often painstaking task of moving forward.