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The rollercoaster that describes our faith, physical health

By Father Dennis Meinen
View from the scooter

Is your faith steady or is it like a roller coaster with its ups and downs and its low points and high points?

When I was in high school my brother who is a year older than I am, convinced me to go to the Rivercade in Sioux City. My brother Jim convinced me to get on this ride called, "The Bullet." Not only would the bullet go round and round like a roller coaster, but each individual "rocket ship" would go round and round. I had an idea of the utter fear I would experience when I heard myself screaming as they loaded other passengers in their bullets and we started moving. I remember only two things as we started going really fast, moving, twisting, flipping and rolling. I remember how my brother was laughing in utter delight, and I also remember how the centrifugal forces kept me from reaching his throat. When it was over, even though it seemed like there were thousands of people outside ready to board the bullet, I remember I was able to find the only open space in the park and you can guess what I did, over and over again.

I want to talk about roller coasters. Not the kind that I avoid now, but the roller coaster that sometimes describes our faith and physical health. Is your faith steady or is it like a roller coaster with its ups and downs and its low points and high points? Do you “bounce around” between good and bad moods, depending on how you feel?

The readings for the 2nd Sunday of Lent should help. In this gospel, the faith of Peter, James and John is bright and strong as we heard about the mountain where the Transfiguration of Jesus took place when His divinity shone in a way the disciples had never before witnessed. But in a few weeks their faith would hit bottom on another mountain, the Mount of Olives when they panicked and ran for their lives as Jesus was arrested in the garden of Gethsemane and led away to suffer and die.

Has your faith been tested after the death of a loved one, financial problems, family worries or your health fails? When this happens, we might also doubt God, but if we trust our Father as our Lord did , God will not let us down. Even Jesus felt frustration from the cross as He cried out, "My God, my God, why did You abandon Me? But we are a people of the resurrection and we believe that when this ride ends, we will have a new life with God if we've been faithful to God and the Ten Commandments and trusted God, even in our darkest hour.

The Apostle James puts it this way: "Happy is the person who remains faithful under trials, because when he succeeds in passing such a test, he will receive as his reward' the life which God has promised to those who love him.”