Trusting in God’s Goodness

Susan Ciancio reflects on a recent experience that encouraged her to increase her trust in God. 

Ever since my parents passed down a first-class relic of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, I have had a special devotion to her. That devotion joins several others, including Saint Charbel, Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Monica, Blessed Carlo Acutis (who will be canonized September 7, 2025), and Saint Rita. Recently, I needed their intercession more than normal, as I was about to embark on a trip that had me extremely worried. 

In January, I visited a friend out of town. The day before I was supposed to fly home, I felt like I was getting a cold. The next morning, I definitely knew I had a cold, but I figured I would power through and just get home. That was not to be. 

As soon as I sat on the plane, I felt hot and dizzy. I ended up passing out. Long story short, they turned the plane around (thankfully it was only taxiing), called the EMTs, and took me to the hospital, where they found that I had pneumonia. I hadn’t realized I was so sick. 

Fast-forward a few months, when I began to plan a summer trip with my two sons (who are now young adults). Every summer we travel to see a baseball game in a different stadium.  

Because of the experience in January, I was really nervous about flying again, as I just haven’t felt strong or normal since (despite all tests and bloodwork being normal). I have flown hundreds of times in my life, but this trip I truly feared.  

Praying Unceasingly 

I knew I needed the intercession of some of my friends in heaven, so I began three novenas — one to Saint Rita, one to Saint Charbel, and one to the Infant of Prague — asking for strength and good health. And every day I said this prayer to Saint Thérèse:

Saint Thérèse, the Little Flower, please pick me a rose from the heavenly garden and send it to me with a message of love. Ask God to grant me the favor I thee implore, and tell Him I will love Him each day more and more. 

And wow, did she send roses! 

On one spontaneous outing during our trip, we passed a rose garden, filled with acres of beautiful rose bushes. The next morning at breakfast, we sat at a table next to a woman with a rose tattoo on her arm. We later passed Rose Street and a truck with a rose painted on its side. Then, in one airport, we stopped for lunch and ended up sitting next to a man who had a dozen yellow roses in his backpack. Finally, when I disembarked the last flight, two people were waiting for passengers. One had a bouquet of assorted flowers, including a couple of roses, and one had a bouquet of yellow roses. 

I made it through the vacation without any health problems, and for that I am immensely thankful to God and to my heavenly friends. But the whole experience has taught me an important lesson. 

Listening to the Wisdom of Saints 

Padre Pio once said, “Pray, hope, and don’t worry.” But what did I do? I prayed, hoped, and worried. And while my sons probably didn’t notice, that worry occupied a lot of my mind. It didn’t keep me from enjoying the time with them or the trip itself, but it was always there, lurking. 

Reflecting on that, I realize that that is what the devil wants. He wants us to be so focused on momentary concerns and worries that we don’t put all of our trust in God and we forget (even for just a short time) that he is a good dad, who loves us more than we can imagine. Our preoccupation with what could be keeps us from truly enjoying the gifts we actually have, as we allow doubt about the future to sink in. 

That doubt — those minor cracks in faith — damage our relationship with God, and this is certainly pleasing to the devil, for he delights in anything that makes us lose focus on our faith or on our heavenly Father. 

I see now that the lesson here is to trust that God will take care of us, no matter what, and that worrying about what might happen is useless and a waste of precious time. While it’s true that God doesn’t always prevent bad things from happening, when we trust in Him, and when we allow our suffering to serve a purpose, He will always help us derive something good from even the darkest of times.  

So let us trust that God hears our prayers, that he wants what’s good for us, and that even if something bad or uncontrollable happens, he will be right there with us, for his love and mercy are everlasting. 

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Copyright 2025 Susan Ciancio
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