God uses metaphor of an eagle’s wings to encourage trust in him

Published: May 7, 2005

By Father Raphael Kitz, OCD

A teaching that runs through the Scriptures and is found in all Christian literature is that of entrusting one’s life and destiny to the Lord. One of the ways this lesson can be learned is to reflect on the verb “to carry” or “be carried.” To entrust oneself to the Lord is to let oneself be carried, guided, lifted by him. He has the initiative and the primacy. In the Book of Exodus after the Israelites were delivered from Egyptian slavery and brought to the foot of Mt. Sinai, the Lord speaks through Moses saying, “You have seen what I have done to the Egyptians and have bore you on eagles wings to myself.” He does not say to Mt. Sinai, but to himself, his presence and face. The image of the eagle returns again in Deuteronomy in Moses’ last speech to the people before his death. The eagle’s actions are elaborated to such an extent that they symbolize how the Lord’s presence and action surrounds and penetrates the whole existence of his chosen ones. The Lord like an eagle hovers over, spreading his wings, taking them up, bearing them aloft on his wings. It is as though Moses is saying that the Lord is the center and periphery of their lives, that they should learn to entrust themselves to the Divine Eagle. There is a parable in the writings of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, who was made a doctor of the Church by Pope John Paul II, that illustrates this truth in a simple, profound way. It was written within the last year of her life. At that time she was suffering from the illness that would end her life. Besides suffering physically she was undergoing severe trials in her faith. She talks about a darkness that enshrouds her soul and the voice of the unbeliever crying out within her, “What you hope for will not be, what awaits you is the night of absolute nothingness.” What she learned at that time was to entrust herself to the Lord and let herself be carried. In the parable of St. Thérèse she speaks of herself as a weak little bird. It flaps its wings, but cannot fly. It is powerless to do so, but it has an eagle’s eyes that keep its gaze fixed on the sun. In the terminology of the saint, the eyes of the small bird are her faith and the sun is the mystery of the Trinity. She gives a number of names to this mystery: “Divine Furnace,” “Sun of Love,” “Star of Love,” “Consuming Fire,” “Invisible Light.” She calls the trials of her faith at this time clouds that obstruct her vision, but make her cry out, “I know that behind the clouds my sun is still shining.” Finally, the eyes of her faith see something at the center of this burning sun, an eagle, Jesus Christ himself, whom she calls her adored eagle. It was her prayer that he comes to take her to himself on an eagle’s wings and plunge her for all eternity into the burning furnace of the Trinity. Pope John Paul II is very much on our minds and in our hearts at this time. We have witnessed how he entrusted himself and his destiny to the tri-personal God. In his last will and testimony he prayed, “I am completely in your hands.” His work of making the mystery of the triune God enter more and more deeply into the Christian consciousness cannot be measured. Everywhere he spoke of this mystery. He lives in the sphere of this great truth. We can say of him that Jesus Christ, the Divine Eagle, swooped down and plunged him into the mystery he loved so much. Father Raphael Kitz, OCD, is novice master at Marylake Monastery in Little Rock.

This article was originally published in Arkansas Catholic May 7, 2005. Copyright Diocese of Little Rock. All rights reserved. This article may be copied or redistributed with acknowledgement and permission of the publisher.