Some time ago I had the grace of accompanying an interesting fellow at the hospital. When he died I was gently invited to lead his funeral. At the funeral Mass in one of the greatest Churches we have in Malta many people turned out wearing red clothes. Upon inquiring I got to know that he was a great soccer fan of Liverpool Football Club.
After Mass, exactly on the big and spacious Church parvis, many people chanted the song You’ll never walk alone. As many would know this is an anthem that resounds through Anfield, the home of Liverpool Football Club. On television and social media one could really appreciate the packed stadium chanting, at the top of their voice and with a great heart, the song You’ll Never Walk Alone. The enmasse stadium, full of Reds supporters, before every game, reminds their team and all people around them that they will never walk alone.
Originally this song was written by Oscar Hammerstein II and composed by Richard Rodgers for their 1945 musical, Carousel. You’ll Never Walk Alone is a song of hope and camaraderie during hardship. Due to its powerful thrust of hope You’ll Never Walk Alone spawned many a cover. One of these most famous covers was certainly a 1963 version by the famed local group, Gerry and the Pacemakers. Their song had the most success of all the iterations, earning them a chart-topping tune and a place in hometown football history.
The song has lived on as Liverpool’s anthem for decades with other English football teams incorporating the tune during their games, as well. However, You’ll Never Walk Alone has since had a new meaning and is now a song of remembrance for the Liverpool club. Following the Hillsborough disaster of 1989 wherein 96 fans lost their lives, the lyrics became even more profound as they resound throughout the stadium. Liverpool fans, even those long since gone, will never walk alone.
Metaphorically speaking even Jesus sings You’ll Never Walk Alone within the Diary of St Faustina. In fact, Jesus’ message or rendition to the famous song You’ll Never Walk Alone is: I am with you. Already in the Bible we find this powerful message of hope and camaraderie of the Lord some 15 times. Here are the quotations which amply show this very powerful fact.
And the Lord appeared to him the same night and said, I am the God of Abraham your father; fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your descendants for my servant Abraham’s sake (Gen 26:24). Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done that of which I have spoken to you (Gen 28:15). Fear not, for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand(Isa.41:10). Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you (Isa. 43:5). Be not afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord. They will fight against you; but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, says the Lord, to deliver you (Jer 1:8.19). And I will make you to this people a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you, but they shall not prevail over you, for I am with you to save you and deliver you, says the Lord (Jer 15:20). For I am with you to save you, says the Lord; I will make a full end of all the nations among whom I scattered you, but of you I will not make a full end. I will chasten you in just measure, and I will by no means leave you unpunished (Jer 30:11).
Do not fear the king of Babylon, of whom you are afraid; do not fear him, says the Lord, for I am with you, to save you and to deliver you from his hand (Jer 42:11). Fear not, O Jacob my servant, says the Lord, for I am with you. I will make a full end of all the nations to which I have driven you, but of you I will not make a full end. I will chasten you in just measure, and I will by no means leave you unpunished (Jer 46:28).
Then Haggai, the messenger of the Lord, spoke to the people with the Lord‘s message, “I am with you, says the Lord” (Hag 1:13). Yet now take courage, O Zerub’babel, says the Lord; take courage, O Joshua, son of Jehoz’adak, the high priest; take courage, all you people of the land, says the Lord; work, for I am with you, says the Lord of hosts (Hag 2:4). Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age (Matt 28:20). Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, `Where I am going you cannot come.’ (John 13:33). For I am with you, and no man shall attack you to harm you; for I have many people in this city (Acts 18:10).
Upon meditating upon these interesting and profound biblical texts one thing emerges crystal clear: how they resonate with what is written in St Faustina’s Diary. For instance, St Faustina had to face not the king of Babylon or enemies of flesh and blood but Satan himself.
I just want to remind you of entry 129 of her Diary when she recounts her meeting with Satan. She writes: Satan always takes advantage of such moments; thoughts of discouragement began to rise to the surface-for your faithfulness and sincerity-this is your reward. How can one be sincere when one is so misunderstood? Jesus, Jesus, I cannot go on any longer. Again I fell to the ground under this weight, and I broke out in a sweat, and fear began to overcome me. I had no one to lean on interiorly. Suddenly I heard a voice within my soul, Do not fear; I am with you. And an unusual light illumined my mind, and I understood that I should not give in to such sorrows. I was filled with a certain strength and left my cell with new courage to suffer. Hence, here the You’ll Never Walk Alone of Jesus for Faustina meant that his presence will act as light of understanding and the most powerful shield against discouragement. Jesus was for her like that fortified wall of Bronze which the Prophet Jeremiah speaks of (Jer 15:20).
Another shadow of meaning which clearly shines through these biblical quotes is that obeying the Lord opens the person to access God’s presence. Jesus said to his to his apostles: Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age (Matt 28:20). In St Faustina’s case this happened through her actual and continual obedience to Jesus in her confessor. In entry 639 of her Diary we encounter the following counsel given to her by Jesus wherein he emphasizes with St Faustina her total obedience to her confessor as being obedience to him personally:
Thursday. During the evening adoration, I saw Jesus scourged and tortured. He said to me, My daughter, I desire that even in the smallest things, you rely on your confessor. Your greatest sacrifices do not please Me if you practice them without the confessor’s permission; on the other hand, the smallest sacrifice finds great value in My eyes, if it is done with his permission. The greatest works are worthless in My eyes if they are done out of self-will, and often they are not in accord with My will and merit punishment rather than reward. And on the other hand, even the smallest of your acts, done with the confessor’s permission is pleasing in My eyes and very dear to Me. Hold firmly to this always. Be constantly on the watch, for many souls will turn back from the gates of hell and worship My mercy. But fear nothing, as I am with you. Know that of yourself you can do nothing.
In another part of the Diary St Faustina uses the I am with you formula to affirm her total allegiance to Jesus. In number 670 she confides to Jesus: O Jesus, my Master and my Director, it is only with You that I can converse. With no one else is it so easy to talk as with You, O God.
Finally, the biblical quotes wherein the Lord explicitly said to the person involved I am with you where said when that person was in a very uncomfortable, unsafe and even painful situation. The same can be said of Faustina’s situation when she was somewhat overcome by the fear that [she] was to be outside the community for so long a time alone (Diary, 797). To her concern Jesus replied in the following manner: You will not be alone, because I am with you always and everywhere. Near to My Heart, fear nothing. I myself am the cause of your departure. Know that My eyes follow every move of your heart with great attention. I am bringing you into seclusion so that I myself may form your heart according to My future plans. What are you afraid of? If you are with Me, who will dare touch you? Nevertheless, I am very pleased that you confide your fears to Me, My daughter: Speak to Me about everything in a completely simple and human way; by this you will give Me great joy. I understand you because I am God-Man. This simple language of your heart is more pleasing to Me than the hymns composed in My honor. Know, My daughter, that the simpler your speech is, the more you attract Me to yourself. And now, be at peace close to My Heart. Lay your pen aside and get ready to leave (Diary, 797).
Again, in the life of St Faustina, Jesus would step in when she was caught up in the most uncomfortable situations. Entry 1674 seems to hammer this important point: April 20, [1938]. Departure for Pradnik. I was very worried that I would be put in bed in a ward and be exposed to all sorts of things. If it were to be for only a week or two… but it is for such a long time, two months or perhaps more. In the evening, I went in for a long talk with the Lord Jesus. When I saw the Lord Jesus, I poured out my whole heart before Him, all my troubles, fears and apprehensions. Jesus lovingly listened to me and then said, Be at peace, My child, I am with you. Go in great peace. All is ready; I have ordered, in My own special way, a private room to be prepared for you. Reassured and overwhelmed with gratitude, I went to bed.
From what we can conclude is that Jesus is the perfect singer of the song You’ll Will Never Walk Alone because he is the eternal assurance in itself we all crave to have. Talking to him is tantamount to talking to the best counsellor ever. Nevertheless, as God-Man, he would also pin point to us the right people to whom we can pour our heart to and he wonderfully acts in them for our greatest benefit. Lastly, when we are overwhelmed and go to Jesus to share our heart with him his response would be the following: Be at peace; I am with you (Diary, 1676). What a great consolation would that be for us that after hearing this assuring word we would simply fall asleep in his arms as St Faustina did on that day (see Diary, 1676). Is this not the actual completion of what Psalm 131 tells us: O Lord, my heart is not lifted up, my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a child quieted at its mother’s breast; like a child that is quieted is my soul. O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth and for evermore (Ps 131:1-3)?
How beautiful, transforming and life-giving is the I am with you of Our Lord!