The Hand of the Lord


July 29

“The eyes of all look hopefully to you, and you give them their food in due season; you open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.”

Let’s break this apart.

We all look to Him. He gives, He provides. He satisfies. Hopeful. Due Season. Desires.

When we look to our Father, our heart must be hopeful that He can, and will, provide. Yet, it’s so easy to get impatient, worried, afraid… and we try and do it on our own.
He provides for us in due season; this means He gives us what He wants us to have in His time… not ours.

Finally, our desires must be pure… they must be His desires for us.

When I stop and reread the above passage, I am reminded how good He is… how perfect His timing is… and how lovely the desires of my heart are when in line with His perfection.

My Father truly has, does, and will continue to provide all the needs and wants of my heart.

And He will do the same for you.
Entrust this to Him. Have faith He will provide. And let go.

One Day in your Courts


July 28

“I had rather one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I had rather lie at the threshold of the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.”

“No, if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them. Let them grow together until harvest; then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters, ‘First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning; but gather the wheat into my barn.’”

These are two of my favorite verses in Scripture (I know I say that a lot), and how perfectly do they go together!

Getting to spend one day with our Lord supersedes any day anywhere else; so how important is it that I make sure the garden of my heart is full of wheat… and not weeds!
You see, what we do matters; who we are matters; how we treat others matters.

Our actions are a reflection of what we believe. If we truly believe He is who He says He is, then we are who He says we are— His people. Thus, our actions should reflect that.

Let’s keep in mind how beautiful our days with Him will be, because of how beautiful they currently are. And while we are at it, let’s live it!

Four Choices


July 27

Four choices:

A. The seed sown on the path
B. The seed sown on rocky ground
C. The seed sown among thorns
D. The seed sown on rich soil

I remember reading this passage years ago and thinking I was for sure living as if I was the seed sown among rich soil; how could I not be?! And then God started to pull up the roots… and I realized I was no where near rich soil. And He replanted me.

Our lives are full of opportunities to explore where we are. Every day is a new opportunity to dig and replant. Looking at the root is so important. We cannot fully become all we were created to be if we are not planted deep in rich soil.

Reread the Gospel tonight, and ask our Lord where you are. Then, ask Him to uproot you, and plant you amongst the most fertile of soil. Then, watch Him water the garden of your soul. You’ll be blooming in no time!

A Deacon/Doctor Confronts Humanae Vitae (Part Three)

After accepting and even celebrating Humanae Vitae and its teachings about love and marriage, in this third part of the series, Deacon Pat discusses options for couples and explains the harm that can be done to both families and society when God’s plan for the creation of life is disobeyed.

Read the rest…

Blessed are You


July 26

“But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear.”

If you look back over your life, do you recognize the presence of God at work even in challenging times? When you stop to appreciate how far your spiritual journey has led you, do you see how much more wisdom you have today than years before?

There’s a real virtue in wisdom and to be able to know our Lord’s voice is a grace. How often we should attune our ears to hear that voice throughout the day!

If you were to make a list of three things in your life that our Father has let you see, what would those be? Now, what about the things He asks of you, but you pretend to not hear? What changes does He want you to make in order for you to truly know how blessed you really are? Open your eyes and your ears- He is calling out to you! Oh, how much He loves each of us, as if we were the only one!