March 12, Thursday Lenten Weekday

Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.--Psalm 40:5

Mass readings: Jeremiah 17:5-10 / Luke 16:19-31

Drought and Fruit

The summer of 2007-2008 (December through March where I live!) went on interminably for us in the Wellington area. The sun shone day after day. The ground dried and cracked. The fruit trees showed signs of stress. Any rain which fell in the country landed somewhere else.

Sometimes my spiritual life can be just like that. There is no joy in prayer, no apparent advancement in virtue. I attend Mass and receive Holy Communion without any devotion. But God tells me He alone ''probes the mind and tests the heart.'' No matter how little satisfaction I receive from my efforts, He can see whether I trust Him, where my hope lies. So in the midst of my spiritual drought, the fruit can still be on the tree, even if I can't see it.

Prayer: Lord, teach me to trust that You see where my heart is.