“How happy does our Lord make me, and how sweet and easy is His service on this earth! He has always given me what I desired, or rather He has made me desire what He wishes to give…When the Divine Master tells me to give to whoever asks of me, and to let what is mine be taken without asking it again, it seems to me that He speaks not only of the goods of earth, but also of the goods of Heaven. Besides, neither one nor the other are really mine.”
Thérèse de Lisieux (1873-1897) in The Story of a Soul, X, “The New Commandment” as recounted in Lent and Easter Wisdom from Thérèse de Lisieux, comp. John Cleary (Liguori: Liguori, 2015) 41.
Today’s reading illustrates the transformations that happen within us as we practice the disciplines of prayer and giving. Linked to prayer, how often do we we desire Him and a list of other things, and in our seeking, find that He is all we need, and then from His abundance we receive even more.
Then regarding giving, once we find ourselves with far more than we need, which has all come to us from His hand, rather than enjoying and sharing these material and spiritual provisions we often clutch them too closely. Along these lines, the Apostle Peter might offer this reminder:
His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 2 Peter 1:3.
When we live according to this reality, how happy we are! But it does not stop there. “His divine power” propels to action. Will it have that impact on us? Now that we realize we have “everything we need,” will we share from our goods of earth and from the goods of Heaven that all belong to the Master anyway?