god alone
"Help me, who am alone and have no help but You." —Esther C:14, 25
We have been taught to always have something to fall back on. We have insurance, savings, a nest egg, or an ace in the hole. We avoid ever getting in the position where we would have to depend on God for our next meal.
However, the Lord may be doing something almost the opposite of what we're trying to do. He is trying to strip us and leave us with nothing but Him to depend on. For example, when He sent out His apostles on mission, He commanded: "Provide yourselves with neither gold nor silver nor copper in your belts; no traveling bag, no change of shirt, no sandals, no walking staff" (Mt 10:9-10). Paul described one of his missions thus: "We were left to feel like men condemned to death so that we might trust, not in ourselves, but in God Who raises the dead" (2 Cor 1:9).
Lent is intended to be a desert experience (see Mt 4:1). The Lord wants to take food, comfort, and even some support from our lives. He wants us to know that the people and possessions He has put in our lives are not to be used as crutches; rather, they are to be accepted as gifts from Him. He wants us to know that He can love us without any intermediaries. He wants us to be alone with Him and have no help but Him. Let the Lord lead you into the desert of Lent (Hos 2:16; Jer 2:2).
Prayer: Lord, You only are "my Rock and my Salvation, my Stronghold; I shall not be disturbed at all" (Ps 62:3).
Promise: "If you, with all your sins, know how to give your children what is good, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to anyone who asks Him!" —Mt 7:11
Praise: Refugees from war-torn Africa and Latin America worship together at a parish in Cincinnati. They all have become one in Jesus (1 Cor 12:12).
Rescript: †Most Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Auxiliary Bishop, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, September 28, 2015
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