May 28, 2016 - Saturday

O God, you are my God—
it is you I seek!
For you my body yearns;
for you my soul thirsts,
In a land parched, lifeless,
and without water.
I look to you in the sanctuary
to see your power and glory.
For your love is better than life;
my lips shall ever praise you! (Psalm 63:2-4 NABRE)

When prayer doesn't seem to work, we have another option. When we are desperate, we have more than words and pleading to fall back on. Today's passage is "a psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah." In it we see him, when confronted by his body's primal demand for food and water, turn to God to more than satisfy his need.

Like David, we have recourse to God's unknowable power, even in our deepest need or our darkest hour. And this mindset of praise awakens an understanding that physical needs are not even the most important needs we have.

When prayer alone doesn't work, through the centuries we have come to recognize that fasting amplifies prayer! The simple act of denying ourselves for a period of time, especially when we give up physical comforts, with the stated purpose of pleading that our good intention be satisfied, often moves our Lord to respond. At such times, we get another reminder that the veil between the physical world and the spiritual one often blows in the breeze of love.

And fasting can be done in small ways. As we learn to depend less on the comforts of this world, we rely more on the satisfaction of the Lord.


Today, I will fast along with my prayer, seeking to better recognize the satisfaction of God's mercy and providence.


Venerable Pierre Toussaint, who, when urged to retire and enjoy the wealth he had accumulated, responded, “I have enough for myself, but if I stop working I have not enough for others,” pray for us.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judaean_Desert