In every age, Oh Lord, you have been our refuge. // Psalm 90:1
Today is my husband’s sixtieth birthday, so it only seems fitting to celebrate him, the gift he has been to me, and the ways he has strengthened my faith.
Our second date was basically dinner and Adoration. I sat there with him before the Blessed Sacrament thinking, Lord, this could work. I soon learned he was a voracious reader and would never watch television—two musts in a life-partner for me. We ran at the same speed, were both deeply introverted, and needed more quiet than most.
But this was my favorite thing: though my husband is Italian and loves to celebrate that fact, he “identifies” as Catholic. It is the first and most defining piece of information he will offer about himself. On principle, he says, it’s the only thing that will last.
Today’s Responsorial Psalm says it so beautifully: “from everlasting to everlasting, you are God” (90:2). Amen to that.
When I was still teaching, I was forever reminding my students that the Church will outlast social and news media, the internet, and whatever technological fad or fancy the world might come up with. I told them that they didn’t need to invest too much in their “profiles” or keeping up with the latest trend. They’d be much better off resting in prayer with God’s Word, relishing a spiritual classic like Abandonment to Divine Providence by Jean Pierre de Caussade or Confessions by Saint Augustine, or delighting in the mystical poetry of Saint John of the Cross or Julian of Norwich. They would do well to turn off whatever screen they were sitting in front of and instead pray with a sunset, or an icon, or a friend.
But more than anything, while the swirling world competed for their attention and wanted to claim their identity, they needed to ground themselves in their true character: son or daughter of the God of Jacob, blood relative to the King of Kings, with the only truly noble lineage there is—child of God.
Reclaim your identity today—as beloved daughter of the Heavenly Father. Then walk through the world testifying to it. He is Everlasting.
Liz Kelly Stanchina is a jazz singer who met Jesus in late-night adoration. She is the community leader for women’s formation at the Word on Fire Institute and the author of more than a dozen award-winning books, including Jesus Approaches, Love Like a Saint, and the Blessed is She Advent devotional A Thrill of Hope. She holds advanced degrees in creative writing and Catholic studies. She is trained as a spiritual director, leading retreats and speaking around the world with a particular focus on helping women to flourish in their faith. Visit her website at LizK.org or follow her on Instagram at LizKToday.
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