Now I know that God is with me. In God, in whose promise I glory, in God I trust without fear. // Psalm 56: 10c-12
I ran up the stairs at the end of busy, high-school Monday, smack into my twin brother who was coming down the stairs in an apparently providential meeting—for him.
He wanted the car keys even though a) it was my day with the car and needed to get to tennis and b) he just wanted to hang with his buddies.
Anger rose in my chest as I prepared to not-so-charitably tell him what I thought of his proposal.
Then for the first time in our relationship, I didn’t yell or get annoyed. I took a deep breath, and an incredible peace flooded my soul. All the words I wanted to say fled, along with the desire to say them.
Calmly and rationally, I explained that I needed the car and couldn’t change my plans last minute. I walked away peaceful and calm—still going up the stairs, of course, while he huffed off to complain to his friends.
As I drove to the tennis courts, I was slightly in shock at how calm I had managed to be and realized the reason for it.
I had just come from a retreat with the Eucharist at its literal center. All weekend my heart had been tilled, nourished, and made fertile ground for the Word of God. I could say with the Psalmist, “Now I know that God is with me. In God, in whose promise I glory, in God I trust without fear”(Responsorial Psalm). It was from that place of confidence in the Lord that I was able to respond in charity to my brother.
Sister, when we allow our hearts to be rich soil and embrace the Word with generous hearts, we bear fruit—fruits of patience, peace, and gentleness.
Where do you need to grow in your confidence in the Lord’s presence in your heart? Where are the thorns that choke off its fruitfulness and leave you anxious and worried?
Jesus, may Your Word penetrate my heart today, clear away the rocky ground, and take root in the fertile soil of my heart.
Embrace the word. // Sister Maria Fatima @sistersofmaryop Click to tweet
Sister Maria Fatima grew up in Rhode Island and entered the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist in 2005. She holds a MA in Theology from the Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity. Sister is in her eleventh year of enlightening middle school minds and drawing hearts to Jesus while teaching religion and history. She currently resides at the motherhouse in Ann Arbor, MI, having previously taught in Texas, Florida, and Ohio. She is a contributing author to our Lent devotional All She Had.
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