One Minute Reflection – 19 October – Today’s Gospel: Luke 12:1–7 – Friday of the Twenty-eighth week in Ordinary Time, Year B and the Memorial of St Peter of Alcantara OFM (1499-1562)
“Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered.
Fear not, you are of more value than many sparrows.”...Luke 12:7
REFLECTION – “Strain not after tears, strive not for sentiments of devotion, do not force your heart. Rest rather in interior solitude. Dwell therein quietly, waiting until God’s will be accomplished in you. When it shall please Him to send you tears, oh, how sweet will those tears be, for is not your impatience that has secured them: they are the fruits of humility and of peace. On your part, then, you must receive them with the deepest self-effacement, allowing God to work in you. Note well, that if ever you fancy this desire or the securing of these affections to be in any measure due to yourself, you will infallibly expose yourself to the losing of them.”…St Peter of Alcantara – Treatise on Prayer and Meditation’
“In the face of all of these fears, which are instilled by the “virus”, by the “leaven of Pharisee-like hypocrisy”, we should be comforted by what Jesus tells us – There is a Father. There is a Father who loves you. There is a Father who cares for you.”…Pope Francis – Santa Marta, 16 October 2015
PRAYER – My Lord and patient God, help me to practice patience in doing good. No matter what may occur, allow me to face each day with quiet courage and without complaint, knowing You are always at my side and that all is part of Your divine plan. I pray for total abandonment to Your Will. Grant that by the intercession of St Peter of Alcantara, we may grow in trust, leaving all in our Father’s hands. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
AnaStpaul 