STEP #1: LECTIO / READToday's reading is the Responsorial Psalm: STEP #2: MEDITATIO / MEDITATE“Uh God…I know it’s been awhile but I could really use your help… I promise I won’t ever mess up again…” Sound familiar? A lot of sitcoms and movies have this very bit, where the main character, who may not be the most virtuous, hits a stumbling block and as a last ditch effort calls up to heaven in hopes of bargaining with the Divine Creator. We may laugh off this encounter, but there’s a reason we laugh. It resonates with us. It calls back to the times we’ve done the same. We try so hard to solve all our problems and heal all our wounds on our own to the point of desperation. We may then, after trying everything else, cry out to Him in our hopelessness. The psalm today doesn’t say the Lord will help us with whatever issues we have if we promise to give Him something in return; it says ‘The Lord is near to all who call upon Him.’ The Lord wants to be near to you. He wants you to be perfectly happy. He wants your problems solved and your wounds healed. But even more than those issues being resolved, He wants to be near you in every struggle. There may have been a time in your spiritual journey where you had really good habits in turning to God daily and offering your whole self to Him, and if you’ve done that you know that it brings a confident peace in every aspect of life. It even makes the toughest situations a happy sacrifice, where you can huff and puff but at the core you know that you are not alone and there is a God who loves you who is in control. This is where the Father wants us…with Him. The Lord fulfills the desires of those who fear Him. This means that the tugs on your heart for things, from clarity in the future, down to wanting to sleep in, He will fulfill, if you allow yourself to become small and truly proclaim with your life that God is God. He may not answer in the way that you expect, but He will be near to your heart in the midst of it all. You are not alone in your pain. If you feel alone, are falsely judged, struggle in school, have a broken family, or are confused, cry out to the Lord and trust that He is near. Allow your love of Him to well up in you. Dwell on it. Think about how His love for you is greater than any weakness. Let your love of Him to pour forth from your lips and draw near to Him. Let Him hold you, not only when you hit rock bottom, but let Him take the ride with you. The Lord is with you. STEP #3: ORATIO / PRAYLord, why don't I come to you first? Lord, how can I learn to trust that you are close? Lord, how do you love me? STEP #4: CONTEMPLATIO / CONTEMPLATE"The Lord is near." "The Father wants to be on your journey." "He loves me in my weakness." FOR THE REST OF YOUR DAY...Ask the Lord to enter into ever aspect of your day; truly ask Him to eat your meals with you, invite him into your classes and let Him guide your conversations. SMARTPHONE LOCK SCREEN  Today's prayer was prepared by Robert Blood, seminarian for the Diocese of Rockford.
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