Aug 23 – Memorial for St. Rose of Lima, virgin
A beautiful girl and devoted daughter, Rose (1586-1617) was so devoted to her vow of chastity, she used pepper and lye to ruin her complexion so she would not be attractive. She lived and meditated in a garden, raising vegetables and making embroidered items to sell to support her family and help the other poor. She was the founder of social work in Peru.
“Our Lord and Savior lifted up his voice and said with incomparable majesty: ‘Let all men know that grace comes after tribulation. Let them know that without the burden of afflictions it is impossible to reach the height of grace. Let them know that the gifts of grace increase as the struggles increase. Let men take care not to stray and be deceived. This is the only true stairway to paradise, and without the cross they can find no road to climb to heaven.’”
– from the writings of St. Rose of Lima
Eze 37:1-14
Mt 22:34-40
“And I shall put My Spirit in you and you will live, and I shall resettle you on your own soil; and you will know that I, the Lord, have said and done this – it is the Lord who speaks.”
As I write this, I feel like it is an ode to what has been going on in my life — very broadly speaking — and perhaps some of you who are reading this may relate.
The past year or so has been a difficult one, dotted with trials at every turn. I feel like I have been living in three-month windows, not knowing what the future looks like, not being able to plan, half waiting-half hoping for something. It has not been all that bad, and I have a lot to be thankful for. God has been my constant throughout this time; without Him, I would have probably spiraled into some very dark places. I won’t go into details but suffice to say that some days, my faith reserves and mental and emotional fortitude are like the valley of dry bones in today’s reading. Can my faith come to life? Only God knows.
I take each challenge as a test of my faith in God, but it is never easy. Sometimes, when I have managed to overcome a challenge, I wonder if the next one will be even more difficult than the one before. I fear that I will be broken. On the days where I throw my hands up in the air and say, “I can’t do this!”, I feel like I have let Him down. When my prayers remain unanswered, I despair and doubt, thinking “all hope is lost”. I start wondering if there was something that I did, or am doing, that is not pleasing to God, denying me His grace of salvation. In my mind, I cry out, “Are you there, Lord? Can you hear me?” If I am holding everything up for everyone, who is holding me up? On the days where I feel like I’m crumbling from the weight of what is before me, it seems like even my last hope has abandoned me.
But this is not what God wants for me; God does not want me to live in fear or despair. Rather, He wants me to live in dependency on Him, with hope and faith and patience. Yes, it isn’t easy, not easy to have patience, especially when you’re desperate for an answer or a sign. But in my impatience, my anger and disappointment crowd out what God is trying to remind me: “I will put My Spirit in you and you will live.” There is hope. There is no shame in crying when you’re broken; it is when we are broken that He will fix us again. There is no need to hide your tears — your tears are your surrender to God, and He will use it to water this valley of dryness. No, there is always something to be thankful for — be it the song of a bird or the brush of the breeze on our cheek, telling us God is here with us right now. He put a song in the beak of the bird, what more will He put in our mouths? He will put the Holy Spirit in us so that a song of praise, worthy of the heavens, will spring forth from our lips.
There is hope. He has not cut us off. He is here, and He hears. Do not despair, for He is true to His Word. He will uphold you with His right hand, when everything else falls away. We will live.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Annette Soo)
Prayer: Lord, Father Almighty, please be here with us now, even as we are unable to find the words to pray and petition. Help us to be still and know that You are here, that You are God.
Thanksgiving: Lord, for every trial that we go through, thank you for the little reminders of Your mercy and wonder, for helping us realise that there is so much more that You have in store for us.
OXYGEN 
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