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The Bible is full of  stories of God's generosity.  But when I am troubled, this passage from Matthew 6:  26-34 (Doauy-Rheims version) is a source of courage.  

"Behold the birds of the air, for they neither sow, nor do they reap, nor gather into barns: and your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not you of much more value than they? And which of you by taking thought, can add to his stature by one cubit? And for raiment why are you solicitous? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they labour not, neither do they spin. But I say to you, that not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed as one of these. And if the grass of the field, which is today, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, God doth so clothe: how much more you, O ye of little faith?

Be not solicitous therefore, saying, What shall we eat: or what shall we drink, or wherewith shall we be clothed? For after all these things do the heathens seek. For your Father knoweth that you have need of all these things. Seek ye therefore first the kingdom of God, and his justice, and all these things shall be added unto you. Be not therefore solicitous for tomorrow; for the morrow will be solicitous for itself. Sufficient for the day is the evil thereof.

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One of my favorite stories about God providing for His people is this story of Daniel.  I have told this story at least a couple of times to my children.  The sheer imagery and suspense and drama makes this a wonderful story to tell.  

This chapter of the Book of Daniel tells about the time when the prophet Daniel was again cast into the lions' den.  This time, it was because he slew the dragon which was worshipped by the Babylonians.  And here is his story and the story of God's providence for him (Daniel 14: 31-392, Duoay-Rheims version)

"And in the den there were seven lions, and they had given to them two carcasses every day, and two sheep: but then they were not given unto them, that they might devour Daniel. Now there was in Judea a prophet called Habacuc, and he had boiled pottage, and had broken bread in a bowl: and was going into the field, to carry it to the reapers. And the angel of the Lord said to Habacuc: Carry the dinner which thou hast into Babylon to Daniel, who is in the lions' den. And Habacuc said: Lord, I never saw Babylon, nor do I know the den. And the angel of the Lord took him by the top of his head, and carried him by the hair of his head, and set him in Babylon over the den in the force of his spirit.

And Habacuc cried, saying: O Daniel, thou servant of God, take the dinner that God hath sent thee. And Daniel said: Thou hast remembered me, O God, and thou hast not forsaken them that love thee. And Daniel arose and ate. And the angel of the Lord presently set Habacuc again in his own place. And upon the seventh day the king came to bewail Daniel: and he came to the den, and looked in, and behold Daniel was sitting in the midst of the lions. And the king cried out with a loud voice, saying: Great art thou, O Lord the God of Daniel. And he drew him out of the lions' den."

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The lives of the saints are stories of God's providence.  As I have been reading from the life of St. Benedict, I will share here a story about the miracle that God made for the saint.

This event happened around  530 A.D., and Italy was facing a severe famine.  People came to the monastery  daily to beg for food and other provisions.   Saint Benedict had instructed the custodian, Brother Michael, to be generous to the visitors and to treat them as Christ Himself.  One day, a young man, Agapitus,  came and asked for some oil.  But Brother Michael could think of nothing but the famine and of the fact that the monastery itself was running low on supplies.  There was only a little bottle of oil left for the monastery's use. So, in defiance of an earlier order from St. Benedict, Brother Michael  refused Agapitus' request.   

Brother Michael was, needless to say, severely reprimanded.  But Saint Benedict, recognizing the concern of the brother,  prayed in the kitchen, right before the empty barrel of oil -

"Dear Lord, have pity on your servants.  Don't let us want for the necessities of life.'

When he got up from his knees after some time, the great barrel was no longer empty.  It was  even overflowing with oil.  (From St. Benedict - The Story of the Father of the Western Monks by Mary Fabyan Windeatt)

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God has been very good to me and to my family.  Of course, our very lives are  testaments to God's providence.  And I truly cannot count the ways that God showed us His generosity and providence.   But here are a few - 

About seven years ago, when I was pregnant with my oldest son, my husband and I were but newlyweds, we were quite poor.  My husband just finished his doctorate and had his first real job.  We had also just moved in in our apartment.  We had no money to buy things for our baby.  I was getting so sad that just weeks before our baby was born, we had nothing for him.   I was away from my family and friends who could help me.  I was a new immigrant and I had no job.   But a few days later, my husband brought me to a gathering in one of the parishioner's house.  A baby shower was given me.  And we got most of the things that we needed.

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God does take care of His children.  He is Father after all.   Years of family life and a simpler lifestyle have taught me to rely more on the kindness of the Father.   I have come to regard heaven as a personal bank from which I can draw an allowance when needed.  That makes me quite rich, if I may say so. And I can say that our family has never lacked its necessities. 

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Thank you for visiting.  Have a blessed day.

~Imelda 

On the Feast of the Three Kings, my older boys got watches from their stockings. How happy they were.

This transported me to that time, more than thirty years ago, when I  got my first  watch.  I had been asking for a watch and I got one for my grade school graduation.   At first I was happy about the gift but had misgivings.  It was not the kind I wanted.  I knew it was a cheap watch.  When I saw what my high school classmates were wearing,  I was all the more dissatisfied.   In fact, I must have been ashamed of my watch. I did not like being not rich. 

My story called  to mind another watch story - that of a young boy named Beppo.  He was from a very poor family.  When he had his First Communion, his parents gave him a nickel watch, a cheap watch, so that he could remember his special day.  How happy that cheap watch made Beppo.  He knew what sacrifices his parents had made so that they could  give him that  gift.   His mother told him to take care of the watch and Beppo promised that he would never trade it even for a million bucks.  Years later, this little boy was elected Pope and he assumed the name of Pius X.  The watch that  his parents gave him caused dismay to the members of the Papal household.   They  thought that the cheap  watch was unbecoming of the Pope.  One day, a rich American offered to trade his $1,000 watch (this was in the 1912's) for the Pope's  watch.  Pope Pius X declined the offer and said that his watch was more valuable than the rich man's because it was bought with the sweat and hardwork and love of his parents. 

Envy.  That killed the joy  of receiving the gift from my parents.  That stopped me from appreciating my parents' gift for what it was worth - a gift of love.  There were things that they perhaps had to forego just so they could give me a watch that they could afford.  And I was not happy because in my envious heart, I was not given what I thought was a better one.  And there I was, wishing what other people had.  

Envy.  It made me resent my sister when we were growing up because I thought that she was better provided for and therefore more loved by my mother.  And I resented my mother for taking favorites.  I always felt to be the unpriveleged one.  

Envy caused all of those disquiet and sadness and ill will in my soul.   It is not a capital sin for nothing.  From it flows nothing but sin and unhappiness.  It drove Cain to kill his brother after all.  

It has been many years.  I still get envious many times.  Yet, with the added years and maturity (hopefully!), I can now recognize  envy when it comes. And when it does, I try to ward it off with a little prayer and an acknowledgement of how God has been good to me all of my life.   I thank God for the blessings He has given me and for the other persons who are subjects of my envious thoughts.  

And now that  I am a mother,  I suppose I am better equipped to recognize when envy invades my children's own soul.  With God's help, I hope that I will be able to help them prevail over it, if not avoid it completely.  

Thank you for dropping by.  May you all have a blessed day.

Best regards,

Imelda

P.S.

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