A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 7:21, 24-27)
Jesus said to his disciples: “Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock.”
Jesus calls his disciples to listen to his words and then act on them, to be still and attentive and respond in action to the will of God. Our temporary dwelling on earth is subject to many assaults on the body and soul. Jesus guides us as disciples in withstanding the trials, the storms, and the struggles. To the fool, Jesus says, hearing his word and not acting on it results in devastation: “The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined.” Holding fast to Christ, secured by hearing and acting on his will, the darkest storms pass.
God, here you are before me. Every need I have, you are already aware of and are acting to satisfy it. The unrelenting anxiety of moving through tasks ahead of me today and the next day and the next day would have me believe that you are somehow beyond them if I can just get past them. Help me remember what I now know, quieted by invitation to hear and do your will: you are in the midst of everyday anxieties, in the eye of the storm. Give me the grace to recall your presence during times I would otherwise forget, not out of sheer mental triumph, but to give you glory and come to enter your kingdom.
From the responsorial psalm: “Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever. It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” Lord, let me take refuge in you today. Saint Ambrose, pray for us!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.