Father Rory Pitstick's Daily retreat....

The Lord is with me???

The deeds of Gideon are recounted in chapters 6-8 of the Book of Judges (it will take less than 5 minutes to read those chapters and thereby gain a much clearer picture of the importance of the incident in today’s first reading). Evidently, life was really tough - Gideon had to beat out wheat secretly in the wine press so the ruthless Mideonites wouldn’t confiscate the little bit of food remaining for his family.
Understandably, then, Gideon is skeptical when an angel appears to him with the greeting, “The Lord is with you!” Like you and me at times, Gideon is tempted to see disaster and the hardships of life as “proof” that the Lord is NOT with him and his family. Nonetheless, the angel’s words have become a reality - the Lord IS with Gideon, and insists, and inspires Gideon to make an act of faith - to prepare an offering (from the tiny store of food remaining to Gideon!), which is convincingly accepted by the Lord. Gideon will go on to seek even clearer signs that the Lord is with him, and the Lord will again give those signs convincingly (see 6:36-40).
What proof is there that the Lord is with you? The evil and tribulations which afflict our lives do not disprove the presence of God - rather, our perseverance in the face of adversity is itself only possible because of the presence of God! Gideon is completely aware of his insignificance - he knows his victories can only be attributed to the presence of God. So rather than resigning himself to being an eternal victim of injustice, Gideon allows himself to become the “champion” God wants to transform him into, a champion who will convincingly sing the Psalm that truly the Lord brings justice and “peace to His people, and to His faithful ones, and to those who put in Him their hope!”
As soon as you and I realize that “for God, ALL things are possible," then we will stop being intimidated by evil, and we will offer all we have (however little and insignificant that might seem!) and allow ourselves to become champions of God’s righteousness!


To read Book of Judges chapter six - eight click here.
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When one is struggling in a similar manner, this is a mouthful to chew on. We have found daily Mass that is early enough that we can attend and still have a an early start to the school/work day. I am very grateful for that. And each day that I meet Jesus in the Eucharist, like Gideon I am asking for a sign, an indication of the direction he wants us to take.

I am about to write my resume for the first time in quite some while and apply for a part time position as an ESL instructor. Starting wage is 18 dollars an hour. I have experience in this area and I am good at it. Please pray that if it is the Lord's will I will receive the job. I am very nervous about it.

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