"Dear Lord Jesus"
"Dear
Lord Jesus, when You looked at Nathaniel, seated under the fig tree, he
was not conscious of this glance, nevertheless Your divine scrutiny was
already full of fondness, and unknown to him. You caught that dreamer
in the nets of Your grace. I love this silent action and this
deliberate look none saw. Today, You most certainly turn Your eyes thus
upon some little boy, playing at marbles or chasing dragonflies, and
the child has no idea that You will some day use him greatly in Your
service. None among us know it, but Your watchfulness proceeds our
feeble judgments, and You prepare unweariedly all those who later on
will serve You.
You know how to take men. You know how to make Yourself desired. When in the Eastern skies You lit up a mysterious star, You were gently seeking to captivate the attention of the Magi. And I know throughout the length of my life Your providence has made stars arise in my firmament. I know, that in my life, You have prepared everything, so that whether by the roads of a desert or those in a garden, I may at last come to where You are.
When You prayed that the faith of Peter might not fail, no one knew anything about it. You announced it saying that it had been done. I love this secret prayer for Your disciple! He was unaware that at that moment his eternal life was in the balance, and that You saved him by recommending him to the Father. I can believe that for me too. I do not doubt, that on the mountain or in the desert, your wordless prayer, knowing my dangers, has been redemptive. You have prepared my final liberation by Your all powerful prayer. And it is this secret story of my life, hidden in the plan of Your love, which draws me and moves me on. How could I be vain or believe in my own excellence when thus I see all the beginnings of my virtues lost on You?
In the forests, You prepared the wood for Your cross. You prepared the fish which was to furnish Peter with a golden stater. You prepared all Your faithful to listen to You like Lydia, the seller of purple. When in the midst of a hungry multitude, You had placed a little boy with some barley loaves and two fish, no one had any idea that You were preparing a triumph. This child left home, carrying with him his poor little provisions, without knowing that Your Spirit guided his actions, and that something tremendous and eternal was about to be accomplished. For us the same thing happens! Your providence provides, noiselessly, for the needs of faith in souls; it prepares relays of energy, it organizes stages of virtue, and at the appointed hour distributes the truest helps.
Hidden God, You understand how to construct, and how to put pieces together, how to join and how to combine. You know how to bring forth Your eternal work out of all our brokenness.
- Pierre Charles
You know how to take men. You know how to make Yourself desired. When in the Eastern skies You lit up a mysterious star, You were gently seeking to captivate the attention of the Magi. And I know throughout the length of my life Your providence has made stars arise in my firmament. I know, that in my life, You have prepared everything, so that whether by the roads of a desert or those in a garden, I may at last come to where You are.
When You prayed that the faith of Peter might not fail, no one knew anything about it. You announced it saying that it had been done. I love this secret prayer for Your disciple! He was unaware that at that moment his eternal life was in the balance, and that You saved him by recommending him to the Father. I can believe that for me too. I do not doubt, that on the mountain or in the desert, your wordless prayer, knowing my dangers, has been redemptive. You have prepared my final liberation by Your all powerful prayer. And it is this secret story of my life, hidden in the plan of Your love, which draws me and moves me on. How could I be vain or believe in my own excellence when thus I see all the beginnings of my virtues lost on You?
In the forests, You prepared the wood for Your cross. You prepared the fish which was to furnish Peter with a golden stater. You prepared all Your faithful to listen to You like Lydia, the seller of purple. When in the midst of a hungry multitude, You had placed a little boy with some barley loaves and two fish, no one had any idea that You were preparing a triumph. This child left home, carrying with him his poor little provisions, without knowing that Your Spirit guided his actions, and that something tremendous and eternal was about to be accomplished. For us the same thing happens! Your providence provides, noiselessly, for the needs of faith in souls; it prepares relays of energy, it organizes stages of virtue, and at the appointed hour distributes the truest helps.
Hidden God, You understand how to construct, and how to put pieces together, how to join and how to combine. You know how to bring forth Your eternal work out of all our brokenness.
- Pierre Charles