Monday Motivation: God Is

 "One must have faith not because of tradition, or out of fear of death, or 'just in case,' or because one has been ordered to or something frightens one, or out of humanistic principles, or in order to be saved, or for the sake of originality. One must have faith for the simple reason that God is." —Andrey Sinyavsky

Inundated

All the fountains of the great abyss burst forth,
     and the floodgates of the sky were opened. – Genesis 7:11

Once in 5,000 years. That was how the flooding was described. Torrents of murky water overflowing banks, rising into homes, pulling along debris from up the mountain. There aren’t supposed to be hurricanes in the mountains. Suddenly, violently, communities cut off, cut down, forever changed.

Water is life-giving. It restores, refreshes, cleansing. We wade in the water to be born again. But there is also danger in the water. At times of disaster, we are reminded that we are part of nature and its forces. Despite our attempts to detach from nature, to totally control our environment, to consume and pollute and destroy and face no consequences, we are not above our place. We are part of God’s creation—we exist in a time and place. We are strong, but not all powerful. How quickly can storm or famine or war arrive and disrupt the stability we built. How swiftly can bridges and power grids and roads wash away. What remains is our human nature—heroic rescues, outpouring charity, compassion, charity, resilience.  

Monday Motivation: St. Vincent de Paul

"God allows us to give rise to the practice of two beautiful virtues: perseverance, which leads us to attain the goal, and constancy, which helps us to overcome difficulties."

"Do not limit your vision any longer to yourself, but see the Lord around you and in you, ready to put his hand to the work as soon as you ask for help. You will see that all will go well."

-St. Vincent de Paul