Take as Much as You Want

Shortly before Christmas we purchased a bird feeder. Our youngest son has taken an interest in bird watching. The bird feeder was very simple and attached to the window of our prayer room. On a few occasions a bird was seen feeding but it was a rare sight. The food we put also never seemed to disappear. Today things changed. 

Recently I have been wanting to do a day of silence and a recent illness that has kept me home seemed to open the door for just such a day today. Thus sitting in the prayer room, I began to notice birds coming to the feeder. A brilliantly red cardinal caught my eye and then the mate which was a brown color with a red beak. At first the birds seemed nervous and approached cautiously. They perched and were quick to fly away. A sparrow came and fluttered even fearing to land. But as the day progressed the birds got more bold. They came and ate their fill. When the feeder became empty we were happy to refill it. To see the birds eating made the kids and I happy. Sitting in the prayer room the following Scripture came to mind:

"Do not worry about your life, what you will eat [or drink], or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they?"(Matthew 6:25-26)

It seemed interesting to me that today of all days the birds would discover the feeder. Sometimes Our Lord helps us to understand things too complicated for us by allowing us to observe certain things in Nature. Today in prayer, I began to see the birds in many ways as souls who may come to Our Lord hungry. While the birds may be struggling at this time of year to find food on the ground or in the trees, since our recent snow cover, here was an abundance of food only waiting to be eaten. Likewise, does God stand with an armful of grace only waiting for us to come to Him in prayer and ask for it? Today with a day of silence there was more time to appreciate such things. There was time to be quiet. Many of us think about the New Year and think of physical conditioning but the New Year is also a time for conditioning of the Spirit. 

Recently in starting to read the book by Cardinal Sarah, "The Power of Silence" there were many observations made in regard to the fruits of silence. Here is one observation made in the book: No prophet ever encountered God without withdrawing into solitude and silence....The true desert is within us, in our soul.

Grace is available to each one of us. May we make good use of our time. God is generous with us and invites us to ask and promises that we will receive. (cf. Matthew 7:7)

May God bless you this New Year.