July 28, 2019

Are you guilty of spiritual stockpiling? Spiritual stockpiling isn't an endless rotation of rosaries and novenas. It's
accumulating emotional "goods" to meet your needs. Perhaps it's a collection of material objects you treasure. Maybe it's a preoccupation with money. It could also be relationships, making sure there's always enough friends and connections to never really feel alone. It's our tendency to let things add up so that we won't quite need God to fulfill our inner life. Yet in this Sunday's Gospel, we have that inescapable petition from the Our Father. "Give us each day our daily bread."
This life isn't an immediate arrival. And as much as we might try to shore up possessions and pleasures, we know the
journey is unpredictable. Give us this day our daily bread implies enough for the next set of steps, but not enough to stockpile. So here's the big question: Do we trust God to give us what we need? After all, "What father among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish?... how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?" At the Last Supper, Jesus said he would never leave us orphaned. God will not abandon us. And surely He wouldn't ask us to pray for what He does not intend to give.
Of course, sometimes our prayers for daily help can seem to go unanswered. Today's Gospel has advice for that, too. "I tell you... he will give up to him whatever he needs because of his persistence." Our spiritual stockpiling increases our self-reliance and decreases our openness to God's possibilities. Be persistent in your pursuit of God! Trust that He will keep His promises to provide for us, today and always
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