Holy Spirit of God, in deadly anxiety, I flee to you for your saving grace...

 
Esther 14:1-14

 
When Haman, a trusted advisor to the King was planning to exterminate all of Esther’s people, she fled to the Lord, and prayed!  like Esther, anyone always has the freedom and the option to flee to the Lord in prayer in their heart of hearts. There is nothing, St. Paul told us, that can separate us from the love of God. It is only my own forgetfulness, my own self-reliant worry, and my own sin that keep me from turning to God in prayer, and asking for his saving Grace.  In these digital times when news reaches us from the ends of the earth within minutes, the waves of disaster and wars of all kinds seem to sweep over humanity unceasingly. It is easy in these times to become paralyzed by faithless fear. But there is always that one best thing to do: to flee to the Lord and pray, “Lord, make yourself known in this time of our affliction, and give me courage… save me from my fear.”  God will always answer our heartfelt prayers, gloriously and often in surprising ways, as he answered the prayers of Queen Esther.  Will I remember what to do next time I feel the paralysis of faithlessness settling into my soul? Will I flee to the Lord in prayer?  Holy Spirit of God, in deadly anxiety I flee to you for your saving grace. 
 
On the day I called, you answered me and you increased my strength of soul.  (Psalm 138:3)
 
This is the hour in which each one of us has to go very deeply into ourselves. We have to begin a pilgrimage, and see to it that our pilgrimage really is a straightening of the ways of the Lord into our lives.
Catherine Doherty, Season of Mercy, Prepare for Lent
 
 
Soli ad gloriam
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