SPEAKER_01 0:06

If you want your dream to be, build it slow and surely. Small beginning, greater and heartfelt work grows purely.

SPEAKER_00 0:25

Welcome. This is David Russell and your faith anew daily reflections guiding you to live in the divine will. Today's reflection is from the Book of Heaven by the servant of God Louisa Picaretta, july thirty first, eighteen ninety nine, volume two. Let us begin in the will and name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Heavenly Father, draw our hearts beyond the need for constant words, emotions, or visible signs, and teach us to recognize the quiet gift of your abiding presence. Help us to seek you above every consolation, to rest in your love with unwavering confidence, and to welcome each moment as an opportunity to live united with your divine will. May every thought, prayer, and action today become an act of love offered for your glory, the salvation of souls, and the coming of your kingdom. Amen. A reading from the Book of Psalms chapter seventy three verses twenty five and twenty six Whom else have I in the heavens? None beside you delights me on earth. Though my flesh and my heart fail, God is the rock of my heart, my portion forever. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches in Paragraph twenty seven seventeen Contemplative Prayer is silence, the symbol of the world to come, or silent love. Words in this kind of prayer are not speeches. They are like kindling that feeds the fire of love. In this silence, unbearable to the outer man, the Father speaks to us his incarnate word, who suffered, died, and rose. In this silence, the spirit of adoption enables us to share in the prayer of Jesus. Today's passage invites us to discover that the deepest communion with God often flourishes in the quiet simplicity of faithful love. Louisa writes. But I was very content, and as long as I had my treasure, Jesus, because by having him I had all my contentments. In seeing him, I comprehended many things about his beauty, about his goodness, and other things, but since it was all through the intelligence and by means of an intellectual communication, my mouth is incapable of expressing anything. So I'll let it pass in silence. There are moments in every spiritual life when we wish God would speak more clearly, answer more quickly, or make his presence more obvious. We often associate spiritual growth with extraordinary experiences, profound insights, or powerful emotions. Yet the saints consistently remind us that holiness is built far more upon fidelity than upon feelings. Living in the divine will teaches us to treasure God Himself above every gift He may give. If we're attached only to spiritual consolations, our peace will rise and fall with our emotions. But if our joy is rooted in God alone, then even silence becomes a place of encounter. This is one of the beautiful freedoms of surrender. We no longer measure our relationship with the Lord by what we experience, instead we measure it by our willingness to remain faithful. Love matures when it becomes steadfast, even when nothing outward seems to change. Think of the Blessed Virgin Mary during the hidden years of Nazareth. The gospels record very few words, yet every ordinary day was filled with extraordinary union with God. She teaches us that intimacy with the Lord does not depend on constant revelations, but on continual fidelity. The same is true for us. Each ordinary responsibility, our work, our family life, our prayers, our acts of charity, even our hidden sacrifices can become a continual conversation with heaven when offered in the divine will. We begin to realize that God is closer than our next breath, quietly sustaining us whether we feel Him or not. This changes the way we pray. Instead of asking, Lord, where are you? We begin saying, Lord, help me remain with you. Our confidence shifts from our ability to perceive Him to His unfailing promise to remain with us. Today, if your prayer seems quiet, your work unnoticed, or your heart longing for greater clarity, don't become discouraged. Continue loving, continue trusting, continue surrendering each moment into the divine will. God is accomplishing far more than you can presently understand. The soul that remains faithful in quiet love is already living in the peace of His kingdom. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for remaining with us in every season of our lives. Teach us to love you not only when your consolations are abundant, but also when faith alone must guide our steps. May your divine will become the steady rhythm of our hearts, transforming every ordinary moment into an offering of praise. Jesus, we surrender every expectation, every fear, and every desire into your hands. Let Jesus do all that the Father has planned within us, so that our lives may quietly reflect your love to every soul we encounter. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Thank you for joining your faith anew today. Until tomorrow, stay in his will, and your faith will be made anew.