Today’s readings included passages from the prophet Jeremiah. Consoling food for thought:

“Blessed are those who trust in the Lord; the Lord will be their trust. They are like a tree planted beside the waters that stretches out its roots to the stream: It does not feat heat when it comes, its leaves stay green. In the year of drought it shows no distress, but still produces fruit” (Jeremiah 17:7-8).

The phrase that really caught my attention was the last one. How does a tree near a stream experience drought? Not too difficult. We see it in the great state of Florida. After the rainy season the long hot summer sets in. Where before the canals and lakes brim the lip of its edge, they soon lower, sometimes so noticeably I often try to remember when it last rained and then hope it rains soon. So too it is with prayer.

The year of drought is like those stretches when prayer is dry; God feels distant and many times altogether absent. There is very little by the way of consolation, that spiritual encouragement we receive when we enter to and stay committed to our prayer periods. It is to be expected. Periods of drought are given us for a variety of reasons.

Remain committed to prayer. Always an important reminder while on pilgrimage. Keep close to Jesus, Mary, and the Communion of Saints. Draw upon past consolation to carry you through the drought. Much fruit can be drawn from these experiences. As the Psalmist says, “Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.”