In three previous posts I went through the acts of faith, hope, and charity in God’s Divine Providence. This is one of the key graces we must keep close to our soul at all times as we travel down the road.

As much fun as I had preparing those reflections around the prayer, life is never that neat and poetic. Life gets down right hard, distracting, overbearing. I can remember, having memorized the prayer, I would say it verbatim while I walked from the train station to my office downtown. Then winter hit. Then the cold weather hit. Then the snow piled on and piled on some more. When that was over the temperatures dropped even further and snow turned to ice. The frigid wind would blow across the river as I traversed the bridge and then as I stood at the center of the business district the lake wind would cut through all layers and slice the bone with a case of icy chill.

Photo by Benjamin Cruz on Pexels.com

The weather was not the only factor that made recitation of the full prayer easy. As a pilgrim I was convinced that I was not where I needed to be. I knew my journey was meant to diverge on another path. The only problem was I could not see the fork in the road. As the long dark winter months dragged on it was all too easy to say the prayer just wasn’t working. But my guardian angel was not letting me give up too easily.

“For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways” (Psalm 91:11)

When I made the excuse that I was too tired to say the whole thing I was encouraged to pray unfailingly those lines that truly nourished the soul and provided the strength to make it one more day.

“I have faith that your gracious hand guides me. You never stop thinking about me and working for me.

I have hope that as I strive to do your will you will guide me, protect me, and provide for me and in the end everything will turn out for my advantage and your greater glory.

I love you above all things and know your ways to be true and wise. I dedicate myself to you.” 

Praying thus opens up the world. It places us within a new context so that everyone we come in contact with is wrapped up in this divine journey. God is guiding us, so He has guided us to this moment, to this person, to have this conversation. If I am doing my best to do His will, then He watches out for me and knows how this moment or this event will turn out to my advantage (even if I can’t see it now). Finally, God’s ways are far superior to mine and He is of course, omniscient. That is awesome and worth all our Love and devotion.

How can we go wrong when we have Divine Providence in our heart and this prayer on our lips on our journey.

Onward Pilgrim!