Today, I feel like the psalmist, Lord, 鈥淲hy, Lord, do you stand afar and pay not heed in times of trouble?鈥� And later he says, 鈥淕od has forgotten, shows no concern, never bothers to look.鈥� (Psalm 10) Lord, you know how I feel your absence now and am filled with worries and concerns because the income to support my family disappeared when I was laid off.

Lord, I do not know where to turn. I feel like a failure as an employee and as a parent. So, I desperately turn to you for comfort and encouragement. I hear the psalmist speak words of hope: 鈥淭he Lord is my light and my salvation, whom should I fear? The Lord is my life鈥檚 refuge, of whom should I be afraid?鈥� (Psalm 27) And so I entrust my fears to you. If you are with me as my light, my salvation, and my refuge, I can travel this valley of tears and fear no evil. For you are with me and my family, that even if there might be hard times, you have been and will continue to be our savior. With you at our side, we can live in peace and hope. I trust you.

鈥� Rev. Doug Leonhardt, S.J.