SAINT PATRICK, BISHOP (OPTIONAL MEMORIAL)

He is like a tree planted beside the waters that stretches out its roots to the stream. 

Jesuit poet Gerard Manley Hopkins once cried out to God in a poem, “O thou lord of life, send my roots rain.” Hopkins’ words may well express how we sometimes feel. It could be that we don’t sense the Lord’s love and presence in prayer and feel as if he has abandoned us. Or we could be working hard at something that doesn’t seem to be bearing fruit. And surely that’s how the prophet Jeremiah sometimes felt. Given the hardships he endured, it’s pretty clear that he knew what it was to experience spiritual dryness as well as physical drought.

Even so, Jeremiah compares those who enjoy God’s blessing to a tree whose roots draw water from a nearby stream. In times of heat and drought, the tree still finds all the nourishment it needs by stretching its roots to the running water in the stream. So how do we stretch our roots to the Lord when we feel dry and thirsty?

As difficult as it can sometimes be in those times, we need to keep looking to the Lord and seeking his grace in regular daily prayer, in the Scriptures, and in the sacraments. Though the Lord might seem to be far away, in truth he is very near to us; we just can’t sense him at that moment. Sometimes it’s also helpful to utter short prayers reminiscent of the one in Hopkins’ poem: “Lord, please send my roots rain today!” Or we can offer a prayer of thanksgiving: “Lord, thank you for allowing this time of barrenness. I trust you to somehow work in and through it.”

Jeremiah’s wisdom reminds us that we are indeed blessed if we trust in the Lord and place all our hope in him. That hope will never disappoint, for the dryness and spiritual drought that we may feel will last only for a time. We know that we can count on the goodness and faithfulness of our God. He will strengthen our faith during the drought and give us great joy when he sends us his life-giving water once again.

“Lord, water our ‘roots’ with the life-giving water of your Spirit so that we might draw closer to you.”

Psalm 1:1-4, 6
Luke 16:19-31
Jeremiah 17:5-10