We Are Made by God And For God

As I woke early this morning before dawn and walked downstairs to the kitchen to fill my teakettle with water, I looked out the window into the darkness of my backyard. A single lamplight shown on the face of St. Francis as he waited patiently for the first of the three Hummingbirds that come each morning to drink from the fountain beneath his feet.

We have had this garden statue of Francis for over twenty years. It was blessed by a dear priest friend of ours, and the sound of the water trickling into the fountain can be heard from my bedroom window at night. It is quite soothing on a hot summer eve.


 I poured my tea and was saying my prayers, when sure enough, just as the sun took its place in the sky and the sparrows began to sing their morning praises to the Lord, there they came to take their morning dip into the fountain and to feast on the sweet nectar of the nearby Jasmine. We all need our daily nourishment to survive.

“As the body cannot live without nourishment, so our souls cannot be spiritually kept alive without prayer” St. Augustine

We were made by God and for God. Jesus says “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (Jn 10:10). This life that he refers to is eternal life and consists of sharing in the very life of God himself, and dwelling in His presence.


It is not enough to be a good person. We are called to be holy people. Prayer calls us to holiness because it calls us into the presence of God who is all love and all holiness.



Just as most of us not only nourish our bodies in the morning or the evening, so too, our souls need nourishment throughout the day. Prayer is our spiritual nourishment that keeps us in the presence of our Almighty God.

The spirit of the world keeps us busy and it keeps us preoccupied. We become so busy that we often forget to notice the spirit of Christ in the ordinary things and situations around us. We fail to notice the presence of God dwelling in our midst.


How do we place ourselves in the presence of God? To do this we must cultivate a spirit of prayer; one that is always with us, like the air we breathe. We must realize that God’s presence is in all things and in all places. We must remember that His divine spirit entered us through baptism and His loving gaze is upon those who love Him, especially those in prayer. (Taken from St.Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life)


COME, Holy Spirit, Creator blest,
and in our souls take up Thy rest;
come with Thy grace and heavenly aid
to fill the hearts which Thou hast made.