If you pray the Liturgy of the Hours, especially Morning Prayer, you’re probably very familiar with the Canticle of Zechariah. It’s a wonderful way to start the morning because the prayer is one of praise and gratitude for God, ending with a promise of light breaking through the darkness.
We tend to brush off positive chance encounters as just “coincidence,” such as finding a dollar bill on the street or getting something on sale for a very low price. In truth, many things in life are little instances of Divine Providence. This canticle reminds us that God has always taken care of us and will keep on doing so by sending people or little events that remind us of His presence.
One example of this came from the story of Sister Alicia Torres, a Franciscan sister of the Eucharist who works at a soup kitchen in Chicago. She competed on the Food Network show Chopped as part of a Thanksgiving special featuring soup kitchen cooks. In spite of her lack of professional cooking experience or classes, Sister Alicia impressed the judges with her appetizer, entree, and dessert, and won $10,000 for her order. Although the host told her she could use the money however she saw fit, the money went to her order because, according to them, they needed the money to help serve the poor and fix the plumbing! If that’s not divine providence, I don’t know what is!
Never forget that God is always here for us. Think of all the times that God has helped you in your life and trust that He will provide what you need in the future.
Reflect on a time of divine providence, when God provided you with something that you needed.
