God indeed is my savior; I am confident and unafraid. My strength and my courage is the LORD, and he has been my savior. With joy you will draw water at the fountain of salvation.

Life is full of its ups and downs and at times I have to keep reminding myself of this. I am in one of those “down” times right now. I am managing a project right now that has me stressed. Very tight schedule, long hours for the men in the field, hiring people who aren’t familiar with the Plant we are working in, material is expensive and not easy to obtain. There is a lot to worry about. I pray every morning for the safety of the manpower, the wisdom of my foreman to stay on top of the work we are completing. Did I mention this has me stressed?

I then I turn to our readings for the day reflecting on the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and I’m reminded of what true stress is, true sacrifice for the good of others – true selfless love. It is in reflecting on these readings that I come to understand that sometimes life will be stressful and because of my love for my fellow workers, I will deal with that stress and do my best to manage this project to the best of my God given abilities. I must learn to let the Holy Spirit guide me in all that I do because I know that only through His gifts of knowledge & wisdom will I find the necessary solutions to help me manage this project.

I live in a world of acronyms so maybe STRESS could just be an acronym for Sure True Rest follows Extreme Self Sacrifice. Again, look to our Gospel today to truly understand this…

But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, 
they did not break his legs, 
but one soldier thrust his lance into his side, 
and immediately blood and water flowed out.
An eyewitness has testified, and his testimony is true; 
he knows that he is speaking the truth, 
so that you also may come to believe.

This Gospel reminds to say pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy today…

You expired, Jesus, but the source of life gushed forth for souls, and the ocean of mercy opened up for the whole world. O Fount of Life, unfathomable Divine Mercy, envelop the whole world and empty Yourself out upon us.

(Repeat three times)
O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fount of mercy for us, I trust in You!

Do something great for our Lord today – TRUST IN HIM; give yourself over to His holy will specifically designed for you. As we should always say…God’s will, not mine, be done.

I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy Grace, to sin no more and to avoid the near occasions of sin.

God’ will, not mine, be done.

Be not afraid; just have faith.

Jesus, I trust in You.

He must increase; I must decrease.

Lord, if You wish, You can make me clean.

But you man of God chose righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience and gentleness. Compete well for the faith.