Jan. 13: “Lord, Make a Way, Here”

Bankruptcy and divorce were just two of the problems with which a member of Father Peter Daly’s parish—St. John Vianney in Prince Frederick, Maryland—had to deal.

After being forced to retire from his job, this man took a minimum wage job at a local motel.  The meager salary wouldn’t allow him to pay for the oil that heats the water in his home during the winter.  When this man went to see Father Daly, they prayed together, “Lord, make a way here.”

Soon after, the 20-year-old oil burner in the church’s parish center stopped working, and they opted to replace it with a natural gas furnace.  The burner still had 1,000 gallons of unused oil remaining, so Father Daly knew exactly what to do with it.

In the column he writes for Catholic News Service, Father Daly says, “Our maintenance man siphoned the oil into a tank mounted on his pickup track and took it over to our struggling parishioner.  He was so happy that he did a little ‘happy dance’ in his driveway.  Now he’ll have hot water and heat in the cold weather.  It was a gift from God by way of our parish.”

Trust in the Lord with all your heart.  (Proverbs 3:5)

Lord, may we always be a source of good will for others.