We all have a daily routine comprising essentials like waking up, preparing for the day, working, eating, and sleeping to begin the cycle anew tomorrow. For some of us, deviating from a routine is either unhealthy, unproductive, and in the worst cases, scary. The application of Ignatius’ revelation that “God is in all things” affirms the goodness of our idiosyncratic routines along with what interrupts them.
Our readings contain stories of people who experienced an interruption from their normal activities. Pharaoh’s daughter was preparing to bathe when she saw the papyrus basket carrying Moses. Despite a return to their regular lives, the townspeople which Jesus mentions must have been originally curious about this itinerant preacher and healer. St. Kateri Tekakwitha, the saint for today, had a decision to either ignore or approach the French Jesuit missionaries who came to her village. God renews each of us through providing for our daily needs in our routines, and by presenting new opportunities to keep our lives fresh with the fragrance of the Gospel.
What is my daily routine? When is the last time I felt God inviting me into something new away from my daily routine? What do I feel God inviting me into currently?
—Dano Kennedy, S.J. is a Jesuit scholastic studying philosophy at St. Louis University. He lives at the Bellarmine House of Studies.