Grant Me the Grace
By an anonymous St. Max Parishioner
Recently I was asked if I wanted to write a reflection on how the Scriptures have impacted my life. Honestly, my initial thought was that the person had asked me accidentally and that the invitation was meant for someone else. (No, it was for me.) I had to think about it because I felt like I didn’t have a “wow” moment, a defining point for when the Scriptures caused a dramatic change in my life. The Scriptures have been a part of my life from a young age. However, my interest in or degree of commitment to daily reading and intentional study has varied widely over my life. After more thought, I realized that there have been three particular ways that the Scriptures have made a difference in my life.
Group Bible studies, especially those that dive into theology, word meaning, history, culture, and typology have helped to grow my understanding of the arc of God’s salvation plan for us and the fulfillment of that plan in Jesus Christ. For me, determining how a Bible verse or passage applies in my life is more helpful when I can understand the background of the words and what they meant in the first place. These studies have helped me to see how God forms a people into his own and calls us back to his mercy repeatedly because he is loving and faithful.
At the beginning of 2022, my husband and I committed to listening to Fr. Mike Schmitz’s Bible in a Year podcast. Quickly, we formed an evening habit of following along in our Bibles while Fr. Schmitz read the day’s Scripture passages. There were evenings we fought through fatigue and bleary eyes, but never boredom. God willing, we were determined to complete the year, and we did. In 2025, we decided to listen to the podcast again and added the practice of jotting down Bible verses and Fr. Schmitz quotes that touched our hearts.
What made the podcast easy to commit to? No doubt it was partly due to Fr. Schmitz’s daily mini homilies which explained theology, history, words and actions, and always connected the Scripture to God’s love and mercy for us. More importantly, though, I think that there is power and fruitfulness in hearing God’s Word proclaimed out loud, especially at Mass, but also in a podcast. Isaiah 55:11 promises that God’s word “… shall not return empty, but it shall accomplish that which I intend….” I can’t explain the impact of completing a year listening to and reading God’s word other than to say that grace did flow and God’s word did not leave us empty.
Another way that Scriptures have taken root in my life has been through beginning to pray a few parts of the Divine Office. Too often, my tendency in prayer is to dive into my list of things that I think needs God’s attention, and I neglect starting with praising God. The calming rhythm of the Divine Office ensures that praise comes first and then it provides ample opportunities to petition God for help. The Morning Prayer helps to order the day rightly, while the Night Prayer just before sleep helps to focus praise again on God again and asking for comfort and protection.
Recently, during an early morning tornado warning with heavy rains, we discovered water pouring into our basement through a flooded window well which necessitated a couple of hours of cleanup. Later, I opened the Morning Prayer hoping that I would find some comforting words to take the sting out of facing some unplanned basement repairs. I was feeling sorry for myself. I didn’t find what I hoped for. What I did find was better. With the Psalms, the Morning Prayer praised God first, then praised him again, and then called me to repentance. It wasn’t about assuaging my feelings, which are fickle. It is about praising the God who is faithful to me in all situations.
These practices have not caused my life to change overnight. But I can see that God’s grace flows in both little and substantial ways, and that joy can bless even while problems and concerns still exist. There is a line in the Litany for Humility (in the blue book in the sanctuary) that asks Jesus for the grace to desire to “become as holy as I should”, not as holy as anyone else, just as holy as I should be. Praying the Scriptures is a pretty good path to start.