Thursday of the First Week of Advent

Readings of the Day 

If HGTV’s “House Hunters” is any indication, a home’s foundation really matters.

If a house is on a floodplain, fault line, or has been ignored for too long, that could mean costly repairs in the near or distant future. Location also matters: a daily routine is dictated by the daily commute, determined by where you live in relation to the office or school.

Yet as much as these factors matter to our daily lives and long-term stability, today’s gospel says the foundation of our faith matters even more. We hear that a wise man built his house on rock and saw his house “did not collapse” while the winds blew and blew. The fool who built his house on sand saw his house “collapsed [and] completely ruined”… and here I am, likely somewhere in between.

St. Therese of Avila speaks of our souls as castles in which God wishes to dwell. How important must it be to establish a strong foundation for this beautiful, intricate castle in which I encounter God.

We know from having made it this far that the metaphorical winds of life will never cease to blow. There will always be an opportunity to lose our faith, to doubt, or surrender to the temptation of believing God is not in control. I want to believe I’m rooted in a faith that is unshakable. Seeing firsthand in this gospel the importance of a firm foundation, I want to be on the “right” side of Christ’s metaphor. I want to believe that I trust in God at all opportunities, giving Him my trust with abandon, knowing he will take care of me, my family, our clients, our agency, our diocese, and our society.

But how do I condition (or deepen!) my foundation with each passing day? Have I built my days around prayer and developing intimacy with God, learning to lean in, listen, and trust Him? Do I examine difficult situations through a lens of how God is asking me to trust Him as they unfold? What I ask myself most though, is: Am I allowing God into decisions I am asked to make for the good of those entrusted to my care?

Today’s Psalm speaks in the same vein: “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.” My prayer is that we each learn to take refuge in the Lord in every moment of every day, and build our foundations on rock to weather the storms of life with God at our side.

Lacy de la Garza currently serves as Director of Parish & Community Relations at Catholic Charities Dallas. She also currently serves as Chair for the Synod Preparatory Commission for the Diocese of Dallas under Bishop Edward J. Burns, administering the local diocesan synod and diocesan participation in Pope Francis’s Synod on Synodality. Lacy holds a Masters in Psychology from the University of Dallas.

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