TUESDAY, July 21

"In 1955, there were a lot of horned toads." Thus began an essay by my six-year-old granddaughter. I had shown her a picture of a horned toad taken by my brother in West Texas, and I had told her about how we used to play with them as children, so abundant were they. I also told her that eventually these lizards--who look as ferocious as dinosaurs but are as gentle as babies--had become endangered. To see this living horned toad now, I said, gives hope that they will survive and thrive once more.

To all of that, my granddaughter listened with wide eyes. She was so moved by this creature she'd never known, its life and death and promise of new life, that she felt compelled to write it down. The horned toad story spans three generations in my family and now has been written for those in the future to know.

I ponder what images I can show her to depict the example of Jesus in my life today. What am I doing that will fill her with enough wonder to write, "In 2009, the Holy Spirit shone through my grandmother."

PRAY for the Diocese of Mbaise (Province II, Nigeria)

Ps 45 * 47, 48; 1 Samuel 25:1-22;  Acts 14:1-18; Mark 4:21-34