Acts 10:1-8. (The next few days will be the story of Peter and Cornelius that I blogged about in Peter Models Our Mission, so I will focus on different aspects of the story in these days of journaling.) In Caesarea there lives a man named Cornelius, a Roman centurion of the Italian Cohort. Cornelius is a god-fearing man, who gives alms liberally and prays constantly. One day, at about the ninth hour, Cornelius has a vision - an angel comes to him and calls him by name. Cornelius is terrified, but asks "What is it, Lord?" The angel tells Cornelius his prayers and alms have ascended to God as a memorial, and Cornelius is to send men to Joppa to bring "one Simon who is called Peter" staying with Simon the tanner in a house by the seaside. When the angel departs, Cornelius sends two trusted servants and a devout soldier to seek Simon Peter.

Cornelius was a very devout and holy man, but he was not asking for anything, at least not that we are told, yet he is given some amazing gifts! He is given the gift of an angelic message first of all, which, in and of itself is pretty amazing! Further, the angel makes clear to him that his prayers and alms have ascended to God as a memorial. How amazing is that? Cornelius knows his prayers are heard and his good works are seen by God! Finally, the angel tells him to send for Peter, without any explanation of who Peter is or why he is being sent for. Here, Cornelius has to do God's will and trust, and he does. Little does he know that he is about to be given a huge gift, Baptism in the Spirit at the hands of the first Pope! A gift he didn't even know to ask for!

We don't usually see the direct connection between our faithfulness, our good works, and the gifts that are bestowed upon us. We don't get an angelic report card like Cornelius got. But just because we don't receive a formal announcement for each sacrament or blessing that God bestows upon us, we do receive them, without cost and without asking. As members of the Catholic Church, we are given Baptism and all the other sacraments; we are given the Church and its amazing traditions; we are given the Saints, Sacred Scripture, and, most amazing of all, Salvation through Jesus Christ!! Every single one of these things is a gift and blessing from God, unasked for, yet bestowed on us with total love. And the more faithful we are, the more we appreciate these gifts and take advantage of them, and thus our blessings increase.

God bestows unasked for gifts on us every day, and the more we use them, the better they get! If, like Cornelius, we live holy and devout lives and do God's will with love and trust even when we don't understand it, amazing things happen!