Sometimes life doesn’t go how we planned. 

We all go through it in different ways. Maybe an important relationship in your life ended. Maybe your job didn’t turn out the way you hoped it would. Maybe your life-long dream hasn’t come true. When we’re faced with difficult situations, it’s difficult to know where to turn. And sometimes it can feel nearly impossible to accept. 

Do you ever have a difficult time embracing God’s will? 

For Alpohonsus Rodriguez, embracing the will of God wasn’t always an easy task. At a young age, his father died. As difficult as the loss must have been, Alphonsus stepped up and helped his mother support their home. Later in life, Alpohonsus was married and had three children. In a set of tragedies, Alphonsus watched as his wife and children died, one by one. Alphonsus had seemingly good reason to become angry with God or reject his faith. Instead, he turned to prayer and discerned that he was called to become a Jesuit. To add a cherry on top, Alphonsus was rejected from joining the Jesuits…twice. On the third try, he was accepted and finally became a religious brother. 

For the many years that followed, Alphonsus was given one role: to be the doorkeeper of the monastery. Some people would have been humiliated to only be tasked with opening the door to the strangers, visitors, and guests, but Alphonsus saw God’s will in even the smallest of tasks. Every time he heard someone at the door he would say, “I’m coming, Lord.” Alphonsus knew that every moment of serving others was really an opportunity to serve God. 

Through all these moments, we see Alphonsus pivoting time and time again to the will of the God. In moments of loss, in moments of tragedy, in moments of rejection, in moments of confusion, he pivoted to the will of God. 

There's an invitation and a teaching for us in that. Whatever we're dealing with throughout our day, we should be pivoting to the will of God. We should pause and ask ourselves, "What is the will of God here? How am I being challenged to do the will of God here? How am I being encouraged to do the will of God here?" 

Like Alphonsus, always pivot to the will of God. You’ll be amazed what he does with you and through you.



Feast Day: October 31 

Patron Saint of: Majorca (Spain)

Symbols: Keys

Canonized: January 15, 1888

Canonized By: Pope Leo XIII