For Sandy

She brought up a point last night that took me rather by surprise. The Catechism teaches us to pray from Psalm 145 at table:

The eyes of all look to You, O Lord, and You give them their food at the proper time.
You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.

She pointed out that this isn't true if it is taken to mean that God never lets any living thing starve. But I don't think it means that at all. It reminds me of the beautiful Psalm 104 (a staple of Vespers in the Eastern tradition):

These all look to You to give them their food in due season. When You give it to them, they gather it up; when You open Your hand, they are filled with good things. When You hide Your face, they are dismayed; when You take away their breath, they die and return to the dust. When You send forth Your Spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the ground.

Psalm 145, taken in conjunction with Psalm 104, isn't saying that God ALWAYS gives food; it is saying that when there IS food, it is always FROM God. The "proper time" or "due season" means that God is never late in setting the table according to His will. If His will is that by starvation He take a person to Himself, then by starvation it will be. But for so long as He wills that a person live on this earth, He will supply daily bread - yes, though He need to rain down manna from on high or command the birds to feed us! We say Psalm 145, though, before the meal to remind ourselves always that this before us is the gift of God and that we live, literally live, only by His ongoing gracious giving.