theROCK

Even God Made the Clouds

The recent cloudy days remind me of an encounter I had with a homeless man four years ago. I had just completed three years of college seminary and was helping at the Milwaukee Cathedral's Outdoor Café. The Café serves lunch to the city's homeless. Having returned from college seminary, I was feeling pretty proud of myself and contracted the contagious graduate "know-it-all" disease. I was ready to go out to the world and evangelize with the vast knowledge I had acquired.

After serving the food at the Café, I sat with one of the men. I made small talk with him while seeking for an opening when I could impart the theology I learned. The opening never came and I began to get frustrated and lose interest. As the man continued to eat, I absently said, "I wish it was a sunnier day." The man paused in between eating and replied simply, "Even God made the clouds."

Even God made the clouds. In one short sentence I learned more lessons from this homeless man than a theology class could have taught me and I was humbled. One of the lessons I learned was what it meant to be grateful. Here was a man who found what true gratitude looks like. That no matter the circumstances, there was always something to be grateful for, especially when things do not go out way. Whether it be a sandwich on a hungry day, an opening for theology not appearing, or clouds in the sky, there is always something to be grateful to God for. Sometimes that means even being grateful for the things we wish were different.

I think about that homeless man every time the sky is dark with clouds. Yes, even God makes the clouds.

Blessed

The Scriptural account of the encounter between Mary and her cousin Elizabeth, is celebrated on the Feast of the Visitation. The meeting of the Old and New Testament represented in these blessed women gives us a glimpse  of the power of God, who brings new life to them in their anticipated sons to be born. It was difficult to envision the tremendous joy that the two experienced until I came across this more recent image. Their joy is contagious. Jesus is in their midst, and these two women truly know they are blessed.

Have you ever thought about the word blessed and its meaning? I have recently meditated on it. For me, it is the belief that we are chosen by his love and surrounded by his presence every moment. When we realize how we are blessed, each of us in our own ways, we begin to see the hand of God in our lives and how his love sustains us. At times this can be challenging.

While the prayer after communion invites us to recognize the presence of Christ among us in the Eucharist, we must remember that the presence of Christ is also discovered in others. He asks us to serve him by serving others. Mary's service to Elizabeth by her visit remains a model for the Christian who wishes to meet Christ in daily life. This is a wonderful challenge for you and me; namely, to seek Christ in others, to know that Christ is living in them, and to become aware of how Christ is transforming them. Let us make each day extraordinary by Mary's example. You are blessed. I am blessed. Let us live that reality.

Following the Rules

Which Commandment do you find to be the most challenging? This is a great exercise if you know your Ten Commandments. Not all of our students at St. Dominic Catholic School can recite them frontwards and backwards, but we try. When I was a classroom teacher, I made sure my students could do just that. My students and I invested a lot of time in impressing them into their minds, into their consciences. These are God's rules, why wouldn't you want to know them? We practiced them, recited them in order and out of order, we studied what they meant. We worked to figure out how they fit into the covenant of the Old Testament and the fulfillment of the covenant in the New Testament. We discussed how brilliant Jesus was in taking ten and turning them into two - the transition from the Ten Commandments to the Great Commandment. We lamented that, even though Jesus simplified things, we still fail to follow the rules. Why is it so hard to follow rules? Free will. God loves us so much that He doesn't want to constrict us but allow us to freely choose Him. The rules aren't to be restrictive but freeing. Think about that for a minute.

Following God is not meant to be complicated. After all, Jesus tells us to approach God like a child. Don't think too hard about it. Life is complex. Messy. God helps us find order. Keep it simple like going from Ten Commandments to the Great Commandment. Love God with all your heart, mind, and being, and love your neighbor as yourself. Rules keep our free will in order so that we may experience joy.