As I sit in this chair working on this reflection, I look out the window and see snow falling. Sometimes it’s light, at other times the visibility is zero, and there are even a few peeks of sunshine. A tree outside is moving its branches in time with the wind. Gus, my cockatiel, is on my shoulder, preening himself after his morning bath. Every so often his crest tickles my ear. He’ll tuck his head under his wing and fall asleep before too much longer. The heat in the room cycles on and off at fairly regular intervals while I drink my cup of coffee, grabbed downstairs after Mass. A bit earlier there was a siren outside, but I didn’t know if it was coming to St. Paul’s or not. There hasn’t been a phone call for anointing, so I guess it went on down the street.
Why am I bringing all this up? Because it’s my way of saying or showing once again that it’s the little things that matter most when it comes to one’s quality of life.
In Sunday’s readings, Job is having a really bad day. He basically wonders if his life has any meaning or value. If he looks at the big picture of his life, it’s easy to come to a negative conclusion. But if he were to look at the smaller things and allow himself to experience life, it might have been different for him.
Jesus is probably exhausted after healing all the people who came to Him. He sneaks off early in the morning to pray, and I’m sure that part of his prayer was noticing the life around him and thanking God for it.
Paul says the he is called to be all things to all people, which means taking the time to really see people, to look at them with deep compassion, understanding, and intuition. Otherwise, how could he effectively minister to those individuals?
So stop, look, listen, see, touch, taste, experience, feel. To repeat one of my favorite sayings from a fellow C.S.C.: “If you say your life is boring, it means you’re not paying attention to it.”
Much love … many prayers!
Fr. Herb, C.S.C.
