* Note: This was part of a blog I wrote for the Archdiocese of Baltimore in 2007 *
I finally
understood the parable of the lost sheep.
Late on
Sunday evening, after the last Mass of the day, I was speaking with a
lady in the gathering space. I had gotten to know her and her family over these
past six months, and they were very inspiring people. She and her husband and
the two kids, a boy in fifth grade and a girl in ninth, were a very kind and
loving family.
But it
grieved me that they were somewhat infrequent in their Mass attendance.
So as I was
speaking with this lady, the topic came up of where the rest of the family was
at Mass, since they had not been attending with her. She explained to me that
the boy had swimming practice every Sunday evening, so they couldn’t make Mass.
I was so
saddened by this, and apparently it showed, because she even said to me, “It
looks like you’re about to cry!”
I tried to
explain to her about the awesome love that Christ has for us in the Eucharist
and how much the Mass means to me. We spoke some more, but in the end I was
unsuccessful in convincing her of the necessity of weekly Mass. We parted
amicably, and as I went back into the church I felt like I had been hit by a
ton of bricks. What would it take to convince them of the beauty and importance
of the Mass?
Brief
soapbox-ing: I love the Mass so much. To me, the Mass is life. If only we could
understand the value of the Mass, we would never pass up a chance to go. As
good as other prayer forms, or good works, or recreation can be, there is
nothing more healing, nothing more refreshing, nothing better that we can do
with our time than go to Mass and worthily receive Our Lord in Holy Communion.
Back to the
story.
Okay, so I
went to youth group and had a fine time. After youth group, I headed back to
the rectory where I checked my email one last time before going to bed. Lo and
behold, there was an email from this lady.
She said
that when she got home, she related our conversation to her husband. Her
husband thought that it was quite ironic, because while he was with their young
boy at swimming, he and the boy had a conversation similar – the kid said that
he would rather go to Mass than go to swimming. So the husband ended up
changing the swimming class to another time in the week so that they could all
go to Mass together as a family.
I was blown
away in shock reading this. For as long as I have prayed for this family, for
as long as I have loved them, I could never have imagined that God would have
worked so surprisingly in their hearts, through the faith of an eleven-year-old
boy!
The joy
that I felt upon receiving this news made me think of what the angels and
saints must feel “when one sinner repents”. I was so amazed that God could work
so quickly, so unexpectedly, to lead these souls back to Him!
Just
another day in the life of a priest…
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