“My grace is sufficient for you…”

The readings for today’s Mass are two of my favorite readings in Scripture. The first reading is from St. Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians (2 Cor 12:1-10). I will let you read the passage for yourself and I will not provide a lot of exegesis but I do want to share a little bit about why I like this passage so much. St. Paul says that when he boasts, he will only boast about his weaknesses because it is in weakness that we become strong. “I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell in me.”

The gospel for today is the story of Mary and Joseph losing and then finding Jesus in the Temple. For whatever reason, it took Mary and Joseph three days to find Jesus. I am not sure whether this is due to the physical distance that they had traveled from him or whether they did not know where to look. Jesus’ response to them seems to imply that they had not looked in the right place for him.

Both of these readings are relevant to my journey over the past year and my experiences this summer here at Our Lady of Guadalupe. I have encountered my weaknesses in many ways over the last year. One thing that seminary is good at is allowing a seminarian time away from all of the other masks that he has worn throughout his life to discover both his strengths and his weaknesses. Seminary is a time of discernment. It is a time not only to discern whether or not God is calling us to be a priest or whether we want to be a priest, but it is also a time for us to discern our gifts that have been given to us. It is also a time for us to discern what parts of our lives need healing, correcting, or remodeling. Often times I have considered encountering these weaknesses to be difficult and have seen them as my cross to bear. Perhaps that is true, but each time that I have encountered a weakness it has brought me closer to God. It has allowed me to stop listening to my pride and some of the delusions that the devil and the world lead us to believe and to discover the truth about God’s mercy and love. At times, it is a pain in the side as St. Paul mention’s, but that pain is a grace and as the scripture says, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.”

I have a more concrete example of the gospel that few people witnessed directly. Last summer I had the privilege to take some of the teens from our parish to World Youth Day in Sydney, Australia. It was a difficult trip in many ways but was also filled with many blessings. On one night in particular the group was separated. Of course this happened on the one night when we didn’t pass out the handheld radios. One half of the group went to a Matt Maher concert in the Sydney convention center and the other group somehow got separated despite our best efforts to stay together. I left one group at the concert hall and told them not to leave. I then went in search of the other group which consisted of about half our group. As I walked the area of Darling Harbour retracing our steps, I simply could not find the other group. I was worried because I knew some of the other teens would not be able to find their way back to our hotel and had no way to call me. I thought for sure that I was going to have to explain to six sets of parents that I had somehow lost their children. Having given up on the search, I went back to the concert almost in tears. As I arrived back at the concert, the group was in the middle of adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. As I joined our group I realized that those who I thought were lost had joined up with the rest of the group. You cannot imagine the feeling of relief that I felt. Immediately this scene from the gospel came to mind. I don’t think that I ever felt closer to what Mary and Joseph must have felt. Of course, I did not have the added stress of knowing that the child I lost was the Messiah that would save the world!

Aside from experiences such as that one, I experience this gospel almost daily. I think most of us tend to look for God in the wrong places. Most of us know that we can find God in the Eucharist, at Mass, in prayer, in adoration, etc, but I think many of us miss the many times He is right there with us in our normal daily activities. A few weeks ago I was serving a funeral at Our Lady of Guadalupe (we have one or two each week). As I walked from the front of the church down the street to the back entrance into the sacristy, I encountered a homeless man pushing his cart up the street picking up cans. As the man saw me walking down the street dressed in cassock and surplice carrying the processional cross, he stopped, took of his hat, placed it over his heart, and paused while I passed by. I tried to smile at him and nodded my head as I passed him. I learned from watching that man. In my mind he had every reason to be mad at God. I thought to myself, I wonder if I was in his position would I have done the same. In my current state of life which is fairly comfortable I am embarrassed to admit that I may not have paid any attention to a guy walking by carrying a cross. That man taught me something and I think you can figure it out for yourself what the lesson is. It needs no explanation. One thing I will remember about that experience combined with others here at OLOG is that I must keep my eyes open for Jesus wherever I go. I may be surprised at where I find him. At times it will be difficult to find him in some people, but he is there. I think it is just a matter of how hard I am willing to look for him.

Anyway, I apologize for perhaps trying to pull too much out of these scriptures but wanted to share my thoughts. I will try to post more often (a promise I have not been that faithful too) and share with you some of the many wonderful experiences I am having. In the meantime, please join me in a prayer of thanksgiving as my house is under contract after being on the market for 14 months. Please keep the situation in prayer and pray that the closing goes well on July 23rd. Until then all of you and your families remain in my prayers.

Pax Tecum,
Tom