Lessons from Children

Here are few instances where children have stopped me in my tracks.

The Embrace
Not long ago I was hearing the first confessions of children, mostly seven year olds. Each encounter is as precious as the next but once in a while one "gets ya". After about 15 confessions the next child came forward and, like the others, we greeted one another and he made his first confession. However, immediately after I said "your sins are forgiven. Go in peace" he jumped out of his seat and hugged me. I didn't see that coming. The image of the prodigal son raced to my mind. The "prodigal" son wasn't very prodigal in this case, however, the sacramental "embrace" he received from his heavenly Father seemed no less strong and comforting than the one told in Scriptures. I guess he felt compelled to share that with me. I'm glad I was able to be of assistance.


God Loves A Cheerful Giver
Here's the scene. It is Sunday a few minutes before the one o'clock Mass in Spanish. I am standing at the entrance of the church ready to begin the procession. The song begins and the altar servers process in followed by the lectors. Like a wedding, I give a little room between the lectors and myself and get ready to go when a 4 year old girl runs out of the last pew and stand right in front of me. She is so close to me her head to cocked all the way back with her two pony tails hanging freely in the air. She smiles revealing a few missing teach and holds out her closed hand. I hold out my hand as she proudly enriches it with four pennies. I walked quickly to catch up with the procession far ahead of me as I proudly jingled the four pennies in my hand. As Mass continued the bread and wine were brought forward and blessed. At that point I thanked the girl and assured her that her gift was sitting safely right her on the altar.



On God's Time Zone
I had just spent an an hour with teaching children who are preparing to receive their First Holy Communion. We looked at all the different things we use at Mass inlcuding the chalice, paten, corporal, and vestments. After the class, as the students were leaving a little girl looked at me with a serious face and entrigued with all that we had learned about Jesus she asked: "Father, is there anyone alive now who knew Jesus?" Wow. Then again, don't we pray:

"A thousand years in your eyes are merely a yesterday"

Psalm 90:4

A Natural Remedy for the Gotta-Have-It Moments in Life!

You know the feeling: I gotta have it. Sometimes this overwhelming feeling comes to us at the mall, online, on vacation, watching T.V. - anywhere. It can be a dangerous, enslaving feeling whose very pursuit of obtaining what it seeks gives us a devilish joy. We loose focus of everything else around us as we become fixated on this one thing like a hunter who sees his prey. Fixated. Blessed to live in such an affluent county it is within our means to buy many things or put them on our credit card as we add more weight to our heavy debt.

Having lived in a religious community for six years I know what it is like to live a vow of poverty. As millennia of religious brothers and sisters attest, this temptation to own and accumulate follows one into the convent and rectory. Instead of clothes or cars one is tempted to have more of what one already has, a better one or, better yet, a new one - whatever that thing may be. We seem to have this inordinate desire to own whatever we desire. We are not content with enjoying something. We gotta own it!

I recently bought an IPOD. Now, when I listen to a song on the radio or the internet I gotta have it - I have to buy it, own it, ts mine, my precious. Obviously there is absolutely nothing wrong with buying music. I will continue to do so, however, I think there is a valuable lesson in being aware if this passion within us.

Can we simply enjoy something (or someone) without having to own and possess it? Can we enjoy something and let it go? When I go on vacation I am always tempted to buy stuff that I'll never ever use. I understand some of this passion comes from our desire to remember or memorialize different experiences in life. A tee-shirt reminds of where we bought it and in some way helps us to relive some part of that particular experience. Isn't that true? Even in our Catholic tradition we have relics. We naturally want a physical connection to whatever or whoever we love and desire. This reality is deeply rooted in something very true and beautiful: "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us." (Jn 1:14) The spiritual and physical, the natural and divine are forever wedded in us.

Our thirst for material things comes from the fact that we have an unquenchable spiritual hunger that will only be satisfied when "on that day we shall see you, our God, as you are. We shall become like you and praise you for ever "(Eucharist Prayer II). Because we are not angels (pure spirit) but human beings (body and soul) we are made to experience reality through our five bodily senses.

Our passions, including the passion to possess, however, must be subject to reason. They need direction, they need to be informed, to be disciplined but never suppressed. Otherwise, we become slaves to desires that at best offer us momentary pleasure but never satisfy.

In a recent trip to Cabo Real, Mexico, I wanted to buy something badly. I don't remember what it was now, however, I remember loving the trip and therefore felt compelled to buy something - anything. I subconsciously wanted to try to perpetualize this joy I was experiencing through something material. Its incredible that sometimes something as simple as a rock or a picture can help bring to "life" moments we rightfully want to relive.

I found my match, however: nature. Nature is the remedy for this gotta have it mentality. When you look over the Grand Canyon or the Cliffs of Moher, you can't own it; all you can do is enjoy it. Sure, if you have enough money perhaps you could buy some of the land but never enough to own all the beauty in the world - the sea, the sky and land. At some point you just have to sit down and be absorbed by the beauty and enjoy it without trying to buy it.

Nature frustrates our desire to own everything that gives us pleasure. It taunts us saying "I know you wan'it but you can't have it" All we can do is sit defeated and forfeit our seek-and-destroy mentality and just enjoy it without taking possession of it. It seems to me that these are precisely the moments that bring us satisfaction and peace.