"O Lord! All our trouble comes to us from not having our eyes fixed on you."
— St. Teresa of Avila
In our local area, the neighboring parishes rotate to cover hospital calls at Heritage Valley in Sewickley. My day of coverage is Wednesday. I was aroused form sleep at 6:00 AM last Wednesday thinking to be called into action at the hospital only to be informed by the men's spirituality group which meets early on Wednesday mornings that Healy Hall was filled with water! I immediately phoned our maintenance man, Tom St. Claire, to survey the situation. He informed me that the damage was quite extensive and we would need to contact the necessary eperts. I then called Mike Traveris with G. S. Jones Restoration and Consulting of Emsworth. They came immediately along with the McKamish Air Conditioning.
It was found that a dated fabric liner covering the fiberglass insulation on air condition panel had pealed away, clogging the drain. The water overflowed, resulting in a full day of water removal and floor treatment. There was extensive water damage in the storage areas. The dance floor too, made of parquet tiling, had to be removed. Many objects sitting in the water had to be discarded. To prevent this from happening again, McKamish installed a safety switch on our air conditioning system. Gratefully, our insurance helped us to recover the losses. It's amazing how much damage water can do in a short amount of time.
Not long after this call, I was summoned to Heritage Valley of Sewickley to visit a parishioner who fell and broke her hip and wrist at 4:30 AM when she became dizzy in the bathroom. I visited her two daughters and son-in-law who were patiently waiting for her to go into surgery. They were grateful for my pastoral presence and ministry, along with administering the anointing of the sick to woman.
This experience reminded me of a story in Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan's book, Doers of the Word: Putting Your Faith into Practice. He relates, "Recently, I visited a dying woman in the hospital. When I called to ask her if I could come visit her in hospice, she paused, 'Archbishop, I really appreciate your calls to me and to my family. And I’ll be thrilled to see you here for a visit. All of that is a big help. But, if you really want to help me, when you come, please hear my confession, anoint me and bring me Holy Communion. That will be the best help of all.'" The archbishop noted that she truly understood the grace and the power of the sacraments.
Throughout each of our own lives, we face many storms or crises. “Crisis” comes from a Chinese word meaning, “danger or opportunity." A crisis is a danger that can overwhelm and threaten us or an opportunity to draw us closer to God and others. The storms and struggles of our lives often become the means by which we can face ourselves and let go of the things that mar God's image in us. It is through standing in the presence of the transforming God that we are changed.
Because the storms of our lives threaten to sweep us away and take us under, we can be paralyzed with fear and overwhelmed. Sufferings come in many forms and sometimes without a warning bell. No matter what the struggle — sudden illness, injury, accidents, job loss, relocation, relational dissonance, divorce, parenting stress, financial challenges, death of a loved one and personal issues — no matter what the upheaval one faces, it's easy to feel endangered by the storm and become crippled by fear, making one helpless. We are apt to take our eyes off of Jesus, like St. Peter in our Gospel today, who focused on the power of the winds and the waves instead of Jesus. But Jesus is telling us not to be afraid; He wants to bring peace to our troubled lives by the constancy of His calming presence. Focusing on problems can easily lead to darkness and despair. But when we keep our eyes on Jesus, though our problems don't disappear, we find that He is with us through them all.
Elijah did not find God in the violent and powerful earthquake, nor in the earth-shattering hurricane which destroyed boulders, nor in the uncontained wild fire, nor in the heavy winds which raged for days. It was, however, in a tiny whispering sound, in stillness and quiet, in calmness, that Elijah found God. Through all the chaos, craziness and uncontrollable disintegration of the human journey, Jesus summons us to have courage. His outstretched and hand and strong arm seek to deliver and save us from any power that defeats us. As God helped Elijah at Mt. Horeb and Jesus helped Peter on the Sea of Galilee, so too, God's divine help will be never lacking for us. He will never abandon us when the winds of temptation, fatigue or difficulties come on our path. Jesus shows Himself and tells us, "It is I, do not be afraid.” As St. Teresa says, “He never fails His friends.”
As priests, we're always on the call-watch. We never know when danger will strike as we journey with God's people, seeking to lead them to greater faith and holiness. Yes, at times the forces of the world are very mighty and strong, however, these stresses challenge us to place greater faith in Jesus who is infinitely stronger.
In the turbulence of our times, we must seek the constancy and calm that faith in prayer brings to our lives. May the crises we face throughout our life's voyaging be the opportunities for us to call out to God and walk on water. The Lord wants none to be lost, none to drown. Sometimes the dark and distressing moments of our lives bring us to more courageous and truer faith. I always admired a woman named Kathy who worked in the emergency room at Mercy Hospital while I served as a chaplain. For over 25 years she took person after person in trouble and crisis, and with reassurance, reached out to bring Christ's hope, peace and calm. She was an inspiration, showing the power of moving people from dark clouds of Good Fridays to bright Easter Sundays.
