Friday within the Octave of Easter(Click here for readings)
Jesus revealed himself again to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. He revealed himself in this way.
"I am going fishing." Well, not exactly. I actually went to Boston Market a couple of days ago to have lunch with a very close friend. I got there a little early and my friend got there a little late. This was the perfect set up for an encounter with a homeless man.
As I approached the door, I heard someone shout, "Sir? Sir?" I turned around and saw a filthy old man walking towards me. "Yes. What can I do for you?"
"I was wondering if you could get me something to eat."
"Of course. You came to the right place." I opened the door to the restaurant and invited him to come in.
"No!" He said, "They won't let me in."
"Yes they will. You're my guest."
"Come, have breakfast." Well, it wasn't breakfast; it was more like lunch. And we made a scene the moment we walked in. The people working there appeared a bit shocked but not surprised. I believe they had seen the poor man before, but they had never seen me. The young lady who took the man's order wasn't sure if we were "together," so I discretely told her, "He's with me." At that moment she put a smile on her face.
I told the hopeless man to order whatever he wanted. I said to him, "It's on me." And he did. I thought he was about to order the entire kitchen.
"I'll have a whole chicken, with sweet corn and spinach. I'll also take a slice of pecan pie."
I sat down with the man while I waited for my lunch date. We talked (Actually, he talked). He asked me if I was a pastor. I told him that I was a Roman Catholic priest. I asked him what his name was and after a bit of prodding, he opened up to me his life story. Was it true? Who knows. But what I heard was disturbing.
He ate everything, except the pie. I believe he was saving it for later. He ate quickly, with fork and fingers. It didn't take him long to eat, perhaps 15 minutes. When he was finished, he got up and thanked me. I told him I would pray for him if he prayed for me. He agreed to the deal and left.
For a brief moment, I sat in my seat reflecting on our conversation. As I got up, I noticed a woman at a booth waving to me to come over to her. I thought to myself, "What in the world is going on here?" I walked over and she had tears in her eyes. She wanted to talk. I sat down and we talked. This finely dressed woman was going through some tough times in her life. I asked her for her number and I promised her I would contact her. She was thrilled. In fact, she had been looking for Church home for a while.
By the time I finished speaking to her, my friend arrived and we had our lunch together. Everything was perfectly timed.
I was early. My dear friend was late. What a day! What an experience.
"They realized it was the Lord." I got into my car and reflected on my various "lunch" encounters. I asked myself why this woman wanted to speak with me. I knew the answer. It wasn't the obvious. It was deeper than it appeared to be. It wasn't because she had seen a priest. It was because she had seen a priest with a homeless man. She saw me because she saw the homeless man.
Jesus reveals Himself in the most mysterious ways: through the unlikeliest of people. In fact, if it weren't for the people He hung around with, His identity would never have been revealed.
I was thinking about these 3 times (3 gospels this week) when Jesus’ close friends did not / could not recognize Him. Even today’s gospel said that the apostles did not dared ask: “who are you?” because they knew it was the Lord. So this tells me that they really didn’t recognize Him physically. Yes, how many times I do not see Jesus in my brothers and sisters?
ReplyDeleteBut also, I think these stories are telling us – you will know me by My voice – Mary; Recognize me in the breaking of the bread for this is truly Me and you can become like Me if you truly believe (disciples) and to Peter and the apostles – I will do any and everything to help you believe - every day miracles occur all the time - just open your eyes and see.
I wonder how many more truths can be revealed just through these 3 stories. It really doesn’t matter, as long as we are treating each other as we would treat Christ – just as you did! Life is so much bigger than life when we can see Jesus in everything we do and say!!! It's the change that changes everything!
What a beautiful story. It prompts me to think about whether I have tried to bring Christ to others...
ReplyDeleteSo inspiring thanks for the story
ReplyDeleteI sometimes wonder if I encounter Jesus when some anonymous stranger, at my job or somewhere else, asks something of me. Unfortunately, this happens after the occasion to help them has passed. I go about my business and remain polite, but I rarely reach out. I think this comes from being self-absorbed.
ReplyDeleteI'll follow your cue. Thanks for the story.
" I told him I would pray for him if he prayed for me."
ReplyDeleteSeriously?! People have to pray for you before you pray for them?! People shouldn't have to pray for someone with conditions attached. And certainly a clergyman should offer prayers without the ego expecting anything in return.
"Without the ego expecting anything in return." really? are you serious? why do you think he asked the poor man to pray for him? Because he needed an ego boost? hee hee hee.
ReplyDeleteFar too many people read scripture with little to no interest in understanding the author's intentions.
DeleteThe above comment is a classic example of this kind of reading. The above commentator had an opportunity to ask the author what they meant by the statement "I told him I would pray for him if he prayed for me." But instead of asking, anonymous #1 prefers to go off the handle with all their pent up bigotry and bias.
Religious bigotry and hatred towards anyone religious is not difficult to detect.
My sincere apologies. I wrote my comment very poorly. I didn't mean to get people upset. I'm definitely not anti-religious and had no intent to sound like a bigot or overly bias.
DeleteI would like a better explanation for why father used the phrase: "I told him I would pray for him if he prayed for me." Do priests expect prayers for themselves in return for prayers given? Shouldn't priests pray for others without conditions?
--A #1
A#1-- If you were to spend time getting to know Catholic Christians--and I daresay other Christians--it wouldn't be long before you would be exposed to the faithful saying to each other "I will pray for you; pray for me." or "I will pray for you, and please pray for me." I assure you you would hear this said in various settings. If someone says "I will pray for you, if you will pray for me--" it's used in the same manner as the first two phrases listed in this paragraph. It's colloquial, informal.
DeleteWhen person A has asked for the prayers of person B, in a sense person A has then put him/herself at the mercy of person B. When person B replies with one of the phrases above, it is an acknowledgement that s/he is also in need of prayer. Whenever I have heard a priest use one of the phrases, to me I have recognized it not as a conditional response, but as a mark of humility--the priest in an indirect way is also expressing *his* need of prayers from the faithful. That is, his position of leader and teacher does not exclude him from the need of prayers of support from the faithful.
In Father's Alfonse's case, I would believe his notion of prayer for prayer is not to be taken as absolute (and I imagine the homeless individual understood that after having received such kind treatment unconditionally). The notion would better correlate with his actions if we understood he's intentions were for the man to take part in conversation with God, and incite trust and hope in God. Mind you, we All need prayers, but the homeless man left with prayers and good will entrusted to a Father who's good for it, rest assured.
DeleteMy prayers are with you also, Father Alfonse. God bless everyone of us.
In Father's Alfonse's case, I would believe his notion of prayer for prayer is not to be taken as absolute (and I imagine the homeless individual understood that after having received such kind treatment unconditionally). The notion would better correlate with his actions if we understood he's intentions were for the man to take part in conversation with God, and incite trust and hope in God. Mind you, we All need prayers, but the homeless man left with prayers and good will entrusted to a Father who's good for it, rest assured.
DeleteMy prayers are with you also, Father Alfonse. God bless everyone of us.
It's been a crazy day today, but I would like to address the question.
Delete"I will pray for you if you pray for me." is an honest acknowledgement that my prayers are no more heard than this poor man's prayers. If anything, I strongly believe his prayers are better heard, since the Lord is "close to the brokenhearted."
"I will pray for you." sounds too standoffish and at my mercy. "I will pray for you if you pray for me" sounds more like "I need you as much as you need me."
Thank-you, Father Alfonse, for your kind explanation......I will definitely pray for you if you pray for me, too.
DeleteI'm a Catholic Christian and no where near an atheist/non-Christian as a few anonymous imply. I find the assumption quite harsh and offensive. Please give people the benefit of the doubt before accusing someone of being a non-Christian, or catechizing to them as if like they are ignorant. I know quite a bit more than you think. (Laughing at comments isn't too tactful either.) Personally, a priest or lay person has never said to me "I will pray for you if you pray for me." Normally I only hear "I will keep you in my prayers" and similar. Now I will be aware of this in the future.
I think we should all pray for one another and keep the critical remarks to a minimum. Stay away from making immediate judgments when not all the facts are present. I will make a point of writing more tactfully in the future.
--A#1
It gets tiresome to have to read harsh comments critical of Fr Alfonse and the clergy, which make negative assumptions about the intention of the author, and in which the poster demands a personal response to the harsh comment, and then have to endure more complaints about how the harsh comment wasn't received well.
DeleteThis has happened several times before, where the author is not given the benefit of the doubt, yet the commenter demands that s/he be given the benefit of the doubt. I think we all of a pretty good idea of who this commenter is. It gets really old.
I think we all need to pray for each other and minister to each other. I think that's all Fr. A was saying,
ReplyDeleteAfter receiving absolution in confession, my confessors will often ask me to pray for them, and I figure it's the least I can do, freely and unconditionally, since our Lord has just poured out His mercy & forgiveness upon me. I think it shows humility when the clergy ask for our prayers, and without question, we all need to be praying for them continuously. Why put a price on it?
ReplyDelete