Cleaning up after dinner, the Catholic Wise Guy pondered the conversation. Saint Mike, his de facto Spiritual Director as well as the Director of Maintenance at St. Rita, had called to discuss several parish problems. Before hanging up St. Mike had asked the Wise Guy how he was doing with the lockdown.
“Praying more,” the Wise guy said. “Watching Bishop Barron’s daily masses. Trying to stay busy. Walking the neighborhood. Limiting my television, snacks and ice cream.”
“Good, good.”
“Still getting stir-crazy, though,” the Wise Guy added.
“We all are. Spiritual people get stir-crazy too.”
“That’s nice to know,” the Wise Guy answered. Those words consoled. He was trying to be a faithful disciple of the Lord but felt so, so imperfect.
“Being separated from your family doesn’t help, does it?” St. Mike said.
“No, it doesn’t,” the Wise Guy. He failed to mention that he had drafted several grievances against the Lord but, unlike Job, had not filed them.
“I have two suggestions for you. Neither is original. But they have brought spiritual blessings for centuries for those who approach them with an open heart,” Saint Mike paused and then began coughing. Finally, he stopped, gathered himself and continued.
“First, count your blessings. Blessings of all types – big, small, spiritual, physical, mundane, simple, complex. Just write out a list. Pray over it.”
“Will do.”
Saint Mike added, “I read somewhere we Christians should devote more energy to basking in our blessings rather than sulking in our sorrows.”
“I like that,” the Wise Guy said, putting his phone on the couch and writing those words down on his notepad. He always had a pad and pen on hand when St. Mike called.
“And the second suggestion?”
“Answer these two questions: What is most important to you? What do you miss the most during the Corona Virus lockdown?”
The Catholic Wise guy labored mightily over St. Mike’s two suggestions – oceans of free time were available.
Here is the blessing list of the Catholic Wise Guy – he was:
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- Living in the Lord (with God’s help);
- Giving thanks for his health and that of his family and friends;
- Praying more;
- Talking to family more (on the phone);
- Reading & writing more;
- Exercising more;
- Driving less, using less gas, being kind to the environment;
- Eating and drinking as he wanted;
- Receiving his monthly pension and social security – not experiencing financial insecurity;
- Walking and biking in the neighborhood;
- Accessing television and the Internet;
- Living in a nice house with controlled heating and cooling;
- Fretting less about money and the stock market;
- Keeping up with his laundry.
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Next, he addressed St. Mike’s two questions. The answer to the first came quickly for the Catholic Wise Guy. His faith and family were most important to him.
Meditating on the second question, he knew he missed baseball but it wasn’t a close second to what he missed most: gathering with his fellow believers at mass to worship God and receive our Lord’s precious body and blood in holy communion.
Talk about a personal relationship with Jesus. It is difficult for the Catholic Wise guy to imagine having a more “personal relationship with Jesus” than receiving Him “body and blood, soul and divinity” at each mass. That is very personal.
The Catholic Wise Guy prays for the return of mass and longs for the Lord, saying with the Psalmist:
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- “As the deer longs for streams of water,
- so my soul longs for you, O God.” (Psalm 42:2)
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