Friday, February 1, 2013

Jesus In Disguise?

This morning was the first Friday of the month.  My parish has Eucharistic Adoration on those days.  After I dropped Matt off at school, I headed over to my church.  I wasn't really "in the mood" to pray, so I brought a book with me.

Once inside, I said hello to Jesus, mentioned a few intentions, and started praying the rosary.  I don't know about you and your experience with Adoration, but my mind wanders.  Like crazy.  I think about what I'm going to do after I leave, what to have for dinner, and how certain people annoy me.

Nice.

After a few minutes I kept hearing what sounded like two people talking to each other.  I tried to ignore it, figuring it wouldn't go on for long.  But it didn't stop.  The longer it lasted, the more annoyed I became.  Didn't they know I was trying to determine if the ground beef I had in the fridge was still usable?   I mean, I feel badly when my jacket rustles when I walk in.  Who did they think they were making so much noise?

I recited my rosary....grumpily, in my head, without making a sound.

About the time I reached the Fifth Joyful Mystery is when I realized the loud whispers were coming from one person.  It was the lady in the pew in front and to the right of me.  I was able to watch her inconspicuously.

At times I would hear words like "my niece",  "Jesus", "Love you".  It was someone's deep conversation with Jesus that was causing me my negative attitude.  (Actually, I think I walked in with one.)

I went from being annoyed to being jealous.  I want that.  I want that intimate relationship with the Lord.  I looked down at my rosary guide.

The Fifth Joyful Mystery....The Finding in the Temple.  

Fruit of the Mystery:  JOY In Finding Jesus. 

 I would say my faith was at it's strongest back in 2008.  Bill and I had attended our parish retreat and my faith was strengthened tremendously.  One of my daily prayers back then was the Divine Mercy Chaplet.  I prayed and watched it every day at 3 o'clock for months on EWTN.  You could say it was then that I reached my peak in the Joy department.  But like many things I start, I stopped this routine.  Since then, I have never been able to get back to that height.

Today after I left the chapel, I stopped across the hall to visit the parish library.  A man who had been in the chapel came in right behind me.  He made small talk and then suggested, out of the blue, for me to take a pamphlet on the Divine Mercy Chaplet.

Wow.  Through my grumpiness in that chapel, God read my heart.  He knew what I wanted (and needed) after seeing that woman.  He sent that man into the library for me. (By the way, he didn't look at anything in the library and left as quickly as he came in)

I think I just got my very own personal nudge from God.  What do you think?




 

7 comments:

  1. THAT is a cool story! Thanks for sharing!

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  2. I absolutely believe that God sends you things and people exactly when you need them the most : ) Amazing!

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  3. Kathleen...that is amazing! My mom often says God will speak to us, we just need to be open to His voice.. And you are and what a wonderful moment that must have been!

    Oh and I am certain, we would be best friends if we lived close...your sound just like me in so many ways! : )

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  4. Love this Kathleen! I can so relate- I feel like I need to pinch myself sometimes to stay focused!! The mind wanders when it is quiet:-) thank you for letting me know I am not alone in this!

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  5. You have no idea how much I smiled reading this. Distractions are hard to get rid of!

    Yes, I think it was God hinting around too :)

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  6. I identified with this post start to finish. Thank you!

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