What Matters Most

Often times, we're taken off guard in life - we're so set in our ways and theories and our comfort zone that when something radical is asked of us, we shy away.  Unless even the surprise catches us by surprise.  Sometimes the most natural inclinations and intuitions we have toward a situation (fight, flight, or anything in between) are what are most true.  Fr. McTeigue has long told me that being patient is merely being present to the present, enjoying (or enduring) what is right in front of us, labouring neither over the past nor worrying about the future.  For someone as serious-minded, meticulous, and detail-oriented as myself, I am naturally disinclined to follow such logic.  I worry about almost everything.  But then God comes along and reminds me that He already knows how things are going to turn out, that everything happens for a reason, and that joys and sorrows alike are hand-picked by Him for my salvation.  What matters most is responding to the grace He offers when He offers it.  It's easy to put it off, to "think about it" for a while, and to delay making a decision.  But, to take St. Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus (the one to whom God Almighty entrusted both His Son and His most precious creature, Mary) for an example...when the Holy Ghost acted in his soul, he moved.  Without question, without hesitation, no matter how bizarre the request.  He acted on it wholeheartedly, without delay.  And so should we act.  Responsiveness to God's grace in our lives is crucial.  Whether it's a conversation in passing, a "debate", a meaningful friendship, however it manifests itself, recognizing and pursuing the Truth is something God offers us on a daily basis.  If we have the ears to hear and the eyes to see...let us pray for the courage to act.