Door Number Four

The hot summer months are always a good time to sit, relax, and remember. So, I begin with two snippets of grandmotherly wisdom, one a personal story and another, one that occurred right here—in our day chapel.

Nearly thirty years ago, yours truly was hosting a family gathering when I realized that my oldest daughter (then 2), with a crayon in her hand, began creating on our living room wall her version of the Mona Lisa. Back then, close family members would describe me as clean, neat, and orderly. And so, upon witnessing my young artist at work, I immediately hurried to the scene. But unbeknownst to me, this young lady’s grandmother (my mother) had also followed me and before I could say a word, whispered in my ear: “Listen, mister, cool your jets! For if something ever happened to your little girl, you’d never paint over it as it would become a monument in your life.”

True enough.

Fast forward to 15 years ago when early one evening, I had just prepared our day chapel for a Holy Hour. Now if you’ve ever made a Holy Hour where there is Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and Benediction, you know they are meant to be very prayerful and intimate experiences with the Lord. And so, that evening, after the chapel was prepared and the people had gathered, I exposed the Blessed Sacrament and incensed it while the first song was sung. Then, we entered into what I thought would be a period of silence. But, with great surprise, someone walked into the church to practice on the piano. I was thinking, well this wasn’t planned, but perhaps some soft music would be nice. But eventually, it devolved into Ragtime!!!

Immediately, my perfectionist ways wanted to stop it. But, given that I couldn’t, I remained composed and seated and prayed that the music would—-STOP! Eventually, when the piano player realized that we were in the chapel, it did.

After our Holy Hour, something happened that I’ve never forgotten. A parishioner, also a grandmother, approached me and offered some insight:

I was watching you when the Ragtime music began and was happy to see an eventual smile on your face because I think Jesus was probably smiling and maybe even laughing, too.

And then she offered a kicker that has stuck with me.

I firmly believe that Jesus loves when we invite Him into our lives. He loves when we invite Him to family events, or when we are driving in the car, or when we are sitting alone.

Why? Because He desires a relationship with us. And as we know, relationships run two ways whereby each party is provided with the opportunity to both speak and listen. And that, my dear friends, is what prayer is all about. Speaking and listening!

Which is why Jesus, at the very end of this gospel passage (Matthew 13:1-9) says these words: “Whoever has ears ought to hear.”

Our Lord’s words should be taken very seriously for following them will lead to a fruitful harvest. And when we don’t follow them? For those of us with a few years behind us, we know full well the negative outcomes when we attempt to remove the Divine from our lives—and our world!

In the Gospel, Jesus shows us multiple paths down which we may travel. I don’t know about you, but whenever I encounter the Parable of the Sower, it is though I’m transported onto the set of a 1970s game show where the host addresses us with these words: Will it be door #1, door #2, door #3, or door #4?

• Door #1: The Path represents those who hear the message but do not understand it, allowing the devil to take it away.
• Door #2: The Rocky Ground symbolizes individuals who receive the message with joy but lack deep roots, leading to a quick fall away during trials.
• Door #3: The Thorny Ground represents those who hear the message but are choked by life’s worries and the deceitfulness of wealth, making it unfruitful.
• Door #4: The Good Soil symbolizes those who hear, understand, and accept the message, leading to spiritual growth and a fruitful life.

After having each door described to us, who wouldn’t choose Door #4? But the reality of our earthly journey is that we’ve likely experienced life within those first three doors. Throughout our lives, we’ve had experiences of God (through our families, friends, or personal crises) but then drifted away from Him—until we one more arrive at a time when we need His assistance. One collective experience of these doors (especially door #2) that comes to mind occurred in the aftermath of 9/11. If you remember, in the weeks following that tragedy, now a quarter century behind us, there were prayer services everywhere and our country appeared to be undergoing a religious revival. But eventually, the feelings drifted away and we moved on—leaving God in our rearview mirror.

In this week’s Magnificat, yet another drop of female wisdom is provided us by Servant of God Catherine Doherty who focuses upon Door #4—the seed that falls on good soil; that is, those who accept and nurture Jesus’ message. 

She notes: 

Listen to Him. What He has to say is vitally important for us. Hold onto Him with all your might and let everything else fall away. Nothing is of much importance compared to God. When He becomes the center of your life, all else will settle into place.