I have been involved in a number of types of occupations through the many, and I mean many, years of my own life’s journey.  One of the woven threads as I do a life review of the many things God has graced me to be involved in, is that a lot of these memories involve me listening intently to the story of other peoples’ lives.
After college I worked for about 8 years in a variety of restaurants in the North Shore suburbs of Chicago.  I worked in a variety of capacities, host, waiter, line cook, pastry cook, restaurant manager (wasn’t my thing), but for a majority of that time I was a bartender.  I began my formational life as a confessor listening to the life stories of people who came in for a liquid libation or two. 

Next, in my formation as a Jesuit God seemed to be drawing my heart to formational experiences that informed my vocation around pastoral counseling, spiritual direction, and being a retreat leader.   Finally, I am involved now in my ministry as a Market Vice President for Mission in Nebraska and Iowa for  one of the largest Catholic Healthcare systems in the United States, CommonSpirit Health (CHI Health).   Here, in this current ministry, I spend part of every day involved in leader rounding, where, again I am honored and grateful as patients, families, and colleagues share deeply the story of their lives.

In life, we all ‘got’ stuff.  We all go through a lot.  We all have our own personal stories of triumph and tragedy, celebration and sorrow, contentment and despair.  Yet, our reading calls us to return back to God’s, and not the world’s reality is the power to be in where our faith should rest.  From Isaiah, in the heartfelt promise of God spoken through the mouth of the prophet Isaiah, we are called to remember that ‘no more will we weep’.  Jesus comforts us in our Gospel of Matthew today with words that those who minister in faith the divine love of God will be the light bearers ‘curing the sick, raising  the dead, cleansing lepers, and driving out demons’. So, in my ministry, God graces me to see come to life every day, in the stories of those who God places on my path, today’s readings and gospel promises.  I have and continue to listen to the stories of people’s lives, of how divine light, love, hope, mercy, compassion, forgiveness, and healing always, always, always supplants any of life’s more bruising trials.

So, as we pray and reflect on the readings for the day today we can feel assured once again that the Divine Promise of God’s dream for the world and for us is to have faith that love will always triumph over hate.  Hope is a more powerful force than despair.  There is much to celebrate and for which to be grateful than not.  In God’s promise for us, fulfilled in Jesus Christ, and that forever lives on in the Holy Spirit of Divine love that surrounds us will never ever die, is always resurrected, always healing us, always calling us home, always the light that supplants the world’s darkness, gracing us with all hope and possibility. And isn’t that a great and wonderfully awesome truth!