Heart to Heart: Faith Seasons Podcast

From the Book of the Prophet Isaiah chapter 49, verse 13
Sing out, O heavens, and rejoice, O earth, break forth into song, you mountains. For the LORD comforts his people and shows mercy to his afflicted.

He played golf on his 90th birthday. That in itself is quite an accomplishment, to be agile enough to continue to play a game that you have loved throughout your life. But it is how Bert Rosenberg came to play the game that I really want to share with you today.

You see, Bert is legally blind. He is not physically fit. He walks slowly and with small steps. He can see a little bit, but certainly not well enough to drive a car. That’s why on his 90th birthday, he kissed his wife goodbye for now, and he walked down the hill from his condo and waited for the bus.
It wasn’t a quick trip to the bus stop. Bert had to be extra careful not to fall. But he made it with a smile.

He took the metro across town and once again walked down the long driveway to the golf course. There he met a friend and together they played golf. His friend, of course, spotted the ball every time Bert hit it. His friend told him what direction to hit the ball, how far to hit the ball, and how well he was doing.

By Bert’s account, they had a great time. And Bert was filled with gratitude.
Bert loved it, that’s why he was doing it on his 90th birthday. After they finished, he took the bus back to his wife to have a rest and then some birthday dinner.

Later that evening, back at his condo, Bert walked his dog.  A friend rolled down his window and said hi to him from his parked car. Bert, walked toward the car not immediately recognizing the voice. “Who’s that?” he asked.

Soon they were laughing together. Bert reached out and took his friend’s hand. “It’s good to see you. I’m so glad you’re well. I was thinking about you the other day…please tell your wife hello for me.”

Do you know someone like this? Are you trying to be like Bert, cheerful, active, kind?

As we deepen our experience this Lent, some of us come to terms with serious issues. Sickness, isolation, pain, stress, our own sinfulness, unrest in our family… The list goes on and on.

Sing out O heavens and rejoice O earth…For the Lord comforts his people.
Sometimes we don’t feel that comfort. All we can think about is the cross we are carrying, or the cross we are watching someone else carry. It can make our life gloomy anytime of the year, but especially during Lent. We know the crucifixion is coming.

And yet this is not a time of gloom. This is a time to find inner strength. To exercise the capabilities, you have to live life fully and joyfully.

You may be mostly blind and can hardly walk, but look around, there is always something good in your life. Go ahead. A bus will be by soon. Take the road toward happiness. Take your next shot like it’s your 90th birthday. 

Now let’s take 30 seconds to water the seed…

What joy can I have in hardship?

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From the Gospel of John chapter 5, verse 16
…the Jews began to persecute Jesus because he did this on a sabbath.

A company put out an internal request for proposals. They were looking to expand their market share and wanted to see what ideas their employees could offer. They would select up to three ideas to be implemented that year.

Anyone who had a winning idea would receive a substantial bonus at the end of the year. There were more than 1,000 people who worked for this company, and many of them were excited by the offer. The proposals were to be hand delivered in paper form to a designated manager of the effort.
There were dozens that came in. One person had a brilliant idea that showed tremendous potential, but when she went to hand deliver the proposal, the manager was away at lunch, so she left it in his mailbox. He found it and put it with others.

When the reviewers read the proposals, that one stood out. Everyone saw that it indeed could make the company substantial profits, but there was a problem. The very people reviewing the proposals might lose their jobs because of a suggested streamlining of production.

They discussed this and decided that this proposal could not be considered because it had been delivered not by hand but left in a mailbox, something that was clearly against the published rules. They were firm in their decision. To protect themselves further, from that day, they began to find a way to force the woman out of the company who had submitted the proposal.

In today’s scripture, Jesus healed a man who had been ill for 38 years, but this happened on the Sabbath. Yet, what an amazing miracle. Jesus told him to get up and carry his mat. And he did! The Jews who witnessed this cured man carrying his mat aren’t interested in the cure. They are upset that he has broken the law and was doing work on the Sabbath.

Where do you fall in this story? Are you like the cured man? Or are you a stickler for details and take the side that no work should be done on the sabbath. That’s the law. End of story. Break the rules and face the consequences.

Or is there something more going on here? Is this about control?  Jesus can’t be controlled by the law which is clearly written so he must be stopped?

This Lenten season, are you fasting because you are supposed to fast? Are you following the law simply because that’s what you are supposed to do? Would you even consider not fasting on a fast day? Perhaps fasting on a day that you are not required to fast?

Let’s remember that our God is not about technicalities. Yes, little things matter. Following the rules matter, but there is something more important. Jesus shows us that following the Holy Spirit, bringing good to the world, is even more important.

That’s a message that has been hand delivered, although some of you may have received it in your email box. 

Now let’s take 30 seconds to water the seed…

What rules get in the way of you drawing closer to God?

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From the Gospel of John chapter 4, verse 53
The father realized that just at that time Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live,” and he and his whole household came to believe.

This is a true story. Once upon a time, a man named Pat Molloy was trying his best to live his Christian faith. He was taking classes working toward completing a program in pastoral ministry.

He and his wife were raising their family of four kids. Pat was volunteering in various ways at his church and in the community. He was taking retreats and sometimes helping out by giving witness talks about his faith.

There came an event he was interested in attending at Notre Dame University. It was a day of worship bringing together people in the charismatic prayer movement. Along with thousands of other people, Pat went to that event some 30 years ago. They filled the Notre Dame football stadium. Something happened to him that day that etched the experience into his very being.

In the early afternoon, there was an activity presented entitled The Healing of Memories. Participants were instructed to think through their lives and to find memories that they were holding onto that produced resentment, sorrow, or anger. They prayed to release those memories so that they could move on in a healthy way for the rest of their lives.

A question asked was “Who do you need to forgive?” And “What’s a grudge that you are holding on to that needs to be healed?” Pat searched his memories and wasn’t coming up with anything. Then one thing surfaced. It was so small he almost didn’t think that it mattered. In fact, he couldn’t remember the details.

What he did remember was that when he was about 13 years old, his mother got word that he had done something wrong and she punished him for it. The thing was, Pat hadn’t done it. He was innocent, but still he was punished. Pat remembers now that “I looked guilty, and if I was a parent, I would have thought that I was guilty, too.”

During the healing service, when this memory came up, he thought to himself, “Oh, that’s an easy one…I forgive you mom.”

That was it. He forgave his mom. When he got back home and stopped in to see his mother later that week, his mother asked him, “Were you praying for me this weekend?”

Pat didn’t remember at first and said, “No, but why do you ask?”

“Well,” said his mother, “at about 1 p.m. on Sunday, I felt this tremendous burden be lifted from me. It felt like a millstone was taken off my neck.”

Pat realized that was the exact time he had forgiven his mother. Thirty years later the memory of that realization is still vivid. The power of God working in his life was wonderfully revealed in that instant.

“If a small matter like that can make such a difference, just imagine what forgiving something bigger can mean,” he said.

God’s timing is not always the same as our timing, but it certainly seems that in some instances, timing helps us to believe. This is something that most of us have experienced. It often comes in small ways, like someone is thinking about a loved one who recently died and had a strong affection for cardinals, and at just that moment, a cardinal flies over to the tree in front of that person.

Or there is an insight you have about how to get along with someone you are struggling to forgive, and suddenly you hear a church bell ring and it feels like confirmation. Many of us see these moments as God working in our life—helping us to believe in the divine Holy Presence.

God’s timing is always on schedule.

When have you found God’s timing to be perfect?

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From John 9:2-3
“Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither he nor his parents sinned; it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him.”

Sanford Greenberg went blind in college. A misdiagnosed case of glaucoma took away his sight, and he thought, at least at first, his life. He dropped out of Columbia University, went home to his parents, and fell into a depression.

Art Garfunkel, who was to later become a mega star in the Simon and Garfunkel band, came to the rescue. Garfunkel had been Greenberg’s roommate in college, and Garfunkel convinced him to come back to school. From then on, Garfunkel got him to class, read to him, and generally helped him to succeed in college.

Greenberg recently released a memoir entitled Hello Darkness, My Old Friend. “Darkness” was the name Garfunkel referred to himself as he helped Greenberg. Garfunkel would say, “Darkness is going to read to you today.” Greenberg explained that this was Garfunkel’s way of voicing solidarity, because he knew that he was now a voice in Greenberg’s darkness.

There was a time when it seemed Garfunkel abandoned Greenberg. He left him at Grand Central Station in New York to fend for himself. Greenberg tripped, stumbled, cut, bruised, and humiliated himself, but eventually found his train to get back to Columbia University. When he was finally back on campus, he bumped into someone.

It was Garfunkel. In reality, Garfunkel had never left his side. He was there the whole time looking out for his friend, but not assisting him. Greenberg said Garfunkel knew “…it was only when I could prove to myself I could do it that I would have real independence. And it worked, because after that I felt that I could do anything.”

Greenberg not only finished his undergraduate degree, he went on to graduate school. Eventually he earned his doctorate degree from Harvard University. He became an inventor, entrepreneur, and the chairman of the board of governors of the John Hopkins University’s Wilmer Eye Institute.

He also helped fund the first album Simon and Garfunkel released. One of the songs on the album was “The Sounds of Silence” which begins, “Hello darkness my old friend.” Paul Simon wrote the song, but that lyric came from Garfunkel and Greenberg’s experience.

Greenberg, a Jew, considers himself both religious and very spiritual. He said in an interview with the Times of Israel, “For me, being religious means you must wonder at the blessings all around us. We must model God’s creation, otherwise we miss the magic of daily living.”

As you listen to this story, do you wonder what Sanford Greenberg’s life would have been like if he hadn’t gone blind? Would he have been so successful? And how about Art Garfunkel, would he have had the same career if he hadn’t had the experience of helping his friend?

The very first hit for Simon and Garfunkel was the Sounds of Silence. Would the song have ever been written if Greenberg hadn’t have gone blind?

As we pass the halfway mark in Lent, each of us has a chance to do our share to make the works of God visible in our life. Whatever our circumstances, there is something possible for us that will please God.

Now let’s take 30 seconds to water the seed…

What challenge have you faced that has made you stronger?

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From the Gospel of Luke chapter 1, verse 38
Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”

There was a young woman who was called into the boss’ office. She was startled by this and a bit intimidated. She recalled that since she was hired at her job a year ago, the only time she was in the boss’ office was for her six-month review. That had worked out well, but there was no review planned for today.

As she went toward the office, she felt the eyes of her co-workers upon her. Her hand shook just a bit as she knocked on the door. Her boss opened the door, and there they were, the two of them face to face with each other. She felt like melting into the floor as his gaze looked deep into her eyes.

“Relax,” he said. “I have good news for you. Have a seat.”

She tried to relax, but her breathing was off. She sat down and looked across the desk. Her boss smiled, and said, “I’ve been watching you—the way you interact with your coworkers, the example you set by always showing up on time, the way you file your summary reports, and the quality of your writing.”

“Thank you,” she said.

“We are starting a new department, and I want you to manage it. You will be at the helm. You are my top choice for this position.”

She was stunned. She never expected this. “But, how could that be? I’m too young. You have 50 people that work for you. I’m one of your newest employees. How could you want me to be a manager? I’ve never managed anything in my life.”

“When you have been at this as long as I have, you get a sense for people. I’ll work with you, and some of the other senior staff as well. You’re the person we want. What do you say? Will you accept?”

On this feast day of the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, we can remind ourselves that we all face this question that the young woman in our story is facing. Do we say yes to the opportunity at hand?

We are talking about the chance to bring something good into the world. The right manager of a business can do a world of good. Any one who has had a good manager in their life knows this to be true. But this isn’t just about being a manager. This is about answering the call of what God is asking of us.

Of course, it’s highly unlikely God is going to appear to you and ask you the question. The angel Gabriel came to Mary. In our story today, the boss came to our talented young woman. How about for you? Who has come and given you a request? or showed up and you saw an opportunity to help?

Many times, when a request comes, an opportunity arises, or a yearning in our heart surfaces, we think we are not qualified, that we are not the right people for the job. We come up with logical reasons why this won’t work.

Maybe that is why the story of the Savior of the World starts this way. It reminds us that with God all things are possible, but we have to say “yes.”

What a beautiful reminder tucked in the midst of our Lenten experience—to answer the call of the Lord with a heart-felt yes.

Answering the call for you might mean that you bend over and pick up some trash off the sidewalk, or that you smile tenderly at a stranger that looks troubled, or spend a day with your kids, or take an extra 15 minutes in prayer, or perhaps…accept a new position as the youngest manager in your company’s history, or maybe the oldest.

In all these cases, during this Lent, may we mirror the words of Mother Mary. “May it be done to me according to your word.”

Now let’s take 30 seconds to water the seed…

What “Yes” am I willing to give today?

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From Jeremiah 7:23
Thus says the LORD: This is what I commanded my people: Listen to my voice; then I will be your God and you shall be my people.

As is sometimes the case, one spouse was clearly more religious than the other. This time, it was the husband who always wanted to go to mass. He would get up early to go to daily mass whenever he could. He never missed on Sundays. If he was sick, he watched mass on TV or his computer.

The wife wasn’t anti-religious, but she didn’t feel inclined to go to mass each day, and many Sundays she struggled to pay attention during the services. She told her husband, “It’s just not the way I connect with God.”

The woman was an avid gardener. She loved flowers, vegetable plants, and trees. Even during the winter months, she was always growing things. She paid special attention, making sure her plants got the light they needed.

The man loved to read devotional books. He was involved in a men’s fellowship group at church and regularly listened to Fr. Jim’s Bible Study podcast. The woman liked to go to garden club meetings.

One day, the man said, “I really think you need to pay more attention to your faith life. It seems to be slipping away. Why don’t you care more about God than you do your garden?”

“I don’t know,” she said. “Maybe it’s because I can’t see or hear God, but I can see my plants grow. I can hear their leaves rustle in the wind. I can smell their freshness. I feel alive when I am in the garden.”

“Well, you are never more alive than when you receive the Eucharist,” said the man. “It is the summit of our Catholic experience. You actually become one with God.”

“And what’s that like for you?” asked the woman.

He said, “I love the idea of God coming into me in a real way. God isn’t just an idea. The Eucharist is a tangible expression of God’s love for me. I become one with Jesus.”

She asked, “Does Jesus talk to you? What do you hear when you have received communion?”

“I don’t hear words,” he said. “It is a bit different each time I receive, but usually what I experience is a sense of peace. I find myself wanting to share that peace with others, to try to make the world a more peaceful place.”

“That’s beautiful,” she said. “It is not what I usually experience, although sometimes I do. Usually, I get distracted. I find myself worrying about all the things that need to get done.”

He paused before he spoke, and then said, “Do you get that sense of peace somewhere else? Do you feel like God speaks to you at another time rather than in church?”

“When I am in the garden, perhaps God is always talking to me—about how things grow so gradually, but then burst to life in a single week. I see colors forming, bees pollinating, and seeds sprouting. It is the place I have no distractions, no worries. It’s just me and I guess God in the garden. That is where I find my peace.”

Is it OK to experience God more in nature than in church? Should this woman do less gardening and more church going? These questions get to the crux of our scripture for today.

“Listen to my voice; then I will be your God and you shall be my people.” We don’t get to pick where God speaks to us. For some it is in church. For some it’s not. I’m not saying don’t go to church. Please do. Participate in all the sacraments by all means.

The important thing is that you listen to God’s voice in your life. This lent, open yourself to God. Find the places where it is easiest for you to listen, to pray, to be with God. 

Where is the place that is easiest for you to listen to God?

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From Matthew 5:19
“…whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.”

Even when we don’t know the names of people in our neighborhood, we often get a sense for people that we see as we drive by their houses, or as we walk our dogs down the sidewalk, or when we haul our trash out to the street. And this guy clearly stood out.

He stood out because he didn’t look like he belonged in this neighborhood of computer programmers, medical professionals, and project managers. 

On one fall day, he was out raking the leaves in his yard. He wanted his yard to look nice, because he liked it that way, and because he wanted it to look nice for the people who walked by. He said hello to anyone who looked his way and took time from his raking to chat with anyone who wanted to talk.

One of the neighbors did want to chat. She explained that the couple from the house just down the street was splitting up, probably getting a divorce, and their house was being foreclosed. She had heard that all of their possessions were going to be auctioned off. She said, “I can’t wait to get that Tiffany lamp that they keep in their front hallway!”

“I’m sorry to hear this,” said the man.

“It’s no surprise,” she said. “They were terrible at managing money. They ate out every night and bought those fancy cars. I heard that he had a wandering eye. I guess his wife wasn’t good enough for him. I’ll tell you, though, I wouldn’t mind spending some quality time with that man. They don’t make ‘em any better looking than him.”

Silently he said a prayer for the couple. He had noticed in recent months that they had seemed unhappy. He had talked with the woman recently, and it looked like she was about to cry while they talked. Now he knew why.

When the raking was done, and he had cleaned up, the man pulled out some extra chicken from his freezer. He peeled potatoes. He mixed a salad. When he was done cooking, he divided up the meal and put the largest portions in some disposable containers.

The woman opened the door, looked surprised, but said, “Hi, can I help you?”

“No,” said the man, “but I had some extra dinner that I made tonight. I do that, occasionally. It reminds me how I used to cook for my wife and the kids, you know, before they grew and went out on their own, and before she got sick, and passed. God, I miss her. And so occasionally I cook like she is still here, but it’s more than I can eat. I was wondering if you and your husband might enjoy a home cooked meal tonight.”

The woman nodded her head, yes, and reached out and took the bag with the food in it. Her eyes were misty as she thanked him, and closed the door.

Before the man walked away, she heard the woman say, “That was the old guy who lives around the corner. He made us dinner tonight.”

How are you doing this Lent? Are you following the commandments? Are you striving to be one of the greatest? Do you even know all 10 of the commandments, or can you name the Beatitudes? This isn’t something to fret about.

Jesus made it simple for us. He said it is all about loving God, and just like loving God is loving your neighbor.

All of us have difficulties, and it’s easy to spend our time worrying about ourselves and concerned only with our needs.

While we do well to pay attention to our needs, we also do well to pay attention to the needs of our neighbors. God wants us to care for others. Go ahead and love God, love your neighbor; and you, too, will be counted among the greatest.

Which commandment do I need to pay closest attention to on this day?

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Today’s story seed is How Often Must I Forgive?

From the Gospel of Matthew chapter 18, verses 21 and 22
“Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.”

A woman opened up her journal, turned to the page where she was keeping her list, and she put in her latest entry.

She wrote, “It’s past 10 p.m. and he is blaring the music again.”

Pushing her black hair out of her eyes, she closed her journal and went to the bathroom to get ready for bed. She was aggravated. She hated her neighbor. That’s why she was keeping a list of all the things he did wrong.

On the day they met, he had called her “sister.” He was clearly not her brother, and she took offense, although she half-heartedly smiled at him. Later that night, when he was out of his apartment and his dog was barking, she decided she did not like this “brother” who lived next door.

Later, after he had left his stinking garbage bag next to his front door, which was only 10’ from her door, she started keeping a list of reasons she disliked him so much.

As the months went by, the pages in her journal filled up—the smelly fish he liked to cook, jump roping in his room that made her glasses rattle, late-night parties with drunk people laughing while she tried to sleep.

At this point she was looking for a new apartment to get away from this “brother” once and for all. She couldn’t find anything suitable so she was stuck living next door to the most inconsiderate imbecile on planet earth.

She noticed that even when he wasn’t doing something annoying, she was still upset. She felt aggravated at work, and he was nowhere near.

He left for the weekend. “Finally, some peace,” she thought to herself, but she couldn’t relax. She spent her time thinking about how offensive he was and how terrible he had made her life.

She started plotting ways she could get even with him. Although she never acted on her plans, she thought about nailing his door shut, leaving her garbage in his doorway, blasting music when she knew he was asleep. These thoughts were the only joy she had.

Such a sad story, but Jesus has a simple answer. Forgive.

In reality, of course, this is not simple. There is a lot going on in this story that needs to be addressed. Forgiveness doesn’t mean there are no consequences to actions. Forgiveness doesn’t mean that we become a doormat, or tolerate injustice.

Chances are good that you are experiencing someone who is irritating to you, or has wronged you in some way. It’s natural to want to get even. However, the time spent hating someone, or plotting revenge, isn’t healthy. The world might tell you that it will make you happy, but it won’t. The joy of revenge is false.

In AA circles it is often said, “Resentment is like swallowing poison and hoping the other person dies.”

When Jesus tells us to forgive not seven times, but seventy-seven times, he is revealing one of the basic truths of a life lived to the fullest. Always forgive. Do not let your heart be burdened. This is for our good, as well as the person being forgiven.

We all know it is not easy, but when it does occur, is it not a gift to ourselves more than the person being forgiven? Letting go of anger, resentment, rage, irritation and other troubling emotions is indeed a gift.

Ask Jesus how to do it in your situation. You don’t need a calculator to know if you should forgive yet again. Forgiveness is always the number one choice.

Now let’s take 30 seconds to water the seed…

Who do I need to forgive?

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From the Gospel of Luke chapter 4, verse 28
When the people in the synagogue heard this, they were all filled with fury.

A family had a small reunion. The parents were thrilled to have their daughter and son back at home. Both of the children were grown at this point. They didn’t yet have families of their own, but they had launched their careers. The son has a significant other who was not at the gathering. The daughter wasn’t in a romantic relationship.

At first, everyone was delighted to see each other. They had a drink and helped cook the dinner together. The food was delicious. Then a cloud of contempt seemed to descend upon the grown children.

“Oh, my sweet sister, I guess I can’t do anything up to your standards,” said the young man.

“That’s what I am talking about,” said the sister. “You think everything I say is a criticism. I’m just saying that there are other jobs out there. If you’re not happy with where you are at, you should leave. That’s what I did and look at how happy I have been since then.”

“Are you kidding me? You’re miserable. You work 50 plus hours every week. You don’t have time to date. You’re always exhausted.”

“I am not. I’m happy. I like to work hard. I’m building a career.”

“So that’s what you’re doing?” said the boy. “You’re building a career. I guess it has nothing to do with avoiding a serious relationship, nothing to do with being scared to interact with other people, nothing to do with being a loner.”

“I get it,” she said. “You have it all figured out. You have a serious relationship—who you are afraid to bring to dinner! You’re pathetic. You have a job you hate and you can’t even bring your ‘special someone’ to dinner.”

The father pounded his fist on the table and said, “OK, this is going to stop right now.”

“Let’s not lose our tempers,” said the mother.

The boy said, “Dinner is over. It’s time for me to go.” He threw his napkin on his plate and left the house.

The daughter soon followed.

It is hard to get along as siblings, as extended family, and as community. We know each other so well that it is easy to get upset. We have an investment in people being the way we think they have always been. To some extent, we want people to conform to our image of who they are.

In today’s scripture selection, the people are filled with fury at Jesus. Just a moment ago, they were admiring him. Now they are upset with him. They ask themselves, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son? Where does he get off thinking he is better than us?”

In fact, they push him to the edge of the hill and are ready to throw him off, but Jesus walks through the crowd and leaves unharmed.

So let’s learn the lesson of Jesus from this story. He doesn’t start yelling, or pushing people. He is not filled with furry and rage. He even lets the people take him to a place where they might kill him. In short, he doesn’t engage in fighting back, although he does speak his truth.

Not engaging in anger is the first lesson.

Perhaps there is another lesson. How is it that he walks away through the crowd when they are ready to kill him. It has been suggested, and this is just one person’s prayer experience, that at the moment they were about to kill him, Jesus looked in the eyes of the person closest to him, and silently said, “I forgive you.”

Our second lesson is more important than the first. Be forgiving. It’s not about saying the words. It is about what goes on in your heart. Continue to work on it this lent.

Now let’s take 30 seconds to water the seed…

What fury do I struggle with?

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Today’s story seed is I AM.

From the Book of Exodus chapter 3, verses 13 and 14
Moses said to God, “But when I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ if they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what am I to tell them?” God replied, “I am who am.” Then he added, “This is what you shall tell the Israelites: I AM sent me to you.”

A young couple had a baby girl, and within a year, she was walking and talking. One of the first words she learned was “sure.”

“Would you like something to eat?” her parents would ask her.

“Sure,” she would reply. Almost anyone who heard her fell instantly in love with this child. She had long, curly blond hair—the kind of curls some people dream of! And her personality was filled with excitement and wonder.

She quickly learned the words, “please” and “thank you,” and she regularly used them. When she would see her aunts and uncles and grandparents, or when her parents would come home after work, she would run to them with a huge smile and get scooped up for a hug.

By age three she was correctly using words like “peculiar” and sentences like, “Oh, we are content with having root beer popsicles.”

Her baby brother arrived that year. He was not quite as quick to walk, nor was he near as quick to talk. This is a real couple. It’s not a fictional story. The parents have given me permission to tell it. As the little boy moves toward his second birthday, he says very few words.

Occasionally his parents hear him say, “Mamma” or “Dada.” Every once in a while it sounds like he is saying a sentence, but it is hard to tell exactly what he is saying. Mostly what he does is grunt. “Ahh” or “uhh” and other such utterances.

He clearly understands things like, “Do you want an apple?” and “Put that pot back in the cupboard.”

Lately, though, the little boy has been saying, “I am.”

It is not always clear when he says it, but his mother loves to hear him say it. She thinks it is a beautiful place for him to begin his speech. “I am.”

She explained that he uses it, she believes, to convey “I am hungry” or “I am tired” or “I am ready to go outside.” What he says, though, is “I am.”

We use this phrase “I am” a lot in life. For instance, “I am a priest. I am a Jesuit. I am a man. I am a storyteller. I am a good listener. I am a friend.”

The first child in this story, we describe as a quick learner, enthusiastic, beautiful, polite. We can also use descriptions for the second child. Sometimes a parent’s fears and reality suggest the boy is “slow” or “delayed” or “deficient.” As we continue in life, these descriptions can become titles, and we start to think our titles and descriptions are who we really are.

I am a doctor. I am a lawyer. I am a football star. I am a mayor. I am a scientist. I am a garbage collector. I am a Nobel Prize winner. I am a convict. I am a wife. I am a husband. I am divorced. I am happy. I am sad.
At our core, we are not any of these labels. Learn the lesson that this not-yet two-year-old boy is teaching us. Before the labels society puts on us, we are part of the great I AM.

It is a lesson worth remembering. Moses was at the burning bush when God told him that I AM was the one sending him. Moses didn’t get the Israelites out of Egypt alone. God was always with him. This Lent, take some time to slow down and ponder that.

Underneath all the words and titles and descriptions is the core of who we are—the God spirit that dwells in each of us. Spend some time with the great I AM in you.

Now let’s take 30 seconds to water the seed…

How do I experience the I AM in me?

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