A woman named Maude had a window seat on a big 747 jetliner that had just taken off from New York heading to Rome. She had been saving for years to fulfill her dream of seeing the sights of the Eternal City. But it was her first flight, and she was terrified. Even the stately presence of the four bishops seated behind her didn’t help.
As the plane reached its cruising altitude Maude finally opened her eyes and peeped out the window, just in time to see one of the plane’s four engines break loose from the wing and disappear into the clouds. “We’re going to die!” she cried out. “We’re all going to die!”
The flight attendant came to Maude and assured her all was under control. Right after, the pilot announced to the passengers that that they would fly back to New York and land safely with three engines. But Maude continued to cry out, “We’re going to die!” The flight attendant went to her and said, “Don’t worry, God is with us. We have only three engines, but look, we have four bishops.” To which Maude replied, “I’d rather have four engines and three bishops!”
Fear never allows us to trust in the words of another nor to hope in the possibility of a better outcome. Maude in her fear was not convinced by the assessment of the pilot nor reassured by the words of the flight attendant, nor could she have hope that there would be a good outcome to all of this. Fear and Faith are never friends.
This week St. Paul tells us to hold to our faith in God. Faith can change our perspective. Faith is a way of seeing. It is like trying to view a Monet painting up close. You must take a step or two back and see it from a more distant perspective. Then you can appreciate the painting. Faith is viewing life from a distance. It is a view of life from another clearer perspective. Follow St. Paul’s advice and change your way of looking at your life. See your life and all around you from the perspective of faith and not through the window of fear.
Fr. Don
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Notes
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PARISH PICNIC - August 14th
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