in the confessional

Today Rich headed out to Confession. He wanted to go to Confession at our own parish earlier that day, but I had been invited out to a beautiful luncheon and had left him with no car, three kids and the shoe-leather-express option - in 100 degree weather. So he decided to wait until this afternoon and drive to another parish for Penance. But when he set out, he passed a different, closer parish and realized that they had Reconciliation taking place at that very moment so he turned into their parking lot instead.

He made his Confession to a priest he had never seen before, spilling the beans on all his least gorgeous behavior from the past two weeks. He also needed a bit of counsel about how to live this job-less limbo that has been getting him a little down in the dumps, so he gave a nutshell version of the past two months or so. The priest asked for a few more details - and said something like, "I know a Bishop who is looking to fill a job in his Diocese".....so Rich told him a little more about his experience and what kind of work he is looking for. But - it turns out that what this priest actually said was "I am a Bishop who is looking to fill a job in my Diocese," which of course, makes all the difference in the world!

Rich came home looking like he had seen a ghost - the Holy Ghost, to be precise. Neither of us has the faintest clue if any of this will actually pan out into "Our Future" - but the most important detail is that the Lord has once again flexed His mighty muscles in our presence and completely reassured us that He is perfectly capable of providing for our most urgent need  -  out of thin air  - at any moment of His choosing  (and without any help from us, thank you very much). Seriously. Not only was no resume or application sent to this prospective employer, BUT rather than showcasing all his best qualities to the "interviewer" he confessed all his worst ones! Only the Lord works in this way, upside down from the way the world works. Or rather, right side up....so high are His ways above our ways.

(And the second most important lesson from this is that Confession is awesome! RUN to your nearest Confessional! Who knows what the Lord has in store for you there!)