Dear Parish Family,

This Sunday is the 19^th Sunday in Ordinary Time.  In the first reading from the First Book of Kings (19:9a, 11-13a), we read that,

At the mountain of God, Horeb, Elijah came to a cave where he took shelter.  Then the LORD said to him, “Go outside and stand on the mountain before the LORD; the LORD will be passing by.”  A strong and heavy wind was rending the mountains and crushing rocks before the LORD— but the LORD was not in the wind. 

After the wind there was an earthquake— but the LORD was not in the earthquake.  After the earthquake there was fire—but the LORD was not in the fire.  After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound.  When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went and stood at the entrance of the cave.

Elijah was on the run.  He had just challenged and defeated the false prophets of Baal.  His enemies, namely, the evil queen Jezebel, wanted him dead.  He had traveled “forty days and forty nights to the mountain of the Lord, Horeb (1 Kings 19:8).”  There the Lord revealed Himself to Elijah not in strong winds, earthquakes or fire.  Rather, He revealed Himself through a tiny, whispering sound.

How often does the Lord speak to us in unexpected ways?  So often in Sacred Scripture we see God choosing the unlikeliest of people and working in the unlikeliest of ways to fulfill His purposes.  God’s ways are not our ways.  God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son to save us from our sins.  The Son of Man came not in glory, but in humility, so as to reconcile us to the Father by His life, death and resurrection.

Sometimes, It’s possible that we might miss out on God revealing Himself to us due to our own preconceived ideas about how we think God will act.  It is enough to know that God always wants what is truly best for us.  God is good and all the time!  God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

God bless you.

Fr. Dan Redmond