“You wanna know how to make God laugh?  Tell Him your plans!”  

(St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta)

We never know what a week will bring!  On Sat, Aug 17^th, I was at the Cathedral welcoming about fifty young men from around the diocese for the Bishop’s Called by Name dinner, a program to encourage young men who are praying about their vocations.  By Monday, I was very sick with what I assumed was the flu, or covid or just some 24-hour bug.  We have all had these kinds of things so many times, and normally you just hydrate and wait it out.  By Friday, Aug 23^rd, I was still sick and really had to know if I would be able to fly to Minneapolis on Sunday the 25^th for the National Convention of Diocesan Vocation Directors.  I was to give a conference at that convention, and they needed to find a replacement if I were not coming.  So, I went to a local physician to help me make this decision, whether I should plan to go to Minnesota on Sunday, or not.  

After examining me, he sent me for blood work and a CT scan.  He called me later to tell me that he would now help me make the decision whether to travel or not.  He said, “Father, you are not going to Minnesota; you are going to the hospital!   You have pneumonia in one lung and possibly an intestinal infection; more than we can treat while you are at home.”   Even more unexpectedly, Friday evening, I had laparoscopic abdominal surgery to correct a suspected intestinal blockage.  The radiologist and several surgeons all agreed that what they saw in the scan looked exactly like a blockage.  However, they did not find a blocked intestine, thank you Lord, but they did find a very infected one.  The final diagnosis, as of now, was severe gastroenteritis and pneumonia caused by some unknown virus, which appears to have moved on.  

We all know that following Jesus means that we must live by His words and decisions.  Sometimes our sufferings are not so much what God says or does, but what He permits.  Surrendering ourselves into His hands, giving up control over our lives (and our health) is not easy to do, especially if you have enjoyed good health for so many years.   (And I have enjoyed very good health!)   

As you know, I make a lot of plans in the parish and in the vocation office to try to accomplish our mission, and sometimes those plans actually work out!    When they do not, we grow in holiness in another way by accepting the will of God and surrendering our will to His will.  This act is not “giving up”; far from it!  The more and more we become little before God, the bigger Jesus becomes within us.  This is why humility is such an important virtue.  It means to become little.  “He must increase.  I must decrease.” (John 4).  When our plans fail, this does not mean that God’s plan has failed!  

The Blessed Virgin Mary accepted the will of God, not really understanding exactly what was happening.  She said, “I am the handmaid of the Lord.  Let it be done unto me according to His word.”  And this acceptance brought her suffering and difficulties. Jesus taught us by word and example to pray, “Thy will be done.”  And his obedience caused him great suffering and difficulties.  But behind those sufferings, and resulting from them, God had a bigger plan that no one could really see!  God saved the world through suffering.  When good things happen, God is about the business of saving us.  When bad things happen, God is about the business of saving us.”  

St. John Paul II, in his senior years, suffering from Parkinson’s disease, and still working the daily schedule of the Pope, wrote a short letter which I would like to recommend to you.  It is called “Letter to the Elderly.”  It is freely acquired online and very readable.  If you get a chance to read it, tell me what you think.  I plan to read it again this week.  

I’m glad that I was able to help God laugh these past two weeks.  He has such a big job!  I’m sure He needs a good laugh from time to time.  But I am not discouraged.  I will make new plans and go back to work.  And who knows?  Some of my plans might even work out.

Fr. Brett Brannen

Pastor