Season of Miracles

Photo by Botond Czapp on Unsplash 

Praise be Jesus Christ!  Praise be His Holy Name.  Praise Him who was, who is, and who is to come.  Praise Him in every season, in every circumstance. Praise Him

Thank You God for all thy benefits.  Thank You for times of doing and times of being.  Thank You for the visible and the invisible.  Thank You for the times of doubt and faith, trust and despair, the hills and the valleys.  Thank You for times of health and illness. Thank You for all of it! 

I am sorry, Lord, for my forgetfulness.  I am sorry for my shortsightedness.  I am sorry for my doubt, my moments of pride and unforgiveness.  I am sorry for the times I do not see with eyes and ears and heart that is Christ-like. 

Easter - it is the season of miracles.  If we can only slow down and notice them.  They really do abound if we only look for them.  Our Holy Mother Church is very gracious to us in that she leads us through seasons and reminds us, through those seasons, to keep in the forefront of our minds the life of Christ.  Easter reminds us to hope in miracles; and not just hope and dream about them, but to recognize them!  

I believe that we have many seasons in our life that we are completely overwhelmed with our circumstances and just cannot recognize the miracles right in front of us.  That is akin to when Mary Magdalene was heartbroken when she encountered the empty tomb.  Although Jesus stood so close to her, she was so overwhelmed that she did not recognize the miracle of the resurrection standing there.  

I have had quite the season of overwhelming circumstances lately.  I, just like Mary Magdalene, can easily and very naturally not recognize the miracles that are right before me.  However, just as Mary Magdalene was instantly brought back to the reality of who was before her when her name was spoken by our Lord, Jesus speaks our names too.  He continues to grant us miracles, and He desires for us to see them.

Just as Holy Mother Church asks us to practice prayer, fasting, and almsgiving during Lent, I believe she gently reminds us to practice becoming more aware of the miracles right before us, especially during the Easter season.  Let me practice now!

There are a few moments recently that I cannot deny were my own family’s Easter miracles.  An obvious one that did not take much effort was the arrival of an early but healthy granddaughter just a few days before Easter Sunday!  Another miracle was the fact that my son’s condo was miraculously spared water damage when the unit above his had a leak.  Even the plumber used the word miracle!  Another miracle was that my daughter and I found a parking spot at our parish during the fullest Mass of the weekend!  I know to many that is not a miracle, but it was on a Sunday that we had very little time to spare, and we did not leave the house as early as we normally do.  

My last Easter miracle involves a seemingly impossible situation with my aging dad and finding a physical therapy rehabilitation facility that would accept him after a major issue with his insurance. Not only was he accepted by one close to his younger brother, who is 75 years young, and close to the interstate so that I can easily visit, but it is also one that is visited by a local priest weekly.  I reached out to the parish closest to the facility to ask for a pastoral visit explaining that I live out of state and his brother lives about 20 minutes away so that daily visits from us are not possible.  Not only did the priest visit that very week, but he also called me after his visit to tell me how dad was looking and promised to stop in his room when he is there every week!  The facility has a daily rosary, weekly bible studies, and communion is brought weekly too!  This is in fact a miracle!  

The truth is, miracles surround us everyday in every season of life – the wisdom of Holy Mother Church is that she grants us liturgical seasons to focus on them! What miracles have you recognized lately?  Has Jesus spoken your name so that you notice the miracles right in front of you despite the overwhelming circumstances of life?  Share, share, share… you never know who needs to hear it.