Thursday, July 24, 2014

An Enemy Hath Done This

I was 23 years old with a semester to go for my Ivy League MBA.  I had a girlfriend, the love of my life.  I was a good boyfriend.  Come the following Valentine's Day, I sent her flowers and a card.  She lived in another state and I had not seen her since Christmas.  No Valentine response came my way.  What is up?  I called.  She had another boyfriend.  I was out.  My heart was broken.  Tears.  My life was over.  What did I do?  An enemy hath done this.  I got a job offer to move to Chicago.  I took it.  I had never been to Chicago, but I wanted to move away from New York and bad vibes.  In Chicago, I met the Paulist Fathers for the first time.  They were just around the corner from my office.  I used to go to weekday mass at times.  After two Chicago winters, I moved to San Francisco and another job.  Who is at the downtown parish near my office?  The Paulist Fathers.  Six years after the breakup, I joined the Paulists.  It took six years, so God did not get me on the rebound.  The rest is history.  I was meant to be a Paulist priest.  So when bad stuff happens, wait.  God is at work.  People dumped Jesus when he was crucified.  Should'a waited, no? Some of the best stuff comes after the most painful of messes.  Of course, some people wish my girlfriend had married me, so that they would not have to listen to my drivel sermons or see these blogs.

7 comments:

  1. Boy, did she screw up !

    ReplyDelete
  2. I agree - she really lost out.

    But, I wonder, what kind of good boyfriend lets the two months between Christmas and Valentine's pass without some kind of contact. Do you wait that long between prayers - I think not - that might strain your God relationship - as you noted in a previous post. You are ever the romantic when it comes to the past. As I see it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. But it wasn't two months only six weeks. The only personal form of communication was by letter. Long distant phone contact was very expensive probably unavailable for a student. There was no cell phone, no e-mail communication. The trust of this relationship was destroyed.

      Delete
  3. Your sermons are NOT drivel!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for sharing Padre. I love hearing your stories and your blog is a daily visit from this guy. You got guts!
    Go Giants!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Maybe God gave me a message.......That He had other plans for you!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Maybe God sent me a message that He had other plans for you?

    ReplyDelete