We needed the rain, today.
To be honest, I’m not sure whether it rained or the dew was just a bit stronger, but when I ventured out to mow the lawn (it’s 75 degrees…), I noticed the grass was too wet. It’s been a hot and dry summer lately, so I was grateful for the moisture, for the replenishment. My yard had started looking a little brown; I noticed an almost crunchy sound when walking around. I water, of course, but sometimes it isn’t enough. Sometimes, we need a little help from Mother Nature to inject life into our gardens, plants and grass. Lately it seemed like Mother Nature was on vacation—at least the rainy portion of her.
We needed the rain, today.
As you may have surmised, I didn’t end up mowing the lawn. But a thought came to me as I walked back inside and put up my mowing clothes: “We needed the rain, and the ‘rain’ comes in many forms.”
St. Teresa of Avila talks about prayer in a way that lends itself to rain. She says that, in the beginning, prayer can feel like drawing water from a well—quite a bit of work. As she continued in her spiritual practices, she noticed that the work became easier, moving from drawing water to a rainfall of the Holy Spirit. Water came abundantly rather than being worked for, or being forced out via human endeavor.
St. Teresa needed the rain, those days.
Since March 8th, ministry has felt like drawing water from stone…we didn’t even have the well. Many of us have been scurrying around, attempting to learn new skills in order to impart the same Gospel. YouTube has been sort of a well for us; it’s taken work, but we’re drawing people in and getting prayer and the message of God through. Then we took a step forward and added someone to the team who made the work easier—still not ‘rain’, but we definitely built that well. The workload lightened, spread out among us.
Then, this past Sunday, God made it rain.
I can’t describe the feeling of receiving communion for the first time in five months—and I am not insensitive to those of you who chose to stay home for good reason. I only speak from my experience at the altar, and that of taking communion again. My prayer life has seemed like drawing water from a well, alongside my ministry life. There’s only so much we can do before we reach the end of our own potential, our own abilities. Of course, we’re rooted in God and therefore sustained by the Holy Spirit and love of Jesus Christ—but it seemed harder. This last Sunday, in receiving communion and being with my church family, the rain came in sheets. It came in physical form from my eyes and the eyes of those around me; it came in spiritual form in that filling sensation brought on by the Holy Spirit; it came in mental form, knowing that our return to a new normal is closer on the horizon than it once was.
Sunday, we needed the rain.
As the week progresses, and the weeks after, I encourage you to seek the rain of prayer and grace of which God so freely provides. It sustains us, makes us grow, cools us down in the current climate, and allows us to have a refreshing drink from the ever-flowing fountain of grace. Communion was that rain for me—how does the rain manifest for you? My prayer this week is that you feel the rain, get watered by the fount of every blessing and are made new by its cascading effect. Because, as it turns out…
We need the rain, every day.
Faithfully,
Fr. Sean+