This summer I've had the blessing and honor of living at the rectory at All Saints Catholic Church in Lakeville, MN. The priests here have been wonderful and the daily mass community has a strong devotion to the Eucharist. While staying here, I've been able to play ultimate frisbee on Sunday nights with the youth. To be straight up with you, I do not particularly enjoy ultimate frisbee that much. However, the youth do enjoy it, so I try to attend as much as I can.
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| All Saints Catholic Church - The Frisbee Field is near here. |
Recently something changed in my attitude, in the depths of my heart. I NOW ENJOY ULTIMATE FRISBEE. How can that be you might ask? Well the story here begins with a member of the All Saints Community who was diagnosed with cancer about 6 years ago. He has 2 sons and 1 daughter. He was recently admitted to the hospital where I am a chaplain intern for the summer. As I was walking through the halls last week I saw the parish priest. I said, "Fr. Tom, it's good to see you." Holding the pastoral care of the sick book in his hands he said hello and we made small talk. Then he introduced me to the patients wife. He mentioned their last name in our conversations at the rectory in the past. Immediately I remembered Fr. Tom talking about this family and how he has been ministering to them. I offered words of support and encouragement to the wife. She said, "Thank you so much for playing ultimate frisbee with our son. He really looks up to you." I was shocked and thought to myself, "I am really not that good at it and I don't like it." I told her thank you and told her I would stop by later this afternoon.
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| Fr. Tom Wilson |
Over the next couple of days I would be at the hospital and see her husband. He was really tired and struggling, but would always tell me, "Thank you for playing ultimate frisbee with my son. Please keep doing that." My initial thought was, "This family really enjoys their ultimate frisbee." Well as the week went on I was able to visit with the patient and his wife for about an hour. They had plans to discharge out of the hospital and set up hospice care in the home. I wished them well and told them if they needed anything to contact me through the parish.
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| Maybe some day Nuns will play more Ultimate Frisbee |
Well then Sunday came and I watched a VIDEO that moved my heart on the Blessed Mother and the Rosary. On a side note, I'm doing my 4th Marian Consecration, so this is not a surprise that Mary answered some of my prayers. I probably sent the video to about 50 people and posted it on Facebook because it was so inspirational. Then I went to go play ultimate frisbee with the youth. I even sang the Hail Mary on the way down because I was so fired up about the video and Mary's intercession. The patients son showed up to play and we had a blast. After the longest game ever because of poor throws or missed passed I told my team to pretend that the frisbee was the Eucharist. When my team would have possession, in a child-like way I would yell "EUCHARIST!!!!" One time I even held up the frisbee like it was the Eucharist at Mass. It was great to work hard, yet have fun. When the night was over I was still pretty fired up about Mary and her leading people to Jesus from the video I watched earlier. It would be pretty accurate to say that I only received about an hour of sleep that night because of the amount of "Heart Burn" I had that night.
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| Fr. Marcus Milless |
Well as the week went on I would hear bits and pieces about the patient's health. He was declining, but did receive the Eucharist 5 hours before passing from the associate pastor here Fr. Marcus. The next day Fr. Marcus told me the patient had passed away. I reflected often on the patient's last words to me, "Thank you for playing ultimate frisbee with my son. Please keep doing that." Then it clicked. Eureka! A moment of unintentional grace! I was humbled by what exactly the father was telling me. You see, here is a man who cannot play ultimate frisbee with his son and who most likely would do anything to play a game with him. However, due to his cancer this was not a possibility. And by the providential grace of God, he asked me to play. He handed on to me something that he would love to do so I could do something he could not do. This saint, asked me to be father figure to his son. What a gift! What an honor!
This could be why following the commandments is so important. The 4th Commandment: Obey your mother and father. This man and woman are not my parents, but they are motherly and fatherly to me. Thus, the commandment takes a new depth in the heart. If the commandments are not seen through the lenses of love, I might still play ultimate frisbee half-heartedly. Thank God for those who pass down their desires to those with whom they trust.
I now have a new zeal to play ultimate frisbee on Sunday's because it is a way for me to honor this man, it is a way to follow the 4th Commandment. I will now think of this man every time I'm asked to play ultimate frisbee. What an honor it is to honor the commandments. What an honor it is to be consecrated to Mary.
Unintentional grace!
Praise God for Unintentional Grace!
Praise God for Marian Consecration!
Praise God for God!
Living in the Mystery,
Zach Weber
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