The Story of Patrick McSullivan...

The classic story goes something like this: Patrick McSullivan was running late for his appointment downtown. He drove up and down the street trying to find a parking spot. This was very important meeting and he was very stressed worrying that he might lose the account. He was not a religious man, having not been to Mass in over 10 years, but he looked up to Heaven and prayed aloud, “Dear God, I beg o’ ya. If ya just help me ta find a parkin’ spot, I promise ta go to Mass every week. I will give some money ta the orphanage. I’ll even give up drinkin’.” Just a Patrick was finishing these words, a car right in front of him started back out of the spot. Smiling Patrick looked up again and said, “F’rget about all that Lord, I found one myself.”

This story illustrates how we often handle our own lives. At least Patrick remembered to call upon the Lord when he was in need. How many times each day do we think that we can handle a situation instead of asking for God’s help? When we finally do ask for his help, how often do we not notice an answered prayer? Maybe a loved one is sick. Perhaps it is an issue of money. But one way or another, we will at some point need God’s assistance. In fact, we always need His assistance and He loves to help us when we ask.

Have you ever had someone ask you to do a difficult task only to criticize it when you are done? Take for example the young boy who is asked to clean his room. After a battle, he finally gives in and decides to do a good job. Hours later, the laundry is picked up, his furniture is dusted, his room is organized, the floor is vacuumed, the bed is made, clothes put away, and the room generally looks wonderful. He has his mother come in to check and she points out that he missed a dirty sock under the bed, that his trash needs empty, and that she was planning on changing his sheets so he should unmake the bed. There is nothing like good appreciation. How often do we beg God for a favor and when He answers our prayer, we simply complain? Maybe we ask for a promotion at work and when He helps us get it, we complain about the extra work. Maybe we ask for the healing of a loved one who is seriously ill, but when He heals the sick person yet it’s not fast enough for our liking. How does this kind of gratitude show God just how much we appreciate Him? Maybe like Patrick we don’t realize that God has just intervened in our lives. Maybe we don’t see it. They say hindsight is 20/20 so we need to look back in our lives and see how many times God has done something amazing. Maybe we pray for that sick person who gets better and we barely notice it, but then when we pray for that dying person and God takes them home instead of leaving them to suffer, we assume that he doesn’t care or that we are being punished. It’s always hard when we don’t get our way, but we have to remember that His Will is for us will make us the happiest version of ourselves if only we follow it. It is when we impose our own will that we end up stumbling into depression or depressing situations.

We may never know until we try to find the times God has blessed us. Take for example my situation. In the spring of 2002, I sat in my dorm room debating my future. I was strongly considering transferring to a different school, specifically Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas. I thought that transferring there may be the answer to what God wanted me to do. I prayed about it and ultimately took no action to transfer. This seemed like God hadn’t really answered me at the time, but it wasn’t until almost 2 years later that I learned of the ramifications that this decision (and answered prayer had). I came to find out that the woman I now call my wife was in her senior year of high school filling out college applications. She pondered going to Benedictine College or the local University. She had already put in her application to the University and ultimately decided against Benedictine as well. A few short months later, we met. Both of us had prayed for guidance and God had led us to the destination that was part of His plan.

The point I’m trying to make is, in the last few weeks of Lent, we should focus on how we pray and making sure to say “Thank You” when God answers a prayer. A good idea (that I’m going to try to do myself) is keeping a prayer journal and jotting down your daily prayers. Then you can go back over the last few weeks and see what prayers you prayed then. You will see the prayers that you said one day, and see how, even though you may not have noticed, God answered them. Isn’t God GREAT?!?

And now, I’m back to my mission…