Glimpses of Glory

Thursday, 30th Week of Ordinary Time

"When we catch even the tiniest glimpse of God we are filled with joy.  To be aware of his presence, even for a split second, so fills our hearts with love that we must break into praise."
--Fr. Benignus O'Rourke, OSA, Finding Your Hidden Treasure: The Way of Silent Prayer

This is true, but the trouble for me at least (and I always speak for me), is that the instant that glimpse passes, I forget it.  I go immediately back into my grim, relentless push to get things done and check things off my list (a list that never ends or even gets any shorter, by the way).

What a shame.  Because those moments are truly glimpses of glory.  They come on totally unexpectedly.  My daughter looks at me and grins, I get the sudden whiff of rich, earthy fall leaves, I hear the lonesome song of crickets, pining away from a now-faded summer.  And in those moment, there is pure delight, and my heart leaps in praise.

Perhaps my defacto assumption is that, when the moment passes, God is no longer near.  But we know this is untrue.  It is only our openness, our listening, or faith, that has ceased.  These are moments of grace, meant to sustain and inspire us through the ordinary moments, which are never quite as ordinary as we think, when we open our eyes to the shimmering glory all around us.

As St. Paul reminds us today, "I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities,
nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38-39).  Nor checklists, nor grocery shopping, nor bills, nor traffic, nor politics, nor any other distraction we choose to see as more important.

Holy One, I give praise for this glorious moment, just as it is, and pray for the heart of faith to know we are never apart.  Amen.