God of Surprises

"God is always a surprise. You never know how or where you will find him. You are not

setting the time and the place of your encounter with him. You must therefore discern

the encounter."
                                                                         -Pope Francis

I'm sure that the election of a progressive Jesuit cardinal from Argentina was not the expected

choice of a successor to Pope St. John Paul II. The election of Donald Trump as president

was a surprise to many also. Sometimes we are not happy with the surprise, but we must

discern the message.

We expect to find God in prayer, in the chapel, in the cemetery, in the cathedral, yet he is

often more present in simple ordinary places and times. God comes in very unexpected

people: in the homeless veteran on the street, in the young girl whose mother just died,

in the weary bus driver on his last run, in the old woman lonely and afraid, in the prisoner on

death row. God comes in the early morning stillness, in the stunning rainbow, in the blindng

sunlight, in the sparkle of fresh-fallen snow.

We have to be ready to encounter God anywhere, 
anytime. He is anxious to reveal himself. Most of the
time it is we who are unaware of his presence. When we
get a diagnosis of cancer,we are not only surprised, but
shocked. It may be hard to see God in this revelation. It
may take a while to discover his tender loving presence
in the chance to live more consciously in the time we
have, perhaps to be reconciled with a family member
before we die. As Pope Francis reminds us, we must

 "discern the encounter."

-- Pope Francis