Jun152025
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The Generous Pour.

I loved my flip phone for this reason–no text messages. Now I receive texts, and I instantly know disasters that need my immediate attention. “The parking permit expired five minutes ago and you got a ticket.” “The hospital chaplain decided to take the day off without telling anyone. Can you come in and anoint the sick.” What do you do when your day is disrupted, or you have to face difficulties that break your stride? You turn to St. Paul, who is an expert on difficulties and hard times. He tells us in these moments that “God pours His love in us.” Note the word “pour.” When do we pour? When the tank is empty. When the lawn mower needs gas, we do not put in a few drops; we fill it to the brim by pouring. How do we drink water? We pick up the glass and take a few sips. When do we pour water into our bodies? When we are empty after running a marathon. God does not just give love in small doses; He pours it in when we are empty.

A thunderstorm hovered over the city all day. Naturally, there was a flood in the basement. I was frantically trying to bail out the basement, but the water came in faster than I could get it out, so at a certain point in time, I threw my hands up in the air and I said, “That’s it; I’m leaving… I have a baptism at Saint Cecilia’s Church. Just before the baptism, I was standing near the dad who was holding the baby in one hand and a bag in the other. He was trying to get the camera out of the bag with one hand and replace the batteries by flipping the old ones out and inserting new ones, not so easy when you are holding a baby in one hand. Finally, he swung his baby into my chest and said, “Father, you hold him.” I do not have a lot of practice holding babies, so I usually do it wrong. The baby instantly knows I am not doing it right and starts to kick the feet and cry. “You are not my mommy.” This time was different. He reached up with his hand and squeezed my nose. He was laughing while doing this. “Oh, so you think it is a toy, huh?” The baby was having a good time with my face. Someone in the family noticed and said, “Oh, look, the baby likes the priest.” They took out their cameras, and they started taking pictures.

After the Baptism, I said to the Lord, “You planned that. You knew I was having a rough day and today I got to hold a baby.” That may not sound like much, but to me, it was special because I rarely get to hold a baby in my arms.

God does not give love in drips and drabs. He pours. So never fear the hard times, or when you are empty. This is when God can be very personal.

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