A Reflection by Fr. Brian:
It was early morning sometime in 1992 or 1993 in south Berkeley/north Oakland, California. I was driving from our House of Studies in Berkeley where I was living at the time with our seminarians to St. Joseph-Notre Dame High School in Alameda where I ministered as Librarian, Substitute Teacher, Yearbook Advisor, and other odd jobs. I’ll never forget the scene. I was directly behind a run-down old car ahead of me that looked like it had a woman driving with a child in the back seat. As we crossed a busy intersection, I saw the back door open and a tiny hand reach for the handle. I gasped as the hand tried to reach for the door handle. Sure enough, the child fell out of the car into the street and onto the pavement right in the middle of the busy intersection, right in front of me! The woman driving didn’t notice and continued to drive through the intersection. I quickly stopped and ran out into the intersection. Reaching down I picked up the small child, who was crying, and held him in my arms as the mother had realized what had happened, stopped her car and was running towards me.
I looked down at the child, then looked up at the woman, who was a bit hysterical, said, “He’s okay!” and handed the child to his mother, who took him from my hands into hers and gushed with thank-you’s.
She returned to her car and I to mine, and we drove off. All of this happening right in the middle of a busy intersection!
Well, that certainly made my day!
But, you never know. Sometimes, we need that guardian angel to protect us. We never know what is going to happen and we have that in the Holy Spirit! The Holy Spirit is our protector, our comforter, our support, when we fall. It is the Holy Spirit that is our strength in tough times. Jesus and the Father are together in Heaven, but we have their presence through the Holy Spirit. Thank God for the Paraclete! Amen! Alleluia!