A Reluctant Teacher’s Call
Five years ago, I was no Sunday School teacher—just a bumbling Catholic relearning my faith after years away from the Church. It was late summer of 2020, and the world was still in a frenzy dealing with the COVID pandemic. It was a blessing to me that my parish, St. John Vianney, had re-opened as soon as it did. It was a bold move that so many other churches were reluctant to make. The St. John Vianney parish community had become my lifeblood in this period, and I needed it so much.
And so it was that on this August Sunday after mass, I fell into a conversation in the parking lot with a woman I’d never met before. Joan, the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS) program director, was eager to re-open the class as well–masks and all–and needed help with the 3- to 5-year-old keiki.
Teach Sunday School? It felt a little out of my league. I’d been a dismal failure catechizing my own children and knew how many holes in my own understanding of my Catholic faith still needed to be filled.
But the Holy Spirit nudged me to say yes. He’s doing that a lot in my life now, since I learned to listen for him.
And so on that day, I did say “yes” to Joan, and I’ve been involved in the program ever since.
Seeking God’s Voice in My Pew
Fast forward to September 8, 2024, and I had come to Mass to worship God and to celebrate the Eucharist. I found my usual “spot”—two-thirds of the way back, left side, facing the altar. It’s funny how we church regulars find where we’re comfortable sitting and go to the same spot week after week!
This Sunday was the 2nd week of the new CGS year, and I was questioning whether the ministry was really where God wanted me to be serving him. I still felt like a fraud, and like my “time, talent, and treasure” might be invested better somewhere else in the Church.
“What do you want from me, God?” I was eager to hear.
The mass proceeded with the Liturgy of the Word. I love how the Catholic mass weaves together Old Testament, Psalm, New Testament, and Gospel readings every week to illuminate God’s overarching presence in the story of our salvation. I used to miss these remarkable threads, but with continued Bible studies I can now see how Jesus, hidden in the Old Testament, shines in the New!
The priest announced the gospel reading:
“A reading from the Gospel of Mark”.
The church body responded “Glory to you, O Lord”, and we traced crosses on our foreheads, mouths, and hearts. We all want God’s Word to open a response from us in our thoughts, words, and deeds.
A Gospel That Speaks
Mark 7:31-37 got my attention. In the Decapolis, Jesus encounters a deaf man who struggles to speak. Touching his ears and tongue, He sighs, looks to heaven, and speaks in Aramaic (his native tongue) one word:
“Ephphatha!”
...”Which means, ‘Be opened'”.
BAM! I could totally identify with this deaf-mute who could now hear and speak! How I longed to unleash to the world proof of God’s power to heal through his love! He’d already done it for me.
A Seashell’s Answer
Three hours later, I sat down to “teach” my CGS class. To be honest, I was winging it a bit since it was still one of the first weeks and I was still getting to know the children. The kids were still acclimating to the space, and I needed to reinforce that this was our time to be attentive and to quietly spend time with Jesus. “Ephphatha!” sounded in my head, and I encouraged them to listen for Jesus while they worked on their selected activities.
I was already noticing that one of my new students, Winnie, was very introspective and so full of wonder. She went and plucked a basket of seashells from the shelf. The aim of that “practical life” activity is to match different types of shells and ponder the beauty of God’s creation. Like the kids from previous years, she intuitively held one of the shells to her ear. And I expected her to say, “I hear the ocean!” But instead, she gasped.
I noticed, and asked Winnie, “Do you hear something?”
She looked up to me with her big, beautiful eyes and whispered urgently, “I hear Jesus!”
My heart stopped. I really wanted to hear what Jesus said to her. So I moved in closer to her and I asked, “You do? What is he telling you?”
Her answer blew me away.
“He says, ‘Spread my love around’”.
Now Winnie could not have possibly known that I’d recently taken up praying the Divine Mercy as often as I could. This is a prayer that is totally centered on God’s ocean of mercy, his unfathomable love for us, poured out for us on the Cross. We pray it to acknowledge that infinite love, and to spread that message to others. I especially love one of the optional closing prayers to the chaplet:
Eternal God, in Whom mercy is endless and the treasury of compassion — inexhaustible, look kindly upon us and increase Your mercy in us, that in difficult moments we might not despair nor become despondent, but with great confidence submit ourselves to Your holy will, which is Love and Mercy itself.”
I have no doubt that Winnie did hear Jesus. Jesus often urged us to be more like children, our hearts and minds open to all His mystery and wonder.
Let the children come to me, do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.
— Mark 10:14-15
Winnie’s words pierced my soul. While they clearly thrilled her, they were simultaneously directed to me. God was telling me, through this sweet child, that I was right where I need to be in that moment. By His grace, I was reminded why these children are closer to God and teach me more about receiving Him than I ever discover on my own!
Jesus is Calling You, Too!
Christ is constantly calling us to follow him! But in our noisy world, it’s easy to miss his quiet plea. He speaks to us in surprising ways, and we need to be attentive. So listen up! Dedicate a few minutes each day to open your eyes, ears, and heart to Jesus and let us know how it goes! And remember: silence is golden : ) .
