"In a dense cloud"

"I am coming to you in a dense cloud," God tells Moses (Ex19:9). Those who read our comments on the daily readings at our web site know we are now going through the Book of Exodus. The Night Office contained this very text this morning: "I am coming to you in a dense cloud." I asked myself, "Why?" Why would God come to anyone "in a dense cloud"? I had a feeling I knew. But I didn't try to articulate it until a little later that morning, I was reading Jerome Kodell, OSB's little book, Musings From the Monastery. It's subtitle is, "Don't trust the abbot." But in this case, we are going to do just that: trust Fr. Jerome, abbot of Subiaco Monastery, Subiaco, Arkansas, to give us a clue as to why in the world God would come to anyone in a dense cloud. The abbot writes: "God is constantly acting in our lives, but often that work is hidden under camouflage ...Only if we stay attentive and look closely will we get even a glimpse of the hand of God working in our lives. This is not by accident. The way to salvation is through faith, which means putting our trust in God. We could never grow in trust if the works of God's hand among us were visible and unmistakable." -- Watch the Signs essay, p15

A prominent sign of God's presence with the people of Israel in their journey out of Egypt was "a cloud by day and a column of fire by night." (Ex13:21-22) It would seem 'the dense cloud' is as good as it gets for us humans when it comes to "seeing" and "hearing" what God has to say to us. Before he was Paul the Apostle, Saul the Pharisee had 'the dense cloud' experience. On a mission of vengeance to round up and imprison Christians, Saul was: struck by a blinding light and knocked off his feet (Acts9:4). Blind as a bat, when he stood up he had to be led by the hand into the city of Damascus. Three days in a dense cloud later, a man named Ananias came to his house, gradually leading the Christian Paul to emerge from the Pharisee Saul.

A good strong faith will neutralize almost any dense cloud. But it won't necessarily make you a good dinner companion. A few days before I boarded a train for St. Benedict's Farm, my step grandmother invited myself and my aunt out to a restaurant. We had just ordered, when out of the blue, Annabelle, (as we called her), turned to me and said, "Why don't you go up to Benet Lake (Wis...where her cousin was the abbot) first, and try an established Benedictine house before you join a group with no standing whatsoever." Feeling the trap clap-shut on my leg, I said, "NOOOOOOOO!" As that one word emerged from my bowels, I think I lifted off the booth seat at least 8 inches. I can tell you this, the rest of that evening was limited to 'small talk' -- very small talk.

Contrasting life on earth with that in heaven, Paul writes the Corinthians, "At present, we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. At present I know partially; then I shall know fully as I am fully known." (1Cor13:12) Dense clouds give us the opportunity to exercise our faith. So then, when the Lord God speaks to you 'in a dense cloud,' don't feel cheated. Don't stomp and complain. This is simply the chance you need to really show your stuff. -- Brother Caedfile

"Where were you when?" ...... #2

I’m old enough to know where I was when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Also, when Franklin Roosevelt died, and of course, when the planes hit the towers. Where we were when big things happen is often worth remembering. In this blog, we remember where we were when God called us. But first, though, we take a look at where some well-known figures in the Bible were when God called them.

“Are these all of the sons you have?” Samuel asks Jesse. (1Sam16:11) “There is still the youngest,” the father replied, “who is tending the sheep.” Thus, fresh from the pastures, the boy David was anointed king to succeed Saul. In “a small still voice” at the entrance to a cave on Mount Horeb, Elijah heard God summon him to keep prophesying. When time came to pass on his ministry, he found Elisha plowing behind twelve yoke of oxen and he threw his cloak over him. (1Kgs19:19) Saul the Pharisee became Paul the Apostle on the road to Damascus, where he was headed with letters to imprison Christians. Confronted by Jesus, his life turned around 360º. Mary was called to be the mother of Jesus in Nazareth, while Zechariah was called while ministering in the Temple at Jerusalem. He and his aging wife were to become the father of John the Baptist. From their fishing boats, Peter, Andrew, James and John were called as the first of the 12 apostles. Matthew was at his tax collector’s post when Jesus called him. But the prize for the most unusual place to be called from belongs to Zacchaeus, who was up in a sycamore tree when Jesus called from below: “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.”

The story of my own calling is pretty funny too. I was shaving in the latrine at the 68th battalion of the 1st Armored Division at Fort Hood, Texas when God called me to be a monk. In a flash, I stopped moving my razor. Looking at my face in the mirror, lather on one side, a smile on the other: “A Trappist monk,” I said to myself, “Yeah.” I stopped and congratulated myself on my extreme good luck. It felt right. I couldn’t have refused if I tried; the Lord had his hooks in me. ─ Brother Caedfile