March 12th, Friday, Third Week of Lent

Hosea 14: 2-10, Psalm 81: 6c-8a, 8bc-9, 10-11ab, 14 and 17, Mark 12: 28-34

Today’s reading reminds us to keep our priorities straight and remember that God must come before everything else in our hectic lives. If we take the time to remember God he will lead us in the right direction, and our daily burdens won’t seem so tiresome. The message reminds me of a time this year when God and a friend helped me cope with the stress of my first college finals.

It was Sunday morning. My first final was the next day, and I had decided to spend the whole day with my nose in my books. Trouble was I had no direction. I could not decide where to start and had little determination to continue for the whole day. Things changed when my friend Calvin surprised me by showing up at my door wearing a suit. He told me I should come to church with him. I explained how church could not help me succeed on my final the next day, but he told me to forget about studying for an hour and follow him. He led me to a glorious old cathedral on campus I had never been in before and showed me a ceremony more beautiful than any church service I had ever sat through. After mass, we filtered into a reception where I was introduced to a man who had graduated exactly 75 years before I will graduate. He had the same exact major as I did. He shared his stories of his time at school and I saw what I may become in 75 years. With his story in my head, I returned to my dorm room inspired and finished my work in a concise manner. I aced that final the next day. If I had not followed Calvin to church that day I would have been lost.

When has there been a time where putting God first has surprisingly helped you?

Joe Gambino