I have mentioned before that my backyard borders Beltview Park which runs down into town from the base of Mount Ascension. Since pleasant weather is finally upon us the last few days, I have been able to pray the Hours outside and enjoy the rural atmosphere of my backyard. As I settled down to read I noticed a mule deer doe just beyond the open rail fence marks the boundary of my yard and the greenbelt. She was standing awkwardly, straddling 2 tiny spotted fawns while they nursed urgently. Seeing deer in my backyard is not unusual and they have stirred my imagination before in writing my share. I ended up just watching momma deer and the fawns until I had to leave for an early morning meeting. The fawns had to have been only a few hours old and were still wobbly an uncertain on their feet. I was glad my Labrador has long since made peace with our long legged visitors so all she did was to watch them with some mild interest before resuming her early morning nap.
The second reading this morning was from a sermon on psalm forty-one addressed to the newly baptized by Saint Jerome, priest who wrote, referencing the first line of the Psalm:
As the deer longs for running water, so my soul longs for you, my God. Just as the deer longs for running water, so do our newly baptized members, our young deer, so to speak, also yearn for God.
I spent some time before I had to leave home reflecting on this line for some kind of inspiration. I felt certain that had to be some reason why I should be granted the privilege of watching the doe with her fawns the same morning the reading spoke of deer. No inspiration came to me and I resigned myself to the realization that this would be one of those days were my effort at lectio would just come up empty
I am filling in as a temporary substitute Sacristan for the Thursday noon Mass at the Cathedral since Val is gone for the summer. As communion was proceeding at mass, my eyes were drawn to a young lady, Amy, coming up the center aisle to receive communion. I was, in that moment, blessed with understanding of what eluded me about the reading. I was looking for some kind of meaning for my experience, for my yearning, for my desire for God but today the message was not about me. The message was about Amy. She was received into the community this past Easter so she is literally newly baptized. The yearning I saw in her face, the joy that flooded her countenance as she received communion and the peace that followed the look of joy as she turned to back to her seat was what St. Jerome was describing in his sermon.
The lesson for me is that I should not focus solely on myself in the process of lectio. Sometimes the lesson I need to learn is about how God moves the heart of others around me and wonderful that experience can be if I open myself up to recognize it.
