The first time I visited Savannah, my family drove from Augusta early on a Saturday morning to attend a Mass at the cathedral. I was twelve years old and I remember very vividly being struck by the beauty of the church. That year my parents celebrated their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, and Bishop Lessard celebrated a diocesan-wide Mass honoring those celebrating silver and golden jubilees. I recall that during the celebration, Bishop Lessard shared that a new bishop had been recently appointed and that Father Kevin Boland would be the next bishop of the diocese.
At twelve and not being a Catholic school student at that time, little did I know that Bishop Boland would sign my high school diploma from Aquinas High School in Augusta, and nine years later, my ordination certificate. I could not have imagined either that twenty-one years after attending that Mass, I would be present at the same cathedral for the funeral services of Bishop Lessard.
Several years ago during a wedding rehearsal dinner, some of those who raised a toast for the couple spoke of fate bringing the husband and wife together. That night I quickly changed my homily and decided to speak about providence the next day. I encouraged the couple to recognize that God’s providence had brought them together, not fate or chance. I mentioned that God brings people into our lives for a reason, never acting willy-nilly, but rather, with purpose and meaning. In His desire to be a loving father, God foresees our needs, and provides whatever is necessary.
Every day we encounter many people who come into our lives momentarily or just for a brief moment. The encounter may be positive as when a stranger paid for my sister’s groceries last month, or it can be negative as when a man pulled out my collar as I crossed a bridge and flung it into the river. As Christians, we believe that all the events of our lives are ordered by a provident God who desires good things for us. It is then possible to take every moment, encounter, conversation or thought, and ask a simple question, “Lord, what are you doing here?”
Pope Benedict expressed that the origin of life in a Christian worldview is Reason itself, the logos, Jesus Christ, through whom all things were made. All creation is reasonable because its origin is reason and is not the mere byproduct of chance. Jesus says that “even the hairs of your head have all been counted, do not be afraid.” In the good times and the bad, God the Father watches over us, and in his providence, draws all of our life experiences to Him where they are enriched with meaning and purpose.
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