This morning after Mass, our reading club met under the apple tree behind St. Mary’s, though the sky looked ready to rain. The clouds were low and gray, and Father LeRoy kept glancing upward.
Robert came hurrying across the grass a little late, carrying a croissant box from the Breakfast Club and a jar of cold Golden Rule Jersey milk.
“Well,” Father said, “late arrivals are forgiven more quickly when they bring breakfast. But we had better not waste time.”
Sister Mary Claire spread the napkins while Robert passed around the croissants and Father poured the milk. We ate quickly because the air already felt heavy and damp.
Then Father nodded to me.
“Kathy, will you read your chapter summary?”
So I stood by the apple tree and began.
“Today’s chapter is about something that seemed small at first but became very important. While the miracles at Lourdes were taking place, the Prefect, Baron Massy, decided he wanted new stables for his horses. Instead of choosing a proper place, he built them on consecrated ground near the Cathedral, where priests and noble families had been buried.
Monseigneur Laurence was deeply troubled. He said the dead should be left in peace, and the people praying in the Cathedral should not have to hear horses nearby. But the Prefect would not admit he was wrong.
At last the Bishop protested firmly. After many months, the stables were torn down, and grass grew again over the cemetery. But the friendship between the Bishop and the Prefect was broken. The chapter teaches that even small wrongs can lead to great trouble when pride refuses correction.”
When I finished, the wind moved through the apple leaves.
Father LeRoy said, “Pride does not like to be corrected, even when it is standing on holy ground.”
Sister Mary Claire said the Bishop showed courage and patience. Robert said it was strange how a stable could become part of the Lourdes story.
Then the first drops tapped the leaves. Father said we had better close at once, so I read the prayer:
“Dear Jesus, keep pride far from our hearts. Help us to respect what is holy, to listen when we are corrected, and to choose peace instead of stubbornness. Bless our reading club, our parish, and all who are trying to follow You. Amen.”
Father LeRoy lifted his hand and blessed us.
“In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. May Almighty God bless you and keep you, and bring you safely home. Amen.”
No sooner had he finished than the clouds let loose. We gathered our books and napkins in a hurry.
Robert shouted, “To the pickup!”
Sister Mary Claire held her veil with one hand and my book with the other. Father tucked the empty croissant box under his arm, and Mini ran ahead as if she had been waiting for the signal.
We sprinted across the wet grass to Robert’s pickup, laughing and slipping a little. The rain drummed on the roof, and the apple tree disappeared behind a silver curtain of water.
It was a short meeting, but I will remember it. Sometimes God sends the lesson, the blessing, and the rain all in the same morning.
Love,
Kathy
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