Quiet Friends

Sunday was a beautiful day:  fall colors, bright sun, perfect temperature and just a hint of a breeze.  On an afternoon walk, I stopped at a friend’s home.  We sat on the deck, looking at the trees and the robins there eating the late summer berries.  She showed me the cameras she had recently installed nearby, with motion detectors to see enemies --- and friends.  From the cameras she had seen on her phone birds, and deer, and a walking stick insect, and “a pile of fur,” the tail of a visiting critter.  It all sound so beautiful, and blessed.  God sends us friends in the quiet of the night, that most of us are not even aware of.

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In the late-night hours in the adoration chapel, God is present.  Usually, it is just God and I, and we engage in intimate conversations on subjects we intimately understand.  This night a visitor arrives.  After entry, he makes no noise; this is God’s house.  And I know he also is having an intimate meeting, even as I am.  Only God could make two guests in the same room equally feel that they are the only ones there.

A few weeks back I was privileged to gain new insights into what a blessing this time is.  I somewhat randomly found myself reading Genesis, and the words where God directed Moses to build His worship tent in which was to be placed the Ark of the Covenant.  There were lots of words, and details about how many cubits and what types of materials were to be used.  God directed that an inner room be made for the Ark, where only the high priest could enter, and therein offer sacrifice.  And that room was called the Tabernacle.  Today, in the Catholic Church, the room where the Host is kept, the room where God exists, is also called the tabernacle, only under the New Covenant, now all the people may enter that room and give praise to God.  And there we commemorate God’s ultimate sacrifice on the cross, at every sacrifice of the mass.  But while now everyone can be present at the Sacrifice, not just the high priest, there is more.  While Jesus is still always within the tabernacle in the church, there also exists in the Catholic Church what are called Adoration Chapels.  There, in a small quiet room, Jesus is present on the altar for our visiting and adoration.  In the Church, the Host is reserved in the tabernacle, while in the Adoration Chapel it is as if we are IN the tabernacle with Jesus.  We enter His room, and are present with Him, right there, in His home.  And we can sit there with Him, visit Him, and have quiet intimate conversation.  This truly is heaven on earth.

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I’ve been quite busy of late, visiting people to whom I am a primary friend.  They are people who have few, if any friends, so they welcome a visit, even from me.  I bring them dinner, or groceries, or sometimes my home-cooked meals, and we spend some time together.  It is easy to see how much they treasure the time with me, or any visitor.  Only they have no others.  There are many people around us like this, only we don’t see them, kind of like the night visitors my friend now sees with her motion detector cameras.  Unless you make some deliberate efforts, you will not see them.  But they can bring you joy!

I used to have friends who would call me in the night.  Sometimes, they had a bad dream, and at others they just couldn’t sleep.  We talked, we prayed, and sometimes we just listened quietly until we heard the other sleeping.

It is very important to know that we are not alone, even in the quiet of the night.