Life’s A Rat Race
On Monday, I had some important errands in New York City. We drove from Rhode Island to New Haven, CT where we climbed aboard a Metro-North train for Grand Central Station. We were on a local, so we could have arrived in the city much quicker if we drove right in. However, this eliminated the need for finding a place to park. (On my last trip my car was towed and it took us four hours to get it back.)
We arrived safely and had an enjoyable trip. My first stop was only six blocks south of Grand Central Station and St. Patrick’s Cathedral another fourteen blocks north. After a nice visit to St. Patrick’s, we managed a nice dinner at an Italian restaurant just behind the church. From there, we had to get back to Grand Central to head back to New Haven and drive home.
What struck us most on this trip and we all said it a number of times, “I could never do this every day!”. Some of reading this may be among those who do do this every day – God bless you!
What struck me and my traveling companions the most was the look of so many people. It was like zombies walking down the street, blank stares, and going through the motions.
My thought is this. Do we enjoy our daily lives? Are we miserable in what we are doing? Where can we find peace, even if our daily work and commute involves something like I saw on Monday? I think the problem is that most people today do not have a relationship with God. People’s hearts are empty and longing for something more than the daily grind.
If you are in the daily rat race, and even if you are not, spend some time in prayer every day. Turn to the Lord in the morning as you begin your day, and turn to Him for a few moments throughout your day. Above all, if you can possibly find a way, sneak in a daily Mass. There is a popular bumper sticker that reads: “No Jesus, no peace! Know Jesus, know peace!” How true that is.
If you are caught in the rat race, let Jesus help you through. The perfect example is Blessed Mother Theresa. Before her Sisters go out to work in the streets and face the pain and tragedy of the most downtrodden people, they spend two hours praying before the Blessed Sacrament. While that is not possible for most working people, all of us can spend some moments throughout our days communing with the Lord in short prayers and ejaculations.
Nice post, Father. Brought back many memories: I spent most of my working life in NYC with at least 10 years driving a Yellow Cab through the streets of Manhattan. Yes the people are cold until you know them. Why? Because in NY, no one looks at another eye to eye or you might be threated with “What are you looking at?” and everyone is gun shy. But as a cab driver, I had the opportunity to talk to my passengers, loosen them up and sometimes gave a little sermon. I always had a picture of Our Lady on the dash board that that invoked some discussions too. I especially loved to talk about Our Lady’s apparitions and her message to mankind. Some thanked me, others said good bye but I rarely had any one hostile or angry with what I had to say. Yes, it’s a rat race but if a person has God with them through prayer, it was all so wonderful! BTW, I tried to get to Mass each day, stopping at different churches across town. I especially loved the little chapel on 14th Street named Our Lady of Guadalupe! They had a noon Mass every day. There are hundreds of churches and chapels in New York City, I’ve probably been in or around all of them. Every time I would pass a church I would make the sign of the Cross and say hello to our Eucharistic Lord! There’s a big, loving heart in the Big Apple, it’s just covered over by a gray flannel suit!
God love you
Deacon John