During Fr. Steve Adrian’s break from active ministry, we will look back at his previous reflections. Below is his reflection from the April 24, 2022 bulletin.
I grew up at a time the Church taught much about meriting the grace of God; my good works would result in God’s favor toward me. It was a kind of spirituality where much was placed on the shoulders of the individual.
Only as I grew older did I come to realize that the grace of God is total gift – there is nothing I can do to achieve or merit God’s favor. There is much I can do to show gratitude to God for the many ways He has blessed my life.
I came across a piece written by Henri Nouwen that captured well, for me, an image of my relationship with God. Nouwen was much taken with the circus; in fact, for a time he attached himself to a circus troop and traveled with them.
In his relationship with the Flying Rodleighs, a trapeze act, he found a new vocabulary for the spiritual life. He was fascinated by a remark from one of the flyers – the seeming start of the trapeze act. He said: “The flyer does nothing and the catcher does everything. When I fly to the catcher, I have simply to stretch out my arms and hands and wait for him to catch me and pull me safely over the apron behind the catch bar. A flyer must fly and a catcher must catch. The flyer must trust with outstretched arms, that his catcher will be there for him.”
I find it a great image of the spiritual life. I am created to fly and to trust. In those seconds between the time I let go of the bar and am suspended in mid air, it is only the action of the catcher that keeps me from falling. I do nothing.
I pray that I be a good flyer. I know that God is a great catcher.
Father Steve Adrian
The Flying Rodleighs – image from www.precisionmovement.coach/success_story/rodleigh-stevens/
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