.05s of Grace

One could feel how serenely tense the atmosphere was. Babies carried by their mothers, toddlers, teenagers, adults and the elderly constantly trickled into the open space and lined up layer upon layer behind a metal barrier.

We anxiously waited…and waited. We didn’t care how long. We simply clung to the hope that this was exactly the place to be: a chance to see Pope Francis passing by!

The people spent the long hours chatting, singing, praying, and others already prepared the food they would have for lunch and dinner. It was going to be a long wait, but one worth the waiting for.

As the hours ticked by, closer to the anticipated moment, a sudden cheer would mysteriously burst out from the crowd. This made us forget our tired legs and feet as we dashed and compressed towards the now already crammed barrier. Phones, cameras and what-have-you gadgets aimed at a lucky shot or video of the Pope.

The excitement subsided when we realized that it was only a ruse. But everyone was a good sport and laughed at their own over-excitement. Besides it was also one way to practice positioning one’s gadget for a good shot of the Papal moment.

That moment came! All eyes, gadgets and strained muscles synchronized towards a yet unknown point on the road. Even those who may have lacked the stature to capture a better shot didn’t complain. They eagerly stretched their physical limits to simply snap whatever providence might allow.

The moment passed! Pope Francis was greeted with cheers and flags. These were simultaneously accompanied by waving hands and steadily focused digital devices. The Pope must have only passed the spot where we stood for just a second. But that second became forever digitally framed.

When the excitement died down, a young woman beside me started crying.

“I saw him! I saw him!” She said.

Her companions huddled around her and joyfully embraced her. It seemed they also had been able to snap an image of the grandfather (“Lolo Kiko”) Pope.

“…there…there…and now…THERE HE IS!” She exclaimed as they all relived the Pope passing by their spot.

Perhaps, I reflected, the young woman had only capture a second, maybe even just half a second. And yet that brief moment had transmitted so many things for her and had become a conversion point for her.

I continued pondering, “If that is what .05 seconds of grace could do, what could 1 second…5 seconds…60 seconds…and more grace can work?”

The young lady was totally focused on ‘seeing someone’ but together with this ‘visual contact’ she was fully disposed to receive the graces that were channeled through the person of the Holy Father, Pope Francis.

This reminds us how Scripture described people being cured by just touching the fringe of our Lord’s cloak. St. Thomas Aquinas also taught how it would have been sufficient for “just one drop of our Lord’s precious blood” to save the entire world of all its guilt.

In the end, it isn’t so much how much grace we receive but how disposed we are to receiving it. Grace is God’s work, not of man’s. Even if it comes in torrents or trickles, the effect will depend on the willingness of our heart, mind and soul to be transformed by, in and through it.

It is, therefore, no surprise to overhear people saying that they get bored with prayer, the Rosary and even the Holy Mass. They say nothing seems to change in them through the days, months and years of their pious practices or penances.

Perhaps, they are right! But only because they are capable of seeing ‘only what want to see or hear’ but are not disposed to perceive or listen to what God—in his Fatherly love—is trying to make them realize what is for their goodness and fruitfulness. Grace always works, because it comes from God, but its effects will depend on how one embraces it.

Does this mean that we will have to filter in every single second of grace? Definitely not, especially since this would be next to impossible. It would be enough to place the proper channels to naturally receive grace: prayer, sacrifice, Sacraments, constant spiritual and corporal works of mercy, etc.

Most of all, we must keep ourselves constantly open to grace, not only by keeping away from sin, but awaiting God’s surprising love. This surprise is hidden in our daily work, while commuting and malling, socializing, resting and other ordinary engagements.

If we only have a constant desire to meet Him, Christ will never defraud us. He will surely pass by, and this surprise of just .05 seconds would be enough to transform our day, ourselves and others.