Tuesday of Holy Week - April 15

Isaiah 49:1-6 John 13:21-33, 36-38

After converting to Catholicism in my 20s, I long wondered what people meant when they mentioned direct encounters with God. My path to the Church was not about the mystical aspect of faith, so I left these questions unanswered. Where is the supernatural in my own day-to-day life? Would I recognize God were I to encounter him? What does evil look like?

Today, Jesus directly encounters Satan. “After Judas took the morsel, Satan entered him. So Jesus said to him, ‘What you are going to do, do quickly.’" I find this passage both terrifying but also a powerful message that Good and Evil work in this world palpably.

It has taken me time to understand what that can mean. Several years ago, I began singing lessons, because I was tired of mumbling hymns under my breath, self-conscious over my inability to sing on pitch. Singing can be taught and, in time, I gained confidence and began to sing hymns loudly. One Sunday, just as we finished the closing hymn, a man, whom I did not know and could not now recall, said to me simply, “Thank you for singing.”

My heart burst with satisfaction and joy. Over time, and with the suggestion of another, I have come to believe that that was God in this world, through that man. That man WAS the “light to the nations” in that moment.

Jesus coming into this world as God-made-flesh or Satan entering into Judas seem removed from our daily lives, but I believe they are more tangible than I ever imagined. The hand of the wicked and His wondrous deeds have been happening all around me every day. I pray that I may not fail to recognize the transcendent around me and ever “sing of your salvation.”

Q: What is a recent experience when I personally witnessed God working through another? When have I personally witnessed Evil at work?

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