March 12, 2005

A few months ago, the priest of a parish I was visiting invited me to breakfast with some of the daily Mass regulars. Things were light-hearted and the storyteller of the group began to reach into his bag of jokes and funny stories for something to fit such an occasion. He told a story of grandparents who bought their grandson a dog that was a good dog, but sickly. The dog eventually died, but not before befriending the whole family—indeed it became one of the family. The young boy was understandably upset and distraught at the death. He finally burst out in his anger and frustration, “Get God on the cell phone!” At this the table responded with the adequate amount of laughter. I did as well… It was funny, but then I began to ponder what exactly this meant.

For certain there is nothing wrong with a prayer that cries out to God. The book of Psalms is full of such prayers. I would argue that it is needed, and that we in our mentality convince ourselves, at times, that we must not say anything; while on the inside we are churning. The lament psalms are a journey from the depths of sorrow to a redemptive conclusion. Yet I do not think the response of this young boy reflected this. While it is entirely possible that he was crying out for understanding in a situation that I am sure was very difficult - I am not convinced. No, in this comment I saw the words of the adults that most influence him. I saw the pride and audacity we have so many times in our relations with others—especially those who we are paying our money to. Justice must be there, but we in our arrogance attribute this “customer is always right” attitude to God. In this we are very much mistaken.

Br. Agostino Miguel Torres, CFR
St. Leopold Friary, Yonkers, New York

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