1986-1988: Day to Day Working in God’s Vineyard
Deacon Tom and Mary Jane share the daily routine of their home visitation mission working at St. Matthew’s parish. They discover, to their continuous amazement, God always shows up!
Deacon Tom: We schedule our daily home visitations working eight hours a day, Tuesday through Saturday. We begin at 12noon and end around 8:00pm. The best times to catch people are in the late afternoon and early evening. Usually at this time, people are just arriving from work or from picking up their children from school. The times during dinner are sensitive because we know it is the best time for families to be together at their evening meal, but it is also a great time to catch people at home.
Mary Jane: Weather makes some days difficult. When it is cold and rainy, we are often drenched getting in and out of our car. I recall the curious faces on the people who open the door to us. During the hot Texas summers, we are always drenched, not in rain, but in our own sweat. It is embarrassing to enter homes knowing how sticky we look, but worse, how much we must smell.
Deacon Tom: One very cold afternoon in November, we are walking in an upscale neighborhood with two-car garages and manicured homes. We are getting discouraged because we have spent hours knocking on doors and finding no one home.
Mary Jane: I am especially out of sorts and tell Tom we should quit. I remember shivering and my feet hurting and just wanting to be home and warm. Tom insists we complete our goal for the day and says, “Let’s finish the street.” I grumble but know he is right. We reach the last home on the street, a man who looks to be in his sixties answers the door. Tom and I introduce ourselves and ask our usual first question, “Are you Catholic?” He says, “No, Methodist.”
Deacon Tom: We can immediately detect that he is intoxicated. He smells of alcohol and is swaying as he holds on to the door. I ask, “Would you like us to pray with you?” He responds, “No, but you can come in and have a drink.”
Mary Jane: He welcomes us into his very nice home, and we sit in the large sitting room. He tells us that he is usually at work but decided to take the afternoon off and get drunk. He says, “Today is exactly one year since my wife died.”
Deacon Tom: He motions for us to sit down, so we do. He asks what we want to drink, but we tell him no, thank you. He sits across from us, picks up his drink, and stares at it. Before Mary Jane and I can say anything, he begins to talk. He tells us about his wife and how they met, their life together. His voice is sad, frequently pointing at the portrait of her on the wall. He repeats often how much he loves and misses her. Then, he begins to sob. He puts down his drink, puts his head in his hands, and weeps as if he has held in a year’s worth of tears.
Mary Jane: Neither one of us speaks. We feel God telling us to just let him cry, be with him as he grieves, and give him time to allow the tears to flow. After a long while, he stops crying. When he speaks, his voice is calm. He says, “I was really surprised when you came to my door. You see, this morning when I woke, I cried out, God, help me... please send someone to help me!”
Deacon Tom: I ask him if he would like us to pray with him now. He shakes his head yes. We join hands and thank God for answering his cry for help. We ask for healing. The man’s countenance changes as we pray. He appears peaceful and happy. He knows that God has answered his prayer; that God is present with him.
Mary Jane: Just like the seventy-two disciples who return rejoicing (Luke 10:17), we praise God for bringing healing to that man and for allowing us to be His messengers. He knows our weaknesses and how we need each other for support. He knows how easy it would be to quit when it gets too hot, too cold, too uncomfortable, too tiring, and how having a partner to say, “Let’s just finish the street,” can make all the difference.
We make a note of our visit and return the following year on the same date to check on him. This time, we are happy to knock and find no one home. He is healed.
Two lessons are learned here. Firstly, when you cry out desperately to God for help, He responds immediately. The grieving man learned this with the knock of two people who were ready to give up, but through God’s grace chose instead to “... just finish the street.”
Secondly, our good plans made in prayer and discernment with God are to be trusted. In the Spiritual Exercises taught by St. Ignatius of Loyola, the fifth rule states, “In time of desolation never to make a change; but to be firm and constant in the resolutions and determination in which one was the day preceding such desolation.”
This holds true for discouragement as well. All of us, in our own way, knock on many unanswered doors and get discouraged when they go unopened. God knew the schedule Deacon Tom and Mary Jane had determined. He knew the conditions they were experiencing, and the extent of their energy... and He knew of a man who was grieving beyond his ability and needed help.
God entrusted the home visitation ministry to the Foxes, and when they were tempted to give up, His grace flowed into their lack.
The result? A man was healed, and a couple of God’s vineyard workers were encouraged.
God never lets us down.
