What Mike Pence Missed: Jesus “Speaks” to Catholics, Too

My Baptist mother loved to watch Bishop Fulton J. Sheen on TV.

She had a deep mistrust of Catholics in general, unnerved by all the statues and rosaries and incense and rituals which she considered sinful. And yet, she managed to ignore the red cap, gold crucifix and flowing red cape and focus on the wisdom of his words.

She thought Jesus was speaking through him. But Trump VP pick Mike Pence might beg to differ.

According to Sherry Weddell of the National Catholic Register, Pence left Catholicism because, “…something was missing from his spiritual life. The Catholicism of his youth, with its formality and rituals, had not given him the intimacy with God that he now found himself craving.”

In an interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network, he said, “I began to meet young men and women who talked about having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. And while I cherish my Catholic upbringing and the foundation that it poured in my faith, that had not been a part of my experience.”

Really?

Who were all those saints talking to, then? The sacred stenographers, like St. Faustina, who took down every sacred word they heard and passed them all along to us? And St. Pio of Pietrelcina, our beloved “Padre Pio,” who was seeing and talking to Jesus before the age of five, according to his parents?

You want intimacy? St. Catherine of Siena experienced a “mystical marriage” to Jesus at 21, in which Jesus placed a bejeweled ring—invisible to all save his bride—on her finger. Her devotee, St. Rosa of Lima, would do nothing unless her holy “Husband” gave her permission.

Now, it’s true that Catholics don’t have exclusive rights to these divine “conversations.” God speaks to and through everyone. In fact, here’s one non-Catholic proving that point in the most delightful way:

Did you “Aaawwwww” along with the audience? Yep, it gives you warm fuzzies, doesn’t it? Don’t resist. Enjoy. And I hope you’re listening, too.

I try. Or actually, to be honest, I never really had to try. Jesus started talking to me before I knew Who He Was, I think. He opened some doors, slammed others shut. Saved me from danger sometimes and then turned around and let me Wile E. Coyote right over the edge, returning to catch me just before I hit bottom.

Most recently, He nudged me all the way to baptism. Didn’t have to work too hard, though. I walked into the Catholic church I now attend every Sunday, and I felt Him there, just waiting. Probably wondering what took me so long.

When I have a meeting or class there that gets out after dark during the week, I walk into the darkness, toward that red lamp glowing behind the altar, and I am so grateful to be in God’s house where the light is always on and Somebody is always home.

Why didn’t Pence feel that?

Maybe he’s not as good at listening as Spielberg. Bishop Sheen once admonished us for listing our “ills” to God in prayer and then rushing off without waiting to hear the “prescription.”

Sound familiar?

Well, I’ve got some “medicine” for you. Three blessings I received recently—articles, passages, those words from Jesus passed on, “in mouth of friend or stranger,” that St. Patrick prayed for. A little “relationship counseling,” from two Catholics who haven’t lost touch and one little miracle whose laughter speaks volumes.

Are you listening? Here goes:

1. Pick up the “phone”

In A Catholic Guide to the Bible, Father Oscar Lukefahr says, “Each time we open the Bible, we dial God’s number. When we pick up the Bible, God says, ‘Hello.'”

Let’s go deep:

“When we pick up the Bible, God, who is not limited by time or space, speaks to us through the same words as those addressed to Abraham, to Moses, or to the prophets. When we pick up the Bible, Jesus speaks to us here and now, just as truly as he spoke to the apostles two thousand years ago…

It invites us to to seek our further spiritual meanings that can allow God to speak to us personally…God’s words in the Bible invite a response. We respond in prayer. We read God’s words, then talk to God as we would to any friend…

We read until we come to a phrase that challenges us to a decision, then make a resolution based on what God has spoken to us. There is no other book that allows this kind of communication with God.”

The line is always open. Give Him a call today–use Laudate (Android, IPhone/Pad) on your cell phone, if you like.

2. “You know that God is everywhere…”

St. Teresa of Avila said that. So have many others. And Vinita Hampton Wright’s book, Days of Deepening Friendship, says God is also speaking to you when:

• You witness a change of circumstance that seems miraculous, or at least right on time and in the best way.
• You are touched to the core by a work of art, which turns simple appreciation into an occasion for transcendence.
• Your spirit is awakened mightily by a song, a passage of Scripture, a poem, or the words of someone speaking.
• You know, suddenly and unmistakably, what you need to do, what the next step of your journey will be.
• You receive the help you need, possibly before you even know you need it.
• Another person, for no particular reason, commits an outlandish act of love or kindness, for you.

Spielberg says divine guidance is whispered, not screamed. That’s how you know Who’s speaking to you, by the gentleness. So you may have missed a few of these little “nudges,” in the chaos of a busy day.

Try harder, today, maybe. See what happens.

3. Just watch

This is some of God’s best work. She’s Yeseo Park. And if you can’t see Him here, you won’t see Him anywhere. Seriously.

Got it now? I knew you would. I myself have decided that squeaky shoes rock.

Where will you see God today?

Photo and media credit:
Yeseo Park video used with permission from Storyful Licensing; Yeseo Park photo, author screenshot