Which Student Will You Be? 

Imagine you are attending a college course at a large university. You enter a lecture hall and find a seat in the middle of a couple hundred other students. Each week you attend the hour-long class, listening carefully and applying the knowledge to your everyday life. During each class the instructor invites students to meet with him one-on-one to ask questions or share any comments. The instructor seems very friendly and personable, but you see no need to stop in his office. You do have a life outside the classroom. Who has time to stop and chat each week?

After your last class of the year, you see your instructor in the hallway and decide to stop to say hello and let him know you enjoyed the course. He looks at you with a blank stare and asks for your name. As you are about to answer he notices another student walking up from behind you. He greets the students very warmly and invites this individual to join him for lunch, walking away from you without another word. You stand there, alone and confused.

That other student sat right next to you in class, but didn’t always show up and even dozed off a few times throughout the year.
Turns out, that “lazy” student stopped by the instructor’s office each week to ask questions and discuss the class work. The instructor and student had formed a friendship.
Now apply this story to your life with Jesus. Each week you come to mass and sit in the middle of a couple hundred other parishioners. You listen carefully and apply Jesus’ message to your daily life. Jesus, our ultimate instructor who is very friendly and personable, invites you to visit with him one-on-one through adoration. However, you don’t really see the point. You already understand what he is telling you during mass and you do have other obligations throughout the week.

Then one day you find yourself in front of the gate of Heaven and Jesus is standing there. You go to him and greet him, but he looks at you with a blank stare and asks for your name. Then he notices someone behind you. It’s the parishioner who sat in front of you at mass, who wasn’t always paying attention. However, Jesus calls his name and welcomes that person. He leads him through the gate, leaving you alone and confused…

Don’t be the person standing alone. Stop by and say hello to Jesus, even if it’s just for ten minutes. Tell him what you liked or disliked about your day. Become his friend so he knows your name when you approach the gate of Heaven.

Written by parishioner, Christy Schulte