He was a stranger to me, and yet, he risked his life to save mine…
Almost two years ago, after I drove my car home on a very short drive, I parked it in my driveway – right next to my home – and sat inside it for a moment, finishing my prays to the Holy Spirit.
I was very tired that day and I was taking a moment to gather enough energy to get myself out of the car and to get organised to collect my children from school that afternoon.
As I sat there quietly talking to my Beloved inside my heart, inside my car, I noticed a little smoke coming across the front windscreen. At first, I did not think very much of that smoke. For a moment I even thought that perhaps it was a sign that the Holy Spirit was close to me and listening to my prayers.
But after a few minutes, I noticed that the smoke smelled very bad indeed and that it was very quickly growing in intensity. And so, I jumped out of the car and watched in fascination as the smoke began to intensify as it poured straight out of the bonnet of my car.
Not really knowing what this could mean – and being in some sort of state of shock – I took a quick video of the car and sent it to my husband. He jumped straight on the phone and told me to call the Fire Brigade – which I did – and within a few minutes, a couple of fire engines had been dispatched and a passer-by (a man I had never seen before or since) had run up my driveway, grabbed the garden hose out of my hand and told me to take cover in case the car exploded from the fire while he stood (in danger) pouring water into the bonnet of the car himself.
A few minutes later, the fire was doused, the car was written off and the firefighters were driving away to deal with the next catastrophe of the day!
As everything was settling, I looked around to find the man who had run up my driveway to help me so that I could thank him… but he was already gone, and I never saw him again…
I often think about that man – because he came out of nowhere and put himself in danger so that he could protect me. He was a stranger to me, and yet, he risked his life to save mine…
And this makes me think of the Blessed Sacrament…
You see, when I go to Mass and receive the Blessed Sacrament in the Most Holy Eucharist, I receive my SAVIOUR into my soul! That word SAVIOUR is not metaphorical – it is not symbolic, and it is not an exaggeration – it is a plain and simple LITERAL description of my Blessed Lord.
And it occurs to me that I rarely spend the time that I should THANKING my Beloved for saving me after I receive Him into my soul in Holy Communion. So often, I am tired by the end of Mass, or distracted from the walk down the aisle to receive Communion – looking around at the other parishioners or the carpet or the scenery or the ceiling. And there I stand, or sit or kneel – with the One who has SAVED me inside my soul – and I barely offer Him a word of THANKS…
And so, while I think of that man, who SAVED me with my car, I think also of my Beloved … For I so often forget to thank Him for my salvation that I pray for the opportunity to THANK Him before I lose sight of him altogether and never see Him again…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
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