From 1 Samuel 4:1-11: "The Philistines fought and Israel was defeated; every man fled to his tent. It was a disastrous defeat, in which Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers."
The novice master was late for mass this morning. Father Benny came in 15 minutes late and obviously fresh from waking up. I felt embarrassed for him. But he came. I remember another priest saying that if there is one person in the house who can easily prepare a homily in 5 minutes, that would be none other than the novice master. I consoled myself with the thought that he will deliver his usual inspiring words nevertheless. The time for the homily came. He took the microphone to say: "Obviously, I just got up from bed and didn't get to prepare a homily. I haven't washed my face nor brushed my teeth. Please, I ask you to simply be quiet for awhile and reflect on the theme of 'thanksgiving" as the Gospel today suggests."
Whoooaaah! I can hear some fellow novices chuckling behind me. This is something new! The novice master came in unprepared. He is human after all ... that is, human enough to accept one's fault and limitations before a crowd. To be humble helps us be more in touch with our frailty as human persons.
