Lesson from Gus Busbi

Tom spoke slowly and clearly. "Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, they kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread - and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who have trespassed against us -"

Gus didn't hear the rest of the prayer. It was as if he had lost his hearing, and the silence was louder. Gus had recited that prayer Christ gave His people thousands of times in his life and had never heard what he had just heard. (Sano, 155-156).

. . .

This was one of my favorite parts in the novel, Gus Busbi, written by Catholic author Jim Sano. It was a climatic, "a-ha" moment for the main character, Gus Busbi, that changed that helped him to realize why he could not return to Mass: unforgiveness in his heart. And it was Fr. Tom who, in leading the recitation of the Lord's Prayer, helped Gus to realize this about himself. As I read the sentences above, I thought of two things: (1) God has creative ways of making us realize something about ourselves - good and bad, and (2) God puts others in our lives to convey His message to us and help us to help us heal and become the best version of ourselves.

Even more so, this helped me to understand (one again) the importance and power of prayer in our lives. When we pray, we encounter God, we enter to a conversation with Him (although for us, it seems like we are the only ones doing the talking), and, in His wisdom and out of love and mercy for us, our Father in heaven answers our prayers - in His own time and according to His will (not ours) and it is perfect as He is perfect. We just have to trust in Him, which can be hard for us because we can be blinded by what we are going through at that time and the emotions and feelings that come with our struggles.