A few weekends ago at Mass, I was sitting after communion praying quietly. The whole church became quite still and there was a kind of peace that settled in. It was very pleasant. Then, all at once, a child began to cry. It was that kind of childhood scream that is followed by what seems like a long period of quiet that makes you stop to notice because the child has not yet taken a breath. Finally, after that seemingly eternal pause, a breath was taken and the true screaming began. That church, which was one minute before a real haven of peace, was now cast into such a din that I think everyone was a bit unnerved.

As everyone turned to look in the direction of the screaming, the child's mother gathered her little one onto her lap and she began to make quieting, shushing sounds. In a moment or two, that young mother began to whisper into her child's ear. It wasn't long before peace was restored. You could almost hear the congregation utter a sigh of relief.

As I returned to my prayer, it became apparent to me that the attentiveness of that young mother was almost sacramental. The way she so calmly gathered up her screaming child into her lap and proceeded to speak words of comfort was for me, a great image of what God wants to do for each one of us when we are screaming out in pain or fear. When we are truly hurting or in some sort of difficulty, God comes, like any good parent, to gather us up, to offer words of comfort and to restore us to peace.

If you are going through some difficult times right now and you long for some peace, know that God already knows and has heard your cries and may even now be bending low to gather you into his lap to restore you to peace.