Pier Giorgio in the Storms

One of my all-time favorite episodes in scripture begins in 1 Kings Chapter 18 when the prophet Elijah takes on 850 prophets on Mount Carmel.  He is so sure that God is with him that he repeatedly taunts them and ultimately slaughters them. 

His confidence drains away quickly, however, when he gets a threatening message from Jezebel.  He flees for his life and then prays for death.  Eventually, he takes shelter in a cave on Mount Horeb and waits for the Lord to pass by. 

Elijah and all of us get a powerful lesson in 1 Kings 19: 11-13.  God doesn't come to him in the wind or the earthquake or the fire but in the whisper - "the light silent sound."

What is a light silent sound?  How do you hear a silent sound?  (Probably not too well with ear pods in but that's for another day.) 

Like Elijah, Pier Giorgio took to the mountains to hear the silent sound of God.  "The higher we go," he said to his friends, "the better we shall hear the voice of Christ."

These past several days, we have been hearing about a unique weather event taking shape in the Gulf of Mexico - the possibility of having two hurricanes simultaneously for the first time in recorded history for that area.  As you may know, hurricanes are named each year in alphabetical order.  It caught my attention, when I saw the names assigned to these two weather patterns:  Laura and Marco!

Although God came to Elijah in the whisper, I can't help feeling that Pier Giorgio is coming to me in these storms: Laura, the name of the young woman he had deep feelings for, and Marco, the name of his closest friend at the time of his death.  

Seeing those two names repeatedly in the headlines has been a reminder to me that I need to pay attention to the many ways God is trying to reach me - whether it is in a peaceful time of life or a stormy season as this year has been so far. 

Pier Giorgio wrote to a friend: 

"...We who are Catholics know that God doesn’t abandon good people and if evildoers are on top of the world today, tomorrow God will put such weapons into the hands of the righteous that they will wage war against the Sons of Darkness."

Storms pass.  Marco has already fizzled out without causing much damage.  Laura is gaining strength and may bring catastrophic winds and major flooding; but her waters, too, will eventually subside.  Faithful friends will be there in the aftermath.  And God will be ever present through it all.  Find a quiet place and listen.

Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, conqueror of life's mountains, pray for us.


Verso l'alto!  ///cmw