Be Like Olivia

People who are Facebook friends with me have heard parts of this story before, but in today’s world I think EVERY day is a good day to introduce people to Olivia, so here you go.

I have a deep and abiding personal faith. I carry it with me wherever I am and as such, do not necessarily need to be within the walls of a church building to commune with God or feel spiritual. I do, however, experience a feeling of calm and peace when I attend services, so it is something I enjoy doing on a regular basis. Given the current tumultuous state of the world in which we live, I find myself seeking out the communal service at my church more regularly than ever before. This Sunday was no different and despite not having slept well on Saturday night, Sunday morning found me scrubbing my tired face in the shower and commencing the half hour drive to church.

I got there a little early and found my seat – not that there are “assigned” seats or anything but anyone who has attended Catholic church services with any regularity knows we all get a little predictable with regard to our pew sitting. I remember the day a few years ago that our priest, in an effort to shake us out of complacency encouraged us to stand up and switch seats with someone else! THAT was an interesting exercise in futility, but I applauded his effort. I honestly did not realize until I was about sixteen that the pew we occupied in church each Sunday while I was growing up was not actually our pew. In all the years we attended services there, we had never encountered anyone sitting in the second pew from the front, right, center despite frequently scurrying up the side aisle after the priest had already ascended the altar. Why would we? That was our pew. Everybody else was already sitting in their pew. Regardless, there I was this past Sunday morning, tired as anything and more than a little stressed when in walked Olivia. I closed my eyes and sent up a silent prayer of thanks. Olivia was just what I needed! I attend church hoping to get a ‘God Breeze’ as Marla Cilley of #FlyLady refers to them and Olivia almost always delivers.  

For those of you who don’t have the pleasure of knowing Olivia, she is a three-year-old girl who sits in the front row, right side of my church. She doesn’t tend to stay there, but at least that is where she starts out.  I remember clearly the first time I laid eyes on Olivia. She was singing her own little song about Jesus irrespective of the songs and readings going on in Mass. I tried to block her out and "pay attention" until we got to the Sign of Peace. For those of you not familiar, it is a time before Communion when you shake hands with those adjacent you in the pew and say "peace be with you". At this point in the service, the little girl, whose name I later discovered is Olivia, was no longer content to sing from her pew. She proceeded to leave her seat and come shake my hand while looking me directly in the eye and saying in a sincere, clear, confident voice "Peace be WITH you!" I was no longer capable of ignoring Olivia. She then proceeded to make her way around the entire church, to each and every pew with her message and comforting touch. She paused to lay her hands and heart with each person she could reach. "Peace be WITH you!" with particular emphasis on ‘with’ was repeated time and time again during the entire Eucharistic Rite. She made her way back across the front of the church where our priest and Eucharistic Ministers were standing, ready to deliver Communion and took her place back in the front row where she proceeded to deliver her sincere blessing as they passed by, to those who she could not reach during her pilgrimage around the church. Between her actions and our Communion hymn, "Be Not Afraid" I was in tears AND at peace.

Olivia was pretty restrained this past Sunday, snuggled in with her mama for most of the Mass. I figured she must have been as tired as I was and decided I would probably not get my God Breeze by way of Olivia. During the homily, our priest went on to discuss how we must all be a light in this world. He encouraged us to seek out those who may be different than we are, those who may feel disenfranchised or forgotten and to reach out to them. I listened to every word and my tired, cranky self felt the first tugs of peace creeping into my being. Despite being snuggled into her mama, apparently, Olivia was listening too. As soon as Father wished us the Sign of Peace, down out of her mother’s arms she wriggled. Olivia was off.

Around the church she proceeded to make her weekly pilgrimage. As each “Peace be WITH you!” echoed off the walls, my heart got a little bit lighter.  Before long, Olivia made her way to me. As she took my hand in both of her little hands she looked me directly in the eyes and gently, quietly whispered “Peace be with YOU.” I felt as if I were about to be bowled over, so strong was the God Breeze I was experiencing.

The song of preparation began to play and as we sang the words “Come! Open your Heart! Show your mercy to all those in fear! We are called to be the hope for the hopeless, so all hatred and blindness will be no more! We are called to act with justice, we are called to love tenderly, we are called to serve one another; to walk humbly with God” Olivia made her way back to her pew. Once again, I was left in tears and at peace.

Olivia is not afraid. Olivia knows the answer. She has already opened her heart. She is the epitome of loving tenderly. I challenge you to follow the lead of this three-year-old. Get up out of your pew, or your house or your comfort zone. Look your neighbor or a complete stranger in the eye. Reach out your hand with love and with a loud, clear voice say "Peace be WITH you!" #BelikeOlivia