Today’s find: Winning tiles

My wife Gerri and I don’t play Scrabble together much any more.

Mostly, that’s because I’m a poor sport — and a ‘word guy’ — and I can’t stand losing to her. Which happens, when we DO play, far more often than not.

Scrabble, shall we say, does not add a great deal to our state of marital harmony.

One thing we CAN agree on, though, is how delighted we both are…to have arrived at the eve of our eldest son’s ordination to the priesthood.  Chris and four of his fellow Jesuits will receive the sacrament tomorrow at St. Francis Xavier (College) Church in St. Louis.

This is Good News of the highest order for the proud parents — so good, in fact, that both of us have had trouble sleeping the past couple of nights, as we joyfully anticipate the big event. So we really don’t need much in the way of affirmation from the Holy One. We already know that God has been good to our family…and Chris’ ordination is just the latest in a long line of blessings that have been poured out on us since we became a married couple back in 1979.

Still, it was kinda cool this afternoon…to receive a little God-wink — as Gerri played a solo game of Scrabble on her smartphone…while I wracked my brain for something to blog about on ‘ordination eve.’

‘Take a look,’ my Paradise Partner says to me.

And there, following one of her legendary ’32-point-word’ plays, appeared a randomly-generated set of letters at the bottom of the screen:

Now, those are some winning tiles!

We’re taking it as a sign that this pending celebration is truly a winner in God’s eyes. Six tiles, spelling out JESUIT — and a seventh ‘blank’ one, to represent the untold possibilities that will be made manifest in Chris’ priesthood, as well as in the lives of his fellow ordinandi. May God bless all these Men For Others, as this next stage in their consecrated lives begins.

Let us pause now…to recall that we are in the presence of the Holy One.