As I sat in prayer, a sun ray shone through the window. My eyes closed; I only felt its warmth. As soon as my eyes opened, I saw something incredible – dust! Okay, that doesn’t sound amazing, but I was in awe. There was a multitude of tiny, floating particles flying and hovering over me. My first thought: “It’s dusty in here.” My second thought: “Only through this sun ray, can I perceive something that is always present – right in front of my face; too small to perceive without sunlight’s aid. God said: “Grace is like dust – only my light can allow you to be grateful for those people and moments that have always been my love right in front of your face.
Simon recognized the Messiah because he was present to his task. Every moment of life can be a Present-ation; for the only moment to begin loving and seeing God is in the present, even in dust.
—Michael Martinez, S.J., a Jesuit scholastic of the Antilles province, is studying philosophy at Loyola University Chicago.