"Read the Owner’s Manual" Oct 21, 2022

Read the Owner’s Manual

The other day I got into my car and noticed that the side mirror had collapsed. No matter what I did, I couldn’t get it to work properly. I fiddled with that mirror, pushed that mirror, pulled that mirror, and sought to maneuver that mirror for close to twenty minutes. I knew I couldn’t drive without a mirror to show me the cars behind and beside me, so I kept looking for a solution. 

Eventually, it dawned on me that in my glove box was the owner’s manual that came with the car. I’d never even opened that book before. Even though it was within reach all the time as I drove, I hadn’t paid any attention to it. Until I was stuck. Until I couldn’t go anywhere. Until I needed that book.

It wasn’t until stuff wasn’t working for me and my human understanding couldn’t figure out how to solve the problem, that I remembered the manufacturer of my car had made a book for me to use. It told me what I needed to know. In hindsight, I wasted a lot of time and experienced a lot of frustration just because I put off going to the one place that held the answer to my problem.  

Likewise, many Catholics today are wasting a lot of time and experiencing a lot of frustration because they refuse to go to the one place that holds the answers for any problems they face—the Bible. If we would simply return to the source of truth and then do what it says, we could solve the issues creating the chaos around us and within us.

Fr. Robert T. Cooper, Pastor
Divine Mercy Parish and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton School