Msgr. Pope on the Mysteries of Human Interaction

"Most of you have seen the movie, 'It's a Wonderful Life,' which airs so frequently at this time of year. More on that in a moment. But for now, the word 'wonderful' is most commonly understood to mean 'really great.' But the word 'wonderful' actually means 'filled with wonder.'

"Who among us can understand the incredible mystery of his own life? And not merely considered in itself, but also how it interacts with the lives of others and the events of this world? Why are we here now? Why do we meet and know the people we do? How does our life affect that of others, not just in the obvious ways but also the hidden ways unknown to us?

"Imagine that one day you stayed late at work rather than taking your usual commuter bus. Your open seat caused two people to meet, who later married and had three children, one of whom will grow up to discover the cure for cancer. This is something you will never know, but God does. Maybe another day you drove a little slower than the driver in back of you wished, but your slower pace meant that your irritated tailgater was not in an intersection at just the moment he would have been killed in a horrible accident had he kept up his pace. I know you may think these are trivial examples, but consider the mystery of each moment and all the 'alternate universes' that would result if even a small change took place in our actions!

"Our lives are mysteriously intertwined. We have almost no idea how even the littlest things we do cause enormous ripples and chain reactions that affect dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of people from moment to moment. . . ."

In a recent commentary, Monsignor Charles Pope (pastor of Holy Comforter-Saint Cyprian Parish, Washington, DC) reflected on the intricacies of human interaction and their related ripple effects.

To access Msgr. Pope’s complete post, please visit:

Msgr. Charles Pope: It’s a Wonder-filled Life: A Meditation on the Mystery and Unlikely Chances of Our Very Existence (1 DEC 14)