Reflection by Sr. Jess Lambert
We have long joked that water is a part of our charism – part of the work of the Church entrusted to our little band of Franciscans.
When Bishop Bob moved to Chicago around 2005, there were a lot of water features in all of the buildings of the former site of Our Lady of the Angels parish – both the Church and the rectory had significant holes in the roof, and the rectory plumbing did not work. The spring of 2012 is fondly remembered for its built-in Lenten penance, when every Friday from Ash Wednesday until Easter was spent shop-vacuuming water in the church basement. The first five large events in the church were not without their own water features, typically consisting of flooding and unusable bathrooms. For each event, our plumbing contractor had been invited as a guest, but within minutes of arriving had to change superman-style into work clothes to assist Sr. Stephanie to shop-vac out some area or another. But those were only the water features of the early days – it seems that each new class of Franciscans gets their chance to experience the joy of bucket brigades and shop-vacuuming, as well as to hone their skill of optimizing the fan layout to save the dry-wall.
Since the construction in the Outreach Center (the former OLA school) ended formally on October 2nd, 2022, we have been catching up with all of the repairs in the other buildings. The rectory basement received mold removal treatment and a nice new coat of paint. The convent basement needed several phases of mold treatment, and was finally deemed complete on Tuesday, June 27th, 2023.
So it was quite unexpected when Brother Matt discovered “a situation” in the convent basement on Sunday, July 2nd!
It is said that in moments of crisis, one sinks to the level of one’s training. That being the case, we have a LOT of training in these type of crises! Within minutes of the announcement, the shop vacuums were ready, and the Sisters had changed into combat gear (water proof sandals and work veils). The mood is one of focus, adrenaline, and just the right dose of humor – after all, didn’t St. Francis call a situation of strife “perfect joy”?
As it turned out – it was one of our worst floods ever. We worked until the situation was sized-up – it was still raining and there was no where to put the water – so we took a break to regroup and recaffeinate. Thankfully, a little James Bond ingenuity and a bit of duct tape stopped the water flow into the convent, and more help is on the way to take care of the damage. We joke that the next piece of property that we purchase will be an ark – so if you know a guy named Noah… send him our way!
The Lord floods us with His Grace, no doubt – He provides us abundantly with volunteers, pallets of food for our neighbors, and gifts for thousands of kids at Christmas. He gives us daily the deluge of His love and presence in the Eucharist at Mass. It is through water that we were adopted as His beloved sons and daughters at Baptism – and through these water features that we remember once again His Fatherly providence.
