A goat emergency can't deter God's work

By Mary Regina Morrell
Catholic Online

"But as for that in the good soil, these are the ones who, when they hear the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patient endurance." (Luke 8:15)

While traveling a long country road recently, windows open to breathe in the now crisp air of impending fall, I just had to stop at a small farm stand filled to the brim with pumpkins and gourds and red-speckled apples.

I parked my car near a split rail fence lined with chicken wire. As I steadied myself against the weathered wood to remove a stone from my sandals I soon realized I had company - a motley looking, "get out of my space unless you have grub," horned goat.

I was happy for the fence.

The look on his hairy chinned face reminded me of another goat encounter years ago.

The cameras were rolling; the crew in the control room sat before monitors and adjusted headphones while, on the set, the young co-hosts waited for their cues to take up lines where they had just left off. No one had expected this taping -- the last of a series of faith building shows for teens - to take so long and the aroma of food for the cast party had begun to waft throughout the studio, making the delay even more difficult.

Still, no compromises would be made by the young people in assuring a quality show. The stakes, they would all agree, are too high when you're doing God's work.

And so, as an invited guest, I waited in the control room and watched a diocesan TV show being created, until I noticed something strange at the window opposite me. Could it be? Yes, it was - a goat.

I almost laughed out loud as I wondered why there was a scruffy looking, bearded animal staring me in the face. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I spied another goat looking in from the window to my right. The crew seemed oblivious. Obviously they knew something I didn't so I decided to play it cool.

Things would change a few minutes later when a young member of the crew announced quietly to a producer, "We have a goat emergency."

What that would mean to a lay person like myself was that the goats - all five of them - had somehow escaped the fenced yard behind the studio and were meandering up the hill into civilization.

Soon the show outside the studio became as interesting as the show being taped inside, with crew members attempting to round up the small herd, coercing, cajoling and maneuvering them back into the fenced area. One particularly stubborn animal, meeting with an equally stubborn teenager, was finally dragged in by the horns.

Inside the studio no one missed a beat in assuring that the taping would come to a successful completion -- the reason being that the young cast and crew were as Spirit-driven as the show. These were young people who recognized God as the driving force in their lives and who used their creative talents to inspire the same love of God and understanding of the Catholic perspective in the hearts of other youth.

It was a privilege and a blessing for me to appear as a guest on two shows which brought to light some of the many challenges facing young people today.

But as much as I was able to offer through my own experience, I more than received in kind simply by being in the company of these extraordinary young people. Undaunted by the pressures of an amoral, materialistic society these youth lived their faith, expressed their devotion to God and the Church and used their talents to help other Catholic youth find ways to make difficult decisions with the help of their faith.

At the close of the day, I was certain that not even the stubbornnest of goats had a chance in deterring these young people from their mission of bringing God into the real lives of their peers.

As an adult, being in their presence and watching them in action, I was also reminded clearly of Scripture's teaching, "And a little child shall lead them."

Contact

Diocese of Metuchen
http://www.diometuchen.org NJ, US
Mary Regina Morrell - Associate Director, Office of Religious Educationp, 732 562.1990

Email

mmorrell@diometuchen.org

Keywords

goat, God, faith, TV

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