I am pleased to welcome Fr. David Nixon back to Precious Blood! He will be filling in while I am on vacation.

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The Commandments:

God’s Indicator Panel

On February 3^rd, 1959, at 35,000 feet above the Atlantic, Captain Lynch took a last look at the flight panel of the Boeing 707. The co-pilot, Samuel Peters, was studying a map. Captain Lynch decided to stretch his legs, thinking that the worst was over. Shortly after leaving Paris they had run into a very strong headwind. But by now they had climbed above the storm. The captain made his way down the aisle between the rows of seats. All the passengers still had their seatbelts fastened. At the back a baby was crying in its mother’s arms and the captain reassured her, saying, “It will be better now. Your baby will be able to sleep.”

Just then, the captain felt the right wing tip and he was thrown sideways against the seats on the right hand side. All the lights in the plane went out. Next he found himself lying on the floor. At least he thought it was the floor. But then he realized it was the ceiling he was on. The aircraft was on its back. He also knew it was dropping like a stone. He began to make his way back to the cockpit. The co-pilot had been knocked unconscious. When he came to he and the captain managed to bring the Boeing back to the horizontal. The aircraft lost 29,000 feet but finally, at 6,000 feet, Captain Lynch regained control. A few more seconds and the plane would have crashed into the Atlantic. The whole incident lasted four minutes. What caused it? While the co-pilot was studying the map he did not notice the blue light on the indicator panel warning that the automatic pilot had become disengaged.

God has given us our own “indicator panel” to guide us through life and keep us from getting turned upside down or crashing. That indicator panel we call the commandments. They are a gift from God to help us to enjoy life by not getting lost along the way. “Observe them that you may have life” (Deut. 4:1) says this week’s first reading. Similarly, St. James exhorts, “Accept and submit to the word which has been planted in you and can save your souls . . .do what the word tells you, and not just listen to it and deceive yourselves” (James 1:21-22).

By following God’s “indicator panel” we will arrive safely at our destination and find true, lasting happiness, guided safely through the storms of life.