Hidden in Plain Sight: Finding God in a Busy City
I used to work in the city of London in a densely occupied, smallish area known as the square mile. It has many high rise office blocks as well as many medieval churches. It can be a dispiriting experience for a Catholic, as all the churches were taken in the Reformation and yet are frequently not used. Near my office, there were two medieval churches about 50 yards from one another. One had been turned into a training center for clergy and the other was used to store chairs. The latter one was said to be the church where Shakespeare worshipped, but I do not know if that is true.
Combined with a general focus on efficiency and profit at all costs, the overall impact of this area is a feeling that Jesus is hidden by greed and might be considered an irrelevance, something that used to be important but now is old-fashioned and irrelevant — something to be scoffed at as foolish in the drive for the rewards of out-competing everyone else, cutting costs, and building profits.
God Is Not Absent
I used to go to midday Mass, when possible, at St. Mary Moorfields, a beautiful church hidden between some shops. Adoration took place all day, interspersed with prayers of the Church, including Mass. It was always busy, but it was an oasis of calm and love. On feast days, they held two or three Masses over the lunch period, and it was so busy that they had to create a one-way system to leave through the back to make room for people coming in.
One day, I was walking to St. Mary Moorfields when I noticed the occasional person genuflecting as he or she passed. The doors stayed open during the day, and everyone could see the Lord in the Eucharist through the inner glass doors. I realized that the Lord is not absent; He is very present in the city and is also enormously powerful. If people could see Him as He truly is, they would have no choice but to bow down and worship. The city, which seemed so powerful, is a mere twig in front of Him. To respect our free will, He remains available but not dominant or dominating. He is in our midst, and we are not alone. The door to Him is always open.
Called by God
In the end, His will will be done, but for now, the focus is on our choosing Him to be part of our life. It is the same for every person, including our colleagues, suppliers, and customers: Each one is called by the Lord.
Since that day, I have been more confident that the Lord is present with us in our work. No show of strength or power is of relevance or importance to Him. He is always merely a glance away. Nothing can separate us from Him. He is in our midst as Lord and Savior, patient and humble. He gives each of us the time and space to choose Him. And, as St. Peter says when Jesus asks if the apostles want to leave, “To whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68).
Rebecca Page-Tickell is an HR practitioner and business psychologist. She has worked for many years across a variety of organizations, including consultancy and blue chip organizations. She has now settled into academia and loves the positive intent of the academic world as well as the opportunity to always be learning. She is halfway through her Ph.D. in higher education and is enormously grateful for the patience of her deacon husband and four grown-up children. She enjoys family time and loves being part of her local parish.