Beyond the Clouds by Fr. Jacob Nampudakam, S.A.C. | Page 76

Long flights give us plenty of time to reflect on many things, without the
pressure of feeling as though we are losing precious hours of our day. As I
often stay up late the night before departing to finish works, the first priority
is to sleep. As it has happened so many times before, I am in sound slumber
before the plane even takes off from the ground. This is a blessing. When
traveling with the former Rector General, Fr. Fritz Kretz, I would see him
reading books throughout the night, as he wasn’t able to sleep in a moving
plane. For someone visiting 56 countries, those sleepless nights will certainly
turn his hair grey- if he is ever blessed with some still standing on his head!
Hence, just like St. Joseph, “if there is a problem, I write a note to St. Joseph
and put it under a statue that I have in my room. It is a statue of St. Joseph
sleeping. And now he sleeps on a mattress of notes! That’s why I sleep well: it
is the grace of God.”
Nevertheless, once the initial nap is over, the mind can fly in all directions.
Once I was taking a short flight from New Delhi to another Indian city,
Raipur. The plane took off at 6:00 am, ascending in the early hours of
morning. At around 6:30, I noticed a bright spot in the distant sky. Gradually,
the whole area became brighter and brighter while the rest of the sky
remained very dark. Then, it struck me that it was the dawn of a new day. The
sun was rising gradually, yet it was all happening quite fast. I could see how
quickly the earth was turning. Such a movement is ordinarily not visible, but
from above, the entire process is evident. As minutes continued to pass, the
whole area brightened up until we could see the flaming fire of the sun. As it
rose, darkness withdrew. By 7:00, it was a beautiful morning! The night is
over, and the day is on! What beautiful colors in the sky! And the earth below
waking up to a new day. The cool breeze and the singing of birds, it was a fresh
beginning once again!
During the many travels and visitations with full day programs- often up to
11pm- returning to the room was always a happy moment for me; a sort of
liberating experience. I wondered how I would be able to do it again the
following day with the same intensity. So much physical and mental tiredness
ensued after all of the meetings, homilies, and problem solving during the day.
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