The little boy sat across from the nun. She was a Sister of Mercy, like his great-aunt, Sister Helen. he loved coming to the hospital, to visit the nuns, and to visit his grandma, who was the head nurse in the emergency room. At this moment, he was waiting for Sister Helen to come back from visiting patients.
They sat there, the two of them, eating cookies, and sipping glasses of milk. Then Patrick (that was the little boy's name) asked the question, he had been waiting all week to ask. "Sister?", he asked. "Why do you all look so young? All of you Sisters look so young, even the older ones." A simple straight-forward question, from an always-curious little boy.
The nun looked thoughtful, for a moment, and then she smiled the most peaceful smile. She put down her cookie, next to her glass of milk, moved a little closer, and looked Patrick, in the eyes. Taking a deep breath, she smiled again, and said, "What a lovely question. I will tell you why we Sisters look so young."
She paused, took another deep breath, and said, "It's because we get to look at God, all day, every day." She sat back, smiling a gentle smile.
Patrick felt like he had just been let in on a bigbig secret, and he had tons of questions. "Do you mean that God lives at the hospital?", he asked. It made sense, to him. This was where people came when they were sick, or if they were dying. Patrick knew about dying, kind of. "Is He close by?", he asked. "How come I've never seen him?" Do you have to be a Sister, to see Him? "Can Priests See him too?"
He had a million more, but had to take a breath. At this moment, Sister smiled that same knowing smile, that he would later think of as "beatific". She answered his questions, without addressing them, when she asked, "Patrick, do you know what we Sisters do, at the hospital?"
He did know, and he told her, "You visit all of the sick people, and you pray with them and read to them and ask them how they're doing and help them feel better. Right?" He looked at her, to see if that was the right answer. She said, "Yes, that's it. You really understand what we do. You're a very smart boy."
"Patrick," she said, "We have learned to see God, in all of the patients and their families and their friends. It's like playing hide-and seek with God. When people are sick, it is sometimes easier to find and see God. Every day, all day long, I get to look at God. Isn't that wonderful?"
Patrick was just a little boy, but he was a very old little boy. What Sister had just said made him feel happy and made him cry, at the same time. It made him feel the way that music, sometimes, made him feel. It made him feel really really good. It made him realize something too. He was already good at this. He was already part of the club.
He thought it had just been a game, that he made up. He had never told anyone about it, but sometimes, he could see a light. And something else...sometimes he thought he was looking at God, but he didn't know if that was bad. Now, Sister was telling him that she played the game, that Sister Helen, and all the rest, played the game too.
He told her all of this, and now Sister was crying. She moved over to his chair, and gave him a big hug, and rushed off to find one of the other Sisters. She brought back two, and she asked him to tell the other two, what he had told her...about his game being like their game.
One of them whispered, "Isn't that the most precious...? Oh, that's wonderful... Is this Sister Helen's great-nephew? Kevin's son? Isn't this just like Jesus, in the temple? Oh, wonderful..." She hugged him, and she too was crying and smiling.
She put her hands on his shoulders, and very solemnly said, "Never stop playing the game. Always look for God. He's there. It's just that, sometimes, he's hiding." She gave him a kiss on the forehead, and rushed out of the room.
The other one, older than the other two, came very close, and said, "This is a kind of secret, OK Patrick? Not everybody will understand the game, or how to see God. They do not always know it when they see God. Do you understand? I know it can be hard, but we need to keep this a secret, until you are older...then you can tell all the people you want."
She did not hug him, but she looked at him, like she was studying him, and then she said, "This is a very good game, that you made up. It is very similar to what we do, here at the hospital. Keep playing the game. God is very happy that you are playing the game. Keep looking for Him. He likes playing the game too." At this, she did the sign of the cross, and left the room.
At this point, sister Helen, and his family...mom and dad, sister and brothers...walked into the room. Patrick got into a little trouble for not telling his mother where he was going to be, but Sister told his mom, that it was her fault. This seemed to be a good answer, to his mom, and he was glad that he wasn't in trouble anymore.
Sister wrapped up his cookie, in a napkin, and handed it to him. Then she wrapped up a cookie for his sister and brothers too. When no one was looking, Sister looked at him, and her look said, "Let's keep our secret. OK?" He nodded his head, just a little bit, she saw it, and smiled. Then it was time to go.
As they were leaving, they passed lots of sick people. Some were being taken to their rooms. Some were out, for walks, with their nurses. This was his chance, to play his game. So, he did what he always did. He slowed his breathing and squinted his eyes, just a bit, and then looked around him, at all of the people. He tried to catch their attention...to see if he could play the game...to see if he could find God, in their eyes...but he had no luck. Until...
They had gotten all the way, down to the front doors, when an elderly lady looked his way. He smiled at her, and there, just behind her eyes, he could see it...the light. It was really shiny, and then he could see something else. He felt the rest of the world go kinda fuzzy, and then he had it. He felt that same feeling, he always felt. Now, he knew to look a little more, and then he knew was looking at God.
It was not a very long look. His father called for him, and the moment was gone. Except that the very old woman smiled at him, and said, "Thank you. Bless your heart. That was such a lovely smile. Thank you." Patrick smiled at her, and at God...hiding somewhere inside of her...and ran off to catch up with his family.
