Fr. David Convertino, OFM
Executive Director of Development
One of my brothers, Rick, told me about an event that he hasn’t forgotten.
He had taken his grandson, Harry, to the park—a rare moment together for them in a busy time for my brother.
While Harry played, laughed, ran from swing to slide, Rick sat on a bench with his phone. Emails. Texts. Work. Headlines. Noise. Harry called to him a few times, but he was “just finishing something.” And then, suddenly, Harry stood in front of him, 6 years old, and said: “Pop Pop, you’re missing it. You’re missing all of it!”
And Harry was right. My brother looked up and realized—he was in the presence of something beautiful, something fleeting, and he wasn’t really there. He wasn’t paying any attention to what was happening in front of him.
That stayed with Rick—and the event has stuck with me too.
I remembered the Gospel when Jesus visited Mary and Martha. In the story, Martha is busy doing many good things—serving, working, preparing. But Mary? She’s enjoying the better part. She’s not missing it. She’s fully present to Jesus.
Jesus doesn’t scold Martha for working. He simply invites her to pause. To be present. To listen.
And that may be the danger we all face—especially as we serve others every day. We do so many things as we preach the Gospel, but if we don’t stop to sit at the feet of Jesus, to listen, and to be with Him, then we risk losing the very source of our strength. We risk missing Him all around us.
St. Francis got this. Before he preached, before he rebuilt churches or embraced lepers, Francis listened. He went into silence. He knelt before Christ. He made time to be with the Lord—because he knew you can’t give what you don’t have. Franciscan contemplation is not about looking up, it’s about looking around and seeing the Incarnation all around us, in the face of every human being.
So let me ask you—and myself:
What is distracting me from God’s presence, the presence of my brother Friars, and the face of Christ in everyone I meet?
Am I so busy doing the work of God that I forget that God is the reason for my work?
Am I checking all the boxes, meeting the many deadlines, but missing The Presence surrounding me?
There is need of only one thing, Jesus says.
Let’s not miss it.
