St. Thérèse of Lisieux recounts how once she was trying to write about charity, and one sister or another would interrupt what she was doing. She realized that she had to be very careful to be patient, or else she would be contradicting the very virtue about which she was trying to write. It would have been counterproductive to say, “Sister, can’t you leave me alone so I can write about how much we should love one another?”

Interruptions can range from very welcome (“this may get me out of a meeting”) to deeply maddening (“this ruins everything for today”). Sometimes, similar to the disciples on the road to Emmaus, we might look back on an interruption with a different view. We may start to see interruptions as part of a plan different from ours, possibly as divine interruptions.

The story of salvation is a series of divine interruptions. When Abraham was 75 years old, God called him on an adventure of faith (Gn 12:4). When Moses was 80, God intruded into his life to send him on a mission of liberation (Ex 7:7). David was a youth when called to be king (1 Sm 16:12). The call to each of the prophets can be seen as an interruption.

The Annunciation (Lk 1:26) was certainly an interruption as, within a few moments, Mary’s life was turned inside out and upside down forever. The same holds true for the annunciation to Joseph (Mt 1:20). Jesus’ call to Peter, Andrew, James, John and Matthew, as well as his appearance to Paul (Acts 9:4-5), were all interruptions. So often, in these and many other cases, what seems like an interruption from a human perspective may, from a divine perspective, be part of a plan, a much bigger plan. Even the words of Jesus from the Book of Revelation, “I stand at the door and knock” (3:29), represent an interruption.

Be Ready to Change Plans

As a parish priest, I find myself at times settling down to do some good work, or even just rest, when I am interrupted. It may be someone wanting to talk or go to confession. There may be a call from the hospital that requires me to drop everything and rush to a patient.

St. Vincent de Paul speaks beautifully of leaving one work of God for another. If you are preparing to spend time in prayer and a call from the hospital interrupts your plans, it is helpful to remember that you can serve God by praying and by going to the hospital — and in that instant, it is obvious that God wants you to go to the hospital.

In pastoral ministry, it is helpful to have a theology of interruption or at least a spirituality of interruption, understanding how God can be at work in the interruptions of daily life. Even something like a new assignment, if it’s an unexpected one, can be experienced as an interruption.

The Needs of Others

Even a highly structured religious life has interruptions, such as those St. Thérèse experienced. The Rule of St. Benedict speaks of joyfully welcoming the interruption of a guest and, referencing Matthew 25, of seeing Christ in that guest. The same is true for the other categories found in Matthew 25, such as feeding the hungry and giving drink to the thirsty. It may also be understood in a broader sense regarding all those in need.

St. Teresa of Calcutta spoke of seeing Christ in “the distressing disguise of the poor.” Jesus travels among us in the hungry and the thirsty, in the stranger and the naked, the ill and the imprisoned, in those who are in need, including the unborn. The Second Vatican Council said that “it is as if Christ himself were crying out in these poor to beg the charity of the disciples” (Gaudium et Spes, No. 88). So often those voices come to us as interruptions. With eyes and ears of faith and charity, sometimes we can recognize them as the voice of Christ. At times an interruption can be one of the most important works of the day.

Growing in Patience and Openness

Although some of what I have shared pertains to the life of a parish priest or to religious life, obviously this spirituality of interruption is not exclusive to either. It occurs in every walk of life. Years ago I was visiting with a married couple and asked how they met. They explained that they had literally bumped into each other at work. I am romantic enough to think that it may not have been an accident.

Pondering it further, it is clear to me that family life has even more interruptions than parish life. At times I think of how, for every time I have received an urgent sick call in the middle of night, parents, even of just one child, have gotten up many more times in the night to take care of that young one. A priest once asked his mother what was the heart of being a mother. Her answer: “The willingness to be inconvenienced.”

Whether from family members, friends, co-workers, strangers, telemarketers or God, interruptions are often inconveniences that we can resent. That is where some patience with others, with ourselves and even with God can come into play. What at first seems like a disruption in our lives can be an invitation to see, serve and love Christ. Those interruptions may be part of a plan, part of a divine plan. 

FATHER JOSEPH CISETTI is a priest of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph in Missouri, where he is currently pastor of St. Therese North in Kansas City.