St. Padre Pio and Brother Bee

As I traveled about yesterday doing errands and visiting my father, I stopped as I like to do at the St. Padre Pio Chapel in Gates (a suburb of Rochester).

There was one car in the parking lot. When I went into the chapel though, no one was there. I sat in a back pew listening to the birds outside, saying a few prayers and doing some spiritual reading. This chapel dedicated to that good Italian Capuchin has become a treasured place of peace and prayer for me here in Rochester.

After a while, I heard some rumbling. At first I thought maybe the person in the car I had seen was in the basement moving something. The rumbling came again. Moving something? Or thunder?

Sure enough, it started to rain. The rain grew heavier, striking the roof, echoing throughout the chapel. I listened to the sound and looked out the windows at the rain, thanking God for the beauty of the moment. Finally I went over to one of the windows to look outside.

As I looked at the fields, my attention was suddenly drawn to the motion on the outside frame of the window. A bee was there, moving in from the rain, and then holding tight to the frame.

He and I were both finding a moment of peace thanks to the chapel.

Summer thunderstorm -
Franciscan chapel shelters
Brother Bee and me