Hidden in the story
How is God calling us to love Him?
Two weeks ago, my best friend and I went to go see Les Misérables in DC. Les Mis is one of my FAVORITE shows — I cannot count how many times I’ve seen it / listened to the album. It’s up there as a “perfect show”. The music is soaring. The sets are fire. The story is beautiful. Every time I see it, I’m struck by something else. And this time, I was captivated by the relationships that Jean Valjean and Javert have with their Catholic faith.
As a quick primer (without major spoilers), Les Misérables begins with Jean Valjean, a man imprisoned for 19 years after stealing a loaf of bread to feed his sister’s sick child. He endures brutal hard labor under the watchful eye of Inspector Javert. Upon his release, Valjean tries to start a new life, but his criminal record makes it nearly impossible. Everything changes when a kind priest offers him food and shelter — and Valjean repays him by stealing his silver. When the police catch him and bring him back, the priest shocks everyone by claiming he gave Valjean the silver — and then adds that Valjean forgot to take the candlesticks too! He urges Valjean to use these gifts to become an honest man. This act of radical mercy sparks a profound conversion in Valjean and sets the course for the rest of the story. (Amazingly, all of this happens within the first ten minutes of the musical!)
Meanwhile, Javert becomes obsessed with tracking down Valjean, who has broken parole in order to start over. The show follows these two men as their lives repeatedly intersect over the years, each striving to love God well, but in starkly different ways:
Valjean, transformed by the priest’s (and God’s) mercy, builds a new life and a thriving business. He cares for those around him, ultimately rescuing the daughter of one of his workers and devoting his life to passing on the grace he himself received.
Javert, on the other hand, is consumed by a rigid devotion to the law. He nearly condemns an innocent man, shows little compassion for the poor and imprisoned, and relentlessly hunts Valjean through the streets of Paris… all under the banner of justice.
My reflections on these two men — both pursuing God and faith in the ways they believe to be correct, doing all they can to honor Him with their lives — was further enriched by the readings about Joseph in the book of Genesis that same week. Joseph (of Technicolor dreamcoat fame, another great musical), sold into slavery by his brothers, spends 13 years imprisoned in Egypt and slowly makes his way into a place of power. When those same brothers come to him begging for food decades later, Joseph is generous and merciful.
While I hope none of us are facing decades of imprisonment or slavery, the reflection remains apt. How receptive are we to God’s will in our current circumstances? Do we trust that the places He has us (whether we want to be there or not) are the manifestation of His perfect will for us? Do we go forward, steadily, faithfully, trusting that He works all things for the good of those who love Him? Or do we strive to “prove ourselves” to Him, to earn His love through our activities that ultimately pull us away from him?
I can’t imagine the agony and sadness and discouragement that Joseph and Jean Valjean (and even Javert) felt in those hidden years. But two of those men let God touch their hearts. They trusted the story was bigger than themselves. They surrendered to His plan — and Javert, whose desperate spiral into tragedy was the fruit of his restless performance for a God he didn’t believe loved him and would take care of him, meets a devastating end.
The places God brings us are designed to bring us closer to Him. May we all experience glimpses of His glory in the everyday this week :)
In Christ,
Jane
What I’m loving lately
Little miracles this week:
I’ve started tracking little miracles in my notes app, to become more aware of God’s goodness, and think I’ll share some of them here each week — as a reminder that His presence in the little things points us to His providence in all things:
My power went out for eight hours on Wednesday BUT I happened to get up a little earlier than usual to pray, so I must have made my Nespresso just moments before we lost power. A true gift to have quiet, caffeinated prayer before a very sweaty day began!
I ran into a partner from my firm while boarding my flight last night and he said “what’s your seat?” And I said “19D” and he responded, “now it’s 2D. You take mine” and then boarded the plane and sat in the way back. I was *gobsmacked* and it was the sweetest gift ever.
I had the worst earache ever on Saturday morning — so much so that I went to mass thinking I would go straight to urgent care to get some antibiotics because the pain was unbearable. But as soon as I received communion and knelt in my pew, the pain evaporated. I have a little residual fuzziness but the pain is gone. A Eucharistic miracle!!
The coffee shop gave me a regular muffin instead of gluten free and when I asked to swap they just gave me the gf one too so we had 2 muffins! Bless.
A friend drove me to the train station so I didn’t have to sweat my way there on the metro. PTL!
24 hours in NYC
What a gift to pop up to my favorite city to celebrate the end of an era! My beloved friend Katie (whom I met through the SundayMonday Instagram account!!) is leaving the city, so we spent a whirlwind day visiting our favorite spots and packing up a bit. I was also able to see my friends Kelly and Anna! It was beautiful, and a good reminder that 1. celebrating is always worth the effort and 2. there’s nothing like being in person with good friends!
Sephora Hack
I’ve been on a “scent journey” over the past year and want to share a major hack. Sephora sells tester perfume sets for $35, and includes a coupon for a free travel size of your favorite scent in the box! Travel sizes range from $30-40 normally , so girl math means that it’s all basically free. PLUS the sampler sets provide weeks (if not months) of fun and games as you try all of them and toss them into purses and forget where they are and then find them again (always a little delight). A wonderful treat for yourself or to share with a friend!
Wow this was good
30 minutes of getting called out and I never loved anything more. A really, *really* good reflection on what we’re really looking for in spiritual direction (which is something I love). Thank you, Fr. Pine.
Prayer intentions
For a friend
For a special intention
celebrating is always worth the effort! loved that.
You are always on time with these Jane! Thank you 🥹