Most Reverend Jerome E. Listecki
Archbishop of Milwaukee
 

I am sure someone has asked you “Are you a person who sees the glass half-full or half-empty?” The question is often a reference to whether your worldview is pessimistic or optimistic. I mention this because yesterday was the first day of summer and I should have been rejoicing in the fact that I now have 90 days of gloriously warm weather and the ability to shed those extra layers of clothing. Instead, I was thinking, “Oh my; winter is only six months away.” However, on the first day of winter, I do not say, “Hey, great! Summer is just six months away.” I guess you could say I am a “glass-half-empty” type of guy, at least when it comes to the seasons. Perhaps growing up in the Midwest, when a lingering memory of that below-zero thermometer follows a beautiful summer day, always makes me feel that winter is just around the corner.

I do not think that I am always a “glass-half-empty” person; it just depends on the subject matter. In sports, I am always a glass-half-full type of person. In my freshman year, I played on a small college basketball team that ended the season 4-22, not exactly a national ranking prospect. We had less than 300 boys in the college, but every game that we played I entered the game with the sense of winning, not losing. Some may call me unrealistic – David going against Goliath – but David did win one, and we did win at least those four games.

In the realm of spirituality, I can only be a glass-half-full person. No matter what difficulty I have encountered during my lifetime, God’s hand has always been present. I constantly see the blessings that our benevolent God has bestowed. I am not saying that everything has always gone my way because it has not. However, as I assessed the trying situations, the glass was always at least half-filled with moments of trust that fulfilled God’s plan. God often inspired my trust through the witness of brothers and sisters to Christ by bearing the burdens of sufferings in His love. If I were focusing on the half-empty side of things, I would have missed those providential actions that filled half the glass. Besides, it is not a half-empty tomb that we celebrate on Easter. We celebrate a fully resurrected Jesus who offers life and gives us His Church.

Always remember that there can be nothing half-empty in our actions when we express how we LOVE ONE ANOTHER.  

Note: This blog originally appeared as the June 22, 2021 "Love One Another" email sent to Catholics throughout the Archdiocese of Milwaukee by Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki. If you are interested in signing up for these email messages, please click here.