My shift is 1 a.m. to 2 a.m. every Friday, a time when the world outside my church in Nicholasville, Ky., is silent. Often, the time is deeply spiritual. But sometimes in the silence, as I hear my prayers go out, I know that my mind is wandering. At those times the whole thing feels routine. I begin with a few short prayers.
Somebody has a relative who has been diagnosed with cancer.
Someone else is having marital problems and needs help with rent money. Then I pray the rosary. The silence is ideal for reflection. And on this night, last September, I had something to contemplate. This night was anything but routine.