A weird scam at my retreat on hope

I’m a little embarrassed to share this, but I succumbed to a scam.  Fortunately, no money was exchanged, but it completely changed the trajectory of a retreat I was leading.  Even then, God brought about a beautiful outcome.

I was leading the Fall Day of Reflection for Catholic Charities.  The theme was hope.  It was a perfect Fall Day, the room was beautifully decorated to provide a welcoming space, and the attendees were hungry for a hopeful message. 

I opened with a meditative prayer, then explored some hopeful images.  One was the visitation of Mary to Eve by Sister Grace Remington OSB featured in this post.  I preached a message, “Hope does not disappoint.”  (Rom 5:5)  The group was engaged and shared freely.

I couldn’t have scripted a better morning for this day of reflection. 

Then I received a call at lunch.  It was a man posing as a sheriff.  He said I failed to report for jury duty that morning.  I needed to drop what I was doing and report to the sheriff’s office immediately.  Fines were involved, and possible civil action.  He demanded I maintain constant contact until I reach the sheriff’s office.  What made this believable is that I had a jury summons on my desk.  I thought to myself, “Oh, my.  I got the wrong date.”  After going back and forth for about 30 minutes, I complied and left the retreat.

I look back and realize this was a ridiculous request.  But at the time, I was filled with fear.  I worried about the fines, getting a criminal record, or having sheriff deputies escort me from the retreat. 

In the heat of the moment, I was surprisingly gullible.  I had spent twenty years ministering to prisoners, some in maximum security, and thought I could smell a con a mile away.  Not so.  On the spiritual side, I neglected all my Ignatian training of the bully tactics of the enemy, which often demand urgency, instill fear, and foster shame.

During the retreat, I remember lightheartedly pointing out the heel of Mary crushing the head of the serpent.  I said, “It looks like the snake’s given up the ghost.”  I’m thinking Satan wasn’t pleased with the comment, wasn’t pleased with the morning, and tried to destroy the rest of the day.

On my drive, the story of the scammer started to shift.  The scales fell from my eyes.  I went to the sheriff’s office with the scammer still on the phone.  I told the sheriff I was being scammed at this very moment and showed her my phone.  She smiled, and said “There’s not much we can do.  Don’t give them any money.”  Duh. 

In my absence, the retreat continued in a self-guided manner.  By all accounts afterwards, it was a grace-filled afternoon.  I left some discussion questions and a prepared liturgy on hope.  I wonder now if God realized that this group didn’t need to hear anymore from me.  They needed to connect and build up their little community of hope. 

If that’s the case, it’s as if Mary indeed crushed the head of the serpent.  He may have wiggled his tail a little trying to destroy this retreat, but was defeated in the end. 

Mary, head-crusher of Satan, protect us.