I guess it’s always a little tricky to talk about someone’s legacy. As I was thinking about my pastor’s legacy today, many things came to mind. Of course, there is the big, beautiful church building. There’s the perpetual adoration chapel. No one on the finance committee would want to forget that, despite these tough times, we remain in the black. The list could go on and on. But, I don’t think any of these are keys to his legacy. Well, if not them, then what?
I’ve been in a reflective mood the past couple of days. If you follow my blog, you know that our long-time pastor is leaving our parish this weekend. Change is always hard, and he will be terribly missed. But the rhythm of parish life will keep moving. School starts Tuesday. There will be masses, baptisms, funerals, reconciliations and weddings, among a myriad of other things. The beat goes on, just as it always has, but that doesn’t mean it has to be easy.
Blessed Teresa of Calcutta was born one hundred years ago today. Her model of humble service continues to touch literally tens of thousands of people throughout the world each day, thanks to the sisters of the religious order she founded, the Missionaries of Charity.
“Today there is so much suffering – and I feel that the passion of Christ is being relived all over again – are we there to share that passion, to share that suffering of people?
This Annunciation is one of my favorite pieces of art. Painted between 1433-34 by Fra Angelico, it hangs in the Diocesan Museum in Cortona, Italy. I have had the gift of visiting Cortona several times, and I love to stand in front of this painting, viewing the scene taken from the Gospel of Luke (1:26-38). The strikingly beautiful Gabriel has a message for Mary. Before he makes the announcement, the most important ever made, he has a more simple message. “Do not be afraid.”
Someone made the comment the other day that they’d like to see the Scriptures discussed a bit more, so here it goes.
The 23rd Psalm is used at just about every funeral I go to. As I listened to it being sung on Friday, I paid attention to the words,
The Lord is my shepherd;
there is nothing I shall want.
In green pastures you let me graze;
to safe waters you lead me;
you restore my strength.
You guide me along the right path
for the sake of your name.
Even when I walk through a dark valley,
I fear no harm for you are at my side;
your rod and staff give me courage.
You set a table before me
as my enemies watch;
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Only goodness and love will pursue me
all the days of my life;
I will dwell in the house of the Lord
for years to come.
This weekend, I’m commuting back and forth to Blue Ridge Summit, PA, where about 25 college students are on retreat. The students are from McDaniel College, where I help out with the campus ministry program, and the focus of the retreat is to help the incoming freshmen transition into campus life.
This afternoon, I’m going to be giving a talk about the storms of life that routinely come our way. College students seem to be especially prone to such turbulence, and my plan is to get them to realize that there are all kinds of safe harbors they can get to when things get tough.
I’m basing the talk on the passage from Matthew’s Gospel (8:23-27), the one where the disciples panic as a storm kicks up and they think the boat they’re in will go down, taking them with it. All the while, Jesus is asleep. When they wake him, screaming that they’re going to die, He chastises them. “Why are your terrified, O you of little faith?” With that, Jesus immediately calms the storm and returns things to normal.
My plan is to tell the students that, no matter how bad things seem to get, Christ is right there with us. He’s always willing to be our shelter in the storms that come our way, and we all know from personal experience, they’ll come.
Continuing with this metaphor, if you think about it, the safest thing would be to keep our boats tied up at the dock. But boats weren’t built to remain in a harbor. In the same way, we weren’t created to be so scared of life that we never really risk much.
It’s out in the open sea that the craftsmanship of the boat builder can be seen. As these young people move on to the next stage of their lives, they’ll have the chance to test all the gifts that have been given them. They will make mistakes, and there will be storms. It’s all part of learning that God is right there with us through it all.
What do you do when a storm kicks up in your life? Where/Who is your shelter in the storm?
The compassionate way is the patient way.
Patience is the discipline of compassion.
Patience is the hard but fruitful discipline
of the disciple of the compassionate Lord.
Henri Nouwen
If someone were thinking about a word to describe you, would compassion come to mind?
When I was first introduced to Ignatian Spirituality, I spent a fair amount of time pondering one of its key components, that being “finding God in all things.” For most of us, we’re used to finding God in our church buildings. We can also find Him when we look into the eyes of a loved one, or when we have a great day and everything seems to be just right.
For some of us, it’s a bit harder to find God when we’re confronted with some major issue, like the death of a child, the loss of a job, or it could be a terrible and unjust war, or maybe a devastating earthquake. The list goes on and on.
But St. Ignatius taught us that our God is active, personal, and, above all, present to us. His DNA is everywhere, in our family and friends, in our joys and sorrows, in nature, and also in the daily rhythm of life. He’s right there when we want Him to be with us, and He’s waiting for us to return after we reject Him. He’s always present, in the good and the bad.
Over the next few days, be open to God’s presence around you. Even if you feel distant from Him, it doesn’t change things. He made a promise a long time ago to be with us (Matthew 28:20), and He continues to keep it. Yes, we really can find God in all things. But you have to look 🙂
I was talking to my friend Fr. Leo Patalinghug at a youth conference a few weeks ago, and he mentioned that a new edition of his cookbook was coming out at the end of July. After our conversation, I realized how similar the goals of Grace Before Meals and Making All Things New are. In some sense, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised at that. We have been friends for many years now, and we both are striving to help people integrate faith into their daily lives. Plus, we love to cook.
Fr. Leo is a great cook. We’ve prepared meals together in the past, and I’m always amazed at his culinary talents. His idea of bringing families together to not only share a meal, but, maybe more importantly, prepare it together, is one worth supporting.
When talking about preparing a meal, he doesn’t mean taking a box of lasagna out of the freezer and putting it in the oven. Instead, he reminds us that “the natural informality and familiarity of the kitchen” should be a place where families and friends can be comfortable talking.
When I designed my own kitchen, I wanted to create a very casual environment where I could talk with people while I cooked. Now, when I invite friends over for one of my sacred feasts, we start our appetizers while I’m cooking the main course. I feel like many people are afraid to cook, thinking it’s too complicated.
Of course, this isn’t necessarily true, and a shared goal I have with Fr. Leo is to make cooking simple, fun and enjoyable. We also want to remind people God is present with them all the time, even in the most basic daily events like cooking and eating.
Be sure to check out his website. There’s a lot of good info, and plenty of tasty recipes, although it’s a little light on vegetarian recipes. I’m going to have to talk to him about that 🙂
Tomorrow the Church marks the great feast of Saints Peter and Paul. Years ago, when I was in the seventh grade and getting ready to be confirmed, I chose the name Peter as my confirmation name. As best I can recall, the sole reason was that Peter and Paul sounded good together. That’s a seventh grader for you :/
It was only in my adulthood that I began understanding the spiritual connection between me and St. Peter. Like most of us, when I look back on my life, I can see plenty of good choices, but also plenty of bad. Sometimes, we get caught up focusing on one or the other, either making us feel great, or feeling pretty lousy.
St. Peter had some pretty amazing highs, but he also had some really deep lows. He’s the guy who was right there at some of the greatest moments of Jesus’ life. And in the end, he was the one who denied Him three times. But in spite of that Jesus loved him all the more, forgave him, and turned him into a Rock.
So, I came to understand what a blessing it was for me to choose Peter as my confirmation name all those years ago, and link his name to my baptismal name. Peter is a great example of someone on whom the Lord looked mercifully, despite his many failings.
St. Peter and St. Paul, pray for us.
