The Vanishing Man

In spite of many obstacles, my brother is getting married in a few short days.  As such, he has been moving his things to the house where he and his fiancé will live.  It feels like my brother has always been around.  He is seven years older than me, and I can almost count on one hand the number of years during my lifetime that we have not lived in the same house.

We weren’t what I would call “close” when we were growing up.  Seven years is a BIG difference when you are a kid.  But as I reached my teens and he, his twenties, we started to get closer to one another.  We joke that we were raised on the same source material, so we have the same sort of sense of humor, and it annoys our dad to no end when we get going.

I think it’s really going to hit hard next week when he’s no longer around all the time.

And in thinking about all this, it strikes me how much our liturgical year and the scriptures assigned to it can speak to us in our day-to-day lives.  Jesus has ascended into heaven.  He left his disciples, but he did not leave them, or us, orphans.  He sends the Holy Spirit to us to be our comforter, advocate, and guide.  Just so, in my family’s current situation, my brother is not abandoning us.  On the contrary, he is giving us a new family member for us to love and who loves us in return.  (Having never had a sister, I am super excited!) 

It will mean changes for all of us, as we adapt to new habits, for the better.  It will be an adjustment to another aspect of our “new normal”.  In that sense, maybe it is helpful that it is happening now, when we are, necessarily, making other adjustments to our lifestyle.  Moving forward will be an adventure, and one that we will hopefully welcome with open arms.

A Case for Ascension Thursday

Author's Note:  Due to certain family circumstances, this is a late blog, but nevertheless something to consider, whether it is after the fact or not.

In most dioceses of the United States, the feast of the Ascension has been transferred to the Sunday before Pentecost.  The reasons for this vary according to whom you ask.  One reason I have heard is that it’s such an important feast that it should be observed by all Catholics, and moving it to Sunday makes it more likely that people will attend.  As Father Erik pointed out in his homily on Thursday of last week, it is a solemnity and a holy day of obligation, and to miss Mass on a holy day of obligation through one’s own fault is a mortal sin.  So, remove that possibility altogether, and move it to Sunday!

 

I don’t know that that’s really a good reason to move the feast.  It takes away a bit of accountability for us, and we can always use more accountability, especially in these days of restrictions and unconventional circumstances.  Father Erik also pointed out that the Ascension is a historical event.  It took place forty days after Jesus’ Resurrection.  Forty is such a significant number in the Bible that it makes sense to preserve that.  Further, if we celebrate Ascension on Thursday, we get a full ten days to prepare for Pentecost, which took place fifty days after the Resurrection.

 

We celebrate Christmas on whatever day it happens to fall.  Yes, this is due to the commercialization of Christmas to a certain extent, but it has a place in our consciousness.  Easter is a more significant feast for Catholics.  Our entire liturgical year is set by the date of Easter.  Surely the feasts of the Easter season should be given the same dignity.  Further, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has not transferred other feasts which are holy days of obligation, such as August 15^th, the Solemnity of the Assumption.  Surely, Jesus’ return to His Father in heaven should be afforded the same courtesy.

 

Holy days of obligation are a chance for us to stop, take stock of our spiritual lives, and make a small sacrifice of an hour of our time to attend Mass.  Our lives might be inconvenienced, but it is worth it to maintain our relationship with God.

Easing Into It

Let’s face it, things will most likely never go completely “back to normal.”  We’re going to have to create a new normal.  As Father Erik mentioned in his homily last week, we have plenty to trouble our hearts right now, but Jesus speaks to us through the scriptures.  He tells us “Do not let your hearts be troubled.  Have faith in God.”

We also need to have some common sense and a healthy sense of caution.  Just because we CAN do more things with restrictions easing doesn’t mean we must or we should.  But above all, we must have faith.  For some, going out in public is going to be scary, and that’s okay.  Ease into it.  Don’t try to do too much at once.  Don’t let it become overwhelming.  Take baby steps.  Believe that it will get better.  It will get easier.  It will become more normal.  Taking small steps forward will help to reduce the number of steps we have to take back.

If you are hesitant to come back to church, take that hesitancy to God in prayer.  Let Him help you regain the confidence to join in once more.  These times of isolation and separation have been difficult, even for those of us who prefer alone time to being with big groups.  Ask God to help you return to Him in small ways at first and then each step will get easier.

We look forward to the day when our new normal actually seems normal again.

Imposing Self-Discipline, Even When It’s Hard

A lot of us are working from home now, or we are finding ourselves with an abundance of time on our hands while we are furloughed or looking for work.  It can be difficult to find the motivation to keep at it when we don’t have a supervisor or the need to go further than our home office to do our work.  I will say, I have enjoyed being at home for two reasons.  First, I don’t have to pack my lunch every day, and second, there is no commute, no matter how long or short.  When I’m ready to start work, I just do. 

But it can also be difficult to focus on work when there are so many distractions typical of being at home.  Yes, I don’t have to pack a lunch to take to work with me, but I have to be cognizant of how long I am taking for a lunch “break”.  The TV is right there, ever so inviting.  Yes, there is no commute, but do I spend more time being distracted by my phone while I’m getting “ready to start” in the morning?  (The answer, unfortunately, is yes.)

The same can be said for our current worship situation.  Do we take advantage of the fact that we don’t have to worry about getting to church and we can just watch it on EWTN or online?  Do we not make it into a time of prayer?  Are we extra distracted during Mass because all those things that need doing at home are literally right there in front of us?  Be aware of your distractions.  Have some self-awareness of what your main “triggers” are when it comes to losing focus, and try to reduce those triggers.  I know it’s hard.  I’m not saying I’m perfect when it comes to ignoring my own triggers, but I keep trying.

Set goals.  Make lists.  Change up your environment, if you can.  Make a holy space at home.  Make a point of dressing for church, even if you are “going to Mass” in your living room or on your mobile device.  Act like someone is watching you, because someone is.  And if you stumble, it’s okay.  Try, try again.  Nobody is perfect, but that doesn’t mean we can’t strive to be the best we can be each day.

In the Midst of Turmoil, the World Still Turns

While it seems like most of the country, and to a certain extent, much of the world, has ground to a halt in the wake of COVID-19, life goes on.  It is helpful to try to maintain some sense of normalcy and routine.  Of course, there are differences.  Online and homeschool instruction for students.  Working from home, or finding oneself newly unemployed.  Trying to maintain contact with friends and family through different means than usual. 

And then, there are signs that life and time marches on.  People continue to get married.  People continue to have babies.  Birthdays still happen, regardless of how they are celebrated.  Anniversaries come and go.  Time waits for no one.

Maybe that is why my nephew and his fiancée decided to move their wedding to two months earlier than they originally planned.  They got married this past weekend in a private ceremony.  My brother and his fiancée intend to keep their planned wedding date in about a month, with a smaller private ceremony as well.  The only thing that really has to wait is the reception.

It is a good reminder for all of us that even though things are drastically different right now in some ways, in other ways, we continue on as we always have.  And this is also a chance for us to be grateful for all the things we tend to take for granted.  Who knows when we might wake up and those things are gone?

Aftershocks of Scripture

Happy, Blessed Easter!  Keep saying it, because the Easter season lasts all the way until June, and as Catholics, we are an Easter people.

I was struck by a thought as I listened to our Easter Triduum scripture readings this year, and I wonder how many others had the same thought.  I had always registered the verse, “There was a great earthquake” at the moment of Jesus’ death on the cross, but this year, that verse stood out to me.  Yes, it is due to our recent events here in Utah (and even more so with the aftershocks in the last few days), but it also brings to mind a reality of what scripture is meant to do for us.

God speaks to us through scripture.  Hopefully, He moves us through His Word.  In the practice of Lectio Divina, we are encouraged to spend time in silence, contemplating the passage we have read and/or heard.  We are encouraged to listen for what God is saying to us in our current circumstances through the passage.  We then reflect on why He is saying this to us here and now, and we respond to Him in prayer.

Prayer is a dialogue.  It can’t just be us talking all the time.  If it is, how would we know when God responds to our prayers?  This year, the earthquake verse shook me out of my routine (pun intended).  Just as we continue to experience aftershocks from our recent quake, allow God to move you with the aftershocks of His Word.

A Holy Week Like No Other

We are not able to congregate for our Holy Week liturgies this year.  This is sad for us as Catholics as these are some of the most beautiful liturgies of our entire year.  While we miss our celebrations, we can still participate in prayer and even in the liturgies in a limited way via streaming and other online options.

As I write this, I have the Chrism Mass from the Cathedral playing in another tab.  Who would have thought just a few short months ago that this would be the way we are celebrating the liturgies of the Holy Triduum?

I have many memories of singing for the Chrism Mass as a chorister at the Madeleine Choir School.  Typically, the Cathedral of the Madeleine is packed, not only with priests, but also with a congregation of laypeople.  The Bishop mentioned in his opening remarks that this was the first time in his time as an ordained priest that he had attended and presided at a Chrism Mass in an empty cathedral.  It is very strange to see the shots of the Cathedral of Madeleine with essentially nobody present.  I can only imagine how the priests of our diocese must feel, not being able to attend in person and experience this time of fellowship and fraternity.

However, I feel like there is a silver lining in the events of today.  Typically in this diocese, the Chrism Mass is transferred from the morning of Holy Thursday to the evening of the Fifth Thursday of Lent.  In celebrating it today, even if only electronically, we are able to celebrate it at the typical time it was celebrated for centuries in the past.

The oils blessed at the Chrism Mass are distributed to the entire diocese – usually taken by each pastor back to his parish.  This year, we will still receive our holy oils, just via another method.  Each of us who has been baptized, confirmed, or anointed at some other time (either in Holy Orders in the case of our priests and religious or in a time of illness) has benefited from these oils.  Let us give thanks that we still have access to these, and that pray that our priests may be strengthened in their continued ministry.