If everything goes to plan in about one month I will be beardless. The fun and the silliness of our “closing the gap” campaign is bearing great fruit and it looks like the shaving will occur. I found myself the other evening as I brushed my teeth getting ready for bed to really take a good look at my beard and thinking in my mind…”Boy, does my beard look good!” and then sigh at the thought of it going away.
Many people have expressed the support of the beauty of my beard but for some odd reason many, many more have a dislike for my beautiful beard. Whatever the case I will be happy to sacrifice my beard for the good of the parish and the happiness of my Mom and my other family and friends who would like to see the beard go the way of the wooly mammoth.
Now, there is a spiritual gift involved in this for both those who are giving and hoping the beard goes and for me and the remnant who know beauty when they see it. The gift of giving in hope is a blessing of generosity and of community. Choosing to give of the self and join in a movement of good are important aspects of becoming one in a unity that makes us better in who we are as friends and neighbors. It is in building camaraderie we discover the blessing of who we are beyond the what we do.
It is also true for me, who will be loosing the beauty of the beard, and my loyal companions that we too build this unity and joy but also in the sacrificial offering of something greater. It builds the heart of humility of knowing there is a greater and grander plan God has for us in life.
Ultimately it is the camaraderie of who we are and not what we do on which I wish to focus. I know it took the beauty of the beard to get to this point but it is an important point. When the Catholic Church talks about vocation and how our Bishop Oscar Cantú from San Jose talks about building a culture of vocation this is the reality of the word: it is who we are and not what we do. If I use myself as an example: my vocation in the Catholic Church is that of an ordained priest. As a priest I do many things, and some of these works are reserved only to a priest, the calling to a vocation is still about becoming who God has made us to be created in his own likeness as sons and daughters. My mission isn’t to “do the work” of a priest but to conform my life to Jesus Christ in my vocation as priest. The becoming who we are cannot be done in isolation from the Body of Christ, the people of God. And this is how we understand all “vocation” as St. Paul reminds us, conforming ourselves to the image of Jesus is the ultimate goal of everyone. “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” (Eph 5:25) In other words, dying to ourselves helps us find our true calling to serve and love our brothers and sisters.
Once again we cannot die to ourselves simply for ourselves…we must always do so in service of a greater good, a holy cause which draws a deeper and more profound love from our hearts. This is always first and foremost found in our prayer with and for others seeking to understand the blessings we have received and are called to share with the community.
God Bless
Fr. Mark
So once more, thank you to all who have supported our “Clean Shave for a Clean Start” campaign…if all goes well we will be shaving on the steps of St. Lucy Church on July 14th at around 2:30 p.m. in the afternoon. The money we are raising is to close the gap in the ADA and Capital Campaign so we can confidently plan for the renovations knowing we have the resources on hand to complete the full project. Attached is the link to donate…all gifts, large and small, are important in building the camaraderie of a community of joy.
https://paybee.io/quickpay.html?handle=stlucy&ppid=33#optionList
https://paybee.io/quickpay.html?handle=stlucy&ppid=33#optionList