We are now into the sixth month of the shelter-in-place/quarantine/lock-down/selective restrictions….or whatever we are calling it today. We, as a Catholic Church, have gone from live-streaming Mass, to small outdoor gatherings, to larger outdoor gatherings (but no singing) to holding the status quo (and now singing) for the last few months. It is frustrating, confusing and aggravating depending on what hour of the day it may be right now. What is a Christian to do?
Pray, persevere and hope with actions faith, mercy and trust seem at times to be the only answer. Yet, I know that God has prepared us for these difficult and confusing times. Why do I say that? Simple, just over a year ago…and how long that seems at this point…the Spanish speaking community of the Catholic Church celebrated and worked through the “V Encuentro: Creating a Culture of Encounter” as a national movement in following Pope Francis’ call to go to the peripheries to seek out the lost, the forgotten, the broken and abandoned of our Church and society. Where we are invited to bring Jesus and encounter Jesus in these moments of joining together in service and prayer with our brothers and sisters.
There are four simple objectives laid out by the V Encuentro (the fifth Encounter) document in which many of our St. Lucy parishioners and Catholics throughout our diocese, state and country participated. This is the preparation God shared with us and here are those four objective
- Promote a vision of the Church in mission that invites, engages and forms….
- Provide a process of faith sharing and missionary activity…
- Call all Catholics…to become authentic and joyful missionary disciples…
- Invite all Catholic leaders to engage and accompany the most vulnerable… We might then ask in this time and place: Who are those on the periphery? Each one of us could be the answer to the questions. Many people are feeling abandoned by God asking he question of why He would let this happen. Some may feel abandoned by the Church leadership, their bishops and priests, sharing both anger and guilt in not being able to receive the Sacraments or help with the difficult life problems the pandemic has forced upon each of us. Some may feel left alone and forgotten by family and friends with the pain of isolation and anxiety growing daily. Other may, in loosing their employment or even working reduced hours, have pressed upon them the fear of loosing housing, paying for food and other necessities that were never worries before. The list could go on and on but many of us have felt this reality of being pushed out and left alone wondering what to do next and how to move forward. Or in other words as people of faith…Where is God in all of this? How do I know God is with me?
God is with me…He truly is I promise. God calls all of us into a relationship of love. We are all on the periphery in one way or another and we must seek God here…not in the dream of somewhere else. In honesty, I don’t know how to do church right now, I am out of my comfort zone with all the new things that are throw at us daily. But, I do know how to do Church because it begins with an encounter. Perhaps it isn’t in a full church building like we are comfortable with but the encounter becomes the little church of the family, friends and strangers who invite us in to seek a deeper relationships, an encounter with God who is with us.
God desires me…On Thursday St. Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians at daily Mass tells us, “But by the grace of God I am what I am and his grace to me has not been ineffective.” (1 Cor 15:10) The Father sees me as lovable and wants me and each of his children to share this love with others. The gifts and talents we each have are strengthened by abundant grace God pours out upon us throughout our lives. When I share these gifts in abundance, in the stewardship of life, then the isolation ceases because we are surrounded by true blessings in recognizing Jesus in each one of us.
God searches for me…We can run away from the encounter thinking it is too hard and painful to move forward. We can scream, pout, cry and curse but our Heavenly Father continues to search for each of us by name. God never tires of loving each of us and we discover that love when we search out the blessings of life in each other.
Life is good…it is possible, so let us pray, persevere and hope with actions faith, mercy and trust seem at times to be the only answer.
As I write this I hear the encounter going forward as our pre-school “Little Lightening” children at our parish school are out playing, singing, squealing with joy to the glory of God. This is the encounter with God we are all called to share…to go out and share the joy of blessing and the hope of love with one person and then do it again.
God Bless
Fr. Mark