And the pelican still soars

I crossed Lake Pontchartrain today; going to New Orleans in a driving rain/wind storm this morning and coming home this afternoon in much calmer weather. I must admit, I had my eye on the lake because of the reports of the discovery of oil east of the Causeway. There was no way oil would be this far west yet, still I looked. And today, both in the storm and in the calm, I watched many pelicans soaring along the Causeway rails and to the lake below.

The Pelican has been dealt a cruel blow because of this BP Oil disaster. Not a single day goes by where a pelican is pulled from the Gulf covered in oil and toxic dispersants. Yet in Lake Pontchartrain, for now anyway, they have been safe. Will the oil ever get into the lake in such a manner that even here the pelican will not be safe? Time will tell.

The pelican is so important to Louisiana; it is our state bird and the predominant feature on our state flag. And the pelican is such an important part of our Catholic heritage in Louisiana. Yes, the pelican has long been used by Catholics as a symbol of the Eucharist. Why? Because the pelican, to sustain it's young, feeds the young birds it's own flesh and blood through the sacrifice of plucking that flesh from it's own chest.

This is such a wonderful visible sign of Jesus, to sustain His own, feeding us with His Body & Blood. And the life that is nurtured and grows in the young pelicans is a sign of our own eternal life which is nourished by the Body & Blood of Christ.

And watching those pelicans today, as they soared majestic in bad and good weather, I remembered the Church, which despite bad and good experiences through the ages still soars majestic. And just as man has tried by it's failures and shortcomings to eradicate the pelican, whether intentional or not, still it flies. And so too the Church. Despite man's failures and shortcomings the Church remains, strong and vibrant because Christ promised that not even the gates of hell will prevail against her.

I'm glad I crossed Lake Pontchartrain today and witnessed the majesty of the pelican. They served as a powerful witness today that the Eucharist is the source and summit of my life and the Catholic Church is the one true church founded by Christ; and she endures forever.