I'm sitting in my favorite spot in the house, where I spend hours blogging, reading, writing homilies, with the TV on watching Pope Francis presiding at Mass at WYD, and enveloped in the dark quiet of a rainy, dreary Saturday morning. Morning prayer done, it is a peaceful moment I embrace with my entire being. All too soon, things will get busy, yes, very busy.
As a people we do not know how to rest; I mean really rest. To embrace quiet, to pray, to journal perhaps and to just be aware of God's presence. This is one Saturday morning I am grateful for the experience. Soon, I will journey the 20.5 miles from my front door to that of my employment. Saturday's at the bank can be a good time to catch up on unfinished projects or, because folks didn't get around to it during the week, can be very busy and hectic. After work today I plan on attending a planning session for an upcoming prison retreat this October. This will be a Kairos retreat and I continue to support this ministry which is truly ecumenical. I must confess, the nature of this ministry is quite different from the ministry of my Catholic community at Rayburn. I support Kairos because it is the only ministry at Rayburn that is allowed to meet the inmate where they are. And what I mean by that is: "where they are" for these retreat goers is away from relationship with God and no real belief in Jesus as their Redeemer. Our Catholic ministry, by contrast, seeks to serve, by Mass, Reconciliation, prayer services and instructional support(Bible Study, RCIA) those who identify themselves as practicing Catholics. Bottom line is this: whether I'm conducting a communion service or prayer meeting for my Catholic brothers, or supporting Kairos in bringing others to Christ, I support and embrace these prison ministries!
Have you been following the events of WYD in Brazil? I sure have when the schedule allows me. These every other year gatherings do much to inspire and encourage those of us who are laborers in the vineyard. Who cannot be inspired and encouraged by the overwhelming number of people who flock to big Catholic events like a WYD? Who cannot be inspired by the enthusiastic response of faith by the thousands who risk even personal safety just to get a brief glimpse of the Pope? And isn't it just reassuring to be reminded that as Catholics, we are 1.2 billion strong and the one true hope for real Christian unity, whenever that will finally happen! As of this post, the last day and half of this particular WYD is all that remains. I'm excited to anticipate the final Mass where some officials are now estimating upwards of 3 million people may try and crowd the beach to participate.
On a personal note, this was one of those big weeks in the family scrapbook of my little family. For our daughter, newly achieved Masters Degree in hand, she moved home Tuesday. By home I don't mean under my roof; and that's OK! She will be living about 15 miles down the state highway that connects Abita Springs to Mandeville. Her first professional teaching job commences Monday. After gaining her two degrees, Elizabeth will be realizing her passion as she begins to teach high school students history and other social studies classes. I am relieved to have her home and quite frankly, to be making her own money!
So the time has come for me to rise from my little corner of peacefulness and head off to work. The Papal Mass on TV is concluding, the rain has quit falling, for now, and I am peace. How joyful it truly was to reflect on this Saturday morning!
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