Month: April 2020

Hey Y’all,

Fr. Reynold writing here. I hope that everyone who is reading this is doing well. However, I know that some of you reading this are in fact not doing quite so well. Truly, I’m so sorry about that. See, in a parish like ours we run the gamut of human experience. Some folks are healthy; some are battling illness. Some are blissful; while others are struggling with grief. Some are worry-free; some others are fearfully anxious. Some of you are full of faith and some of you are having trouble believing. Some are feeling safe and secure; others aren’t sure what tomorrow will bring or if tomorrow will even come. Some are peaceful; others are full of rage. Some are engaged; while others are bored silly. Some are just numb; while some of you are feeling all the emotions mentioned above at once. Basically what I’m getting at, is that anyone reading this email at any given point can be anyplace in their state of life, their state of emotion, their state of faith, and their state of grace.

And it’s kinda of funny…maybe if you’re like me when I’m at my strongest and especially when I’m at my weakest, I feel my individuality profoundly. When I’m feeling strong, I can have a singular personal pride. Then when I’m weak, I can often feel utterly alone. We’ve all experienced such a range of mind, spirit and emotions. We all know what it is to feel our individuality. What we tend not to remember when we’re strong or weak or even just “bleh” is this paradox: there is solidarity in being individuals. There is community in our aloneness because we all experience singular pride and utter loneliness. I would hypothesize that solidarity is more important to us as creatures than individuality. In a primeval metaphor, “we are a pack of lone wolves”. I would go so far to say that this solidarity forms a community which is brought together by a need for salvation. That community is the Church. The solidarity of all that is human, in grace or disgrace, is redeemed by the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. This solidarity is given a mission through the Holy Spirit. And in solidarity we reflect the love of God the Father – by worshiping, by giving thanks, by living, moving and being together throughout all the ages.I’ve been thinking about this kind of stuff over the last few days. It started with my friend Pastor Craig from the Nazarene Church in Guymon, Oklahoma. He wrote on his blog…

“Often the Christian life is approached as if it is an individual pursuit. There is very little thought given as to how the body of believers might enhance one’s spiritual well-being… It’s as if the average Christian believer has concluded: The Church should not be too close, but never out of reach just in case we need to make a request.”

Now from a Pastor’s point of view, or a theologian’s point of view, or a Christian’s point of view these four lines could give birth to volumes of books. So let me simply say this – everybody needs to see paradox in the human experience, especially in the Christian embrace of humanity. We are individuals who need relationships, living in a solidarity of strengths and weaknesses; being together in a communion of faith, hope and love. We should give a lot of thought about how our participation in the Church shapes, forms and molds us in the image of Christ. The Church should always be in reach and the Church should always be reaching out for us and for all humanity.So please join me in praying for each other, for our parish and for our Church. Think about these concepts and as we begin to think about being Church in a slightly different day of mid-pandemic, let’s seek the best way to be Church. Let me know what y’all think. As we’re able to return to Church in one way or another in the coming weeks and months, let’s figure out even more how we are to be the Church in both solidarity and community.

Grace and peace to all y’all!

Fr. Reynold

GOOD FRIDAY

As we continue our journey through the Triduum (the Three Days beginning on the evening of Holy Thursday and closing with Evening Prayer on Easter Sunday) , we arrive at Good Friday. Praying on this day helps us focus on the fullness of the Paschal Mystery, the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus. Before I entered the Catholic Church at my (adult) Baptism in 1985, I had “book knowledge” about the meaning of this day, but not the spiritual understanding and experience of it. Certainly, there is intense sadness in today’s liturgy . And, there also is a remembering, a seeing and a physical experience of the boundless love of God that is expressed in Jesus’ passion and death.

We revere and adore the wood of the cross, because our Savior was nailed there and willingly gave his life for us on it. During a service of the Good Friday Liturgy, we hear the sung words : “Behold the wood of the Cross on which hung the salvation of the world”. And, we respond: “Come let us adore. Then, each of us is invited to come to it, touch or kiss or embrace the cross with the greatest devotion we wish to express.

From my first experience as a “new” Catholic, this act of veneration has been deeply meaningful for me and I am certain it is for you also. As a Deacon, I also am blessed to hold the cross for others to venerate. In the faces of the members of the Assembly, who approach the cross, I witness great devotion expressed through outstretched hands, genuflections, tears, bowing. The very young and the very old, the physically fit and those challenged by aging and infirmities, all God’s people are there to adore.

In our homes this year, confined by the pandemic, we can still make an act of Adoration of the Holy Cross. With a cross or crucifix or an image of one, whether we are alone or with family members, we can pause and spend time in prayer. Perhaps we can sit with the words “I behold the wood of the cross, I come to adore”. We can make a gesture that has meaning for us in accepting the love, forgiveness and everlasting life that flows from that cross.

Deacon Randy

HOLY THURSDAY

My Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I welcome you to this most solemn time in our Church Year…the Triduum. That is the time when we have completed our journey of Lent and enter fully into the Paschal Mystery, our Savior’s Passion, Death and Resurrection. This year, of course, our experience is markedly different. Due to the precautions we are observing because of the pandemic, we cannot be physically present with one another during our Liturgies. We will experience our Liturgies in a different way, via watching them via livestream. And, we will bring our memories of past years’ Holy Thursdays, Good Fridays, Easter Vigils and Easter Sundays into this year’s Triduum.

As many of you know, I am not a cradle Catholic. I made the decision, in my early thirties, to enter the Catholic Church. Even before becoming Catholic, my memories of Holy Thursday included my awe at the components of the Liturgy, especially the washing of the feet and the removal of the Blessed Sacrament to the Altar of Repose. What was it, especially about the washing of the feet , that so moved me?

The words of the Gospel at this Mass of the Lord’s Supper, accompanied by the ritual of the foot washing by the priest ,amazed me. Here was Jesus, the Son of God, who “… rose from supper and took off his outer garments. He took a towel and tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and dry them with the towel around his waist.” And, he said: “Do you realize what I have done for you? You call me teacher and master, and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.” And, there was Father, kneeling before members of the parish, following Jesus’ command, to be a servant of others.

This year, we will hear the words proclaimed but we will not witness the ritual. We will not be in the company of one another gathered together as a community in the church building. But, as we watch and pray from home, perhaps with family members, we can still experience the amazement at Jesus’ actions and we can still ponder his words “ as I have done for you, you should also do”. Perhaps we can reflect on some of the following questions.

When have we experienced someone humbly attending to us in a time of need? When we think of those instances, let us offer a prayer of thanksgiving to God for the persons who took Jesus’ words to heart and cared for us.

When have we followed Jesus’ example and humbled ourselves to serve those in need? Then, offer a prayer of thanksgiving to God for opening our eyes and hearts to those in need.

Thirdly, have there been times when we have neglected to serve others in need? If so, in prayer, ask for forgiveness and ask for the grace to see and act on the needs of others.

We will make our journey through this Triduum together as we join our hearts in prayer, thanking and praising God for his abundant blessings and for his Son, Jesus, our Lord and Savior.

Deacon Randy