Know that the time will come when we look back and remember this time that reminded us of the precious but fragile nature of life and our need to care for one another.
“Be Still And Know That I Am God.”
March 16, 2020
I’m not sure I can describe the feeling of getting up this morning. I’m not sure I remember the last time I had my entire weekend plans “cancelled” at the last moment. Waking up, I suppose, the short explanation is that it doesn’t feel like the weekend. In fact, I’m sure in the next few weeks, many of us will have the experience (usually reserved for vacations and other happier occasions) of having to stop and think about what day it is. And yet, God is still here among us. Perhaps, more to the point, we all still live amongst God.
I have often spoken about my belief that while “nothing is more inconvenient than community,” it is always better than the alternative. Many of us are now experiencing that very alternative, at least to some extent.
We should always remember however that “social distancing” is a misnomer. We have been asked to practice physical distancing. If there is one thing that the world of social media has taught (for good and bad), it is that we can stay in touch without the touch!
“Be Still” is actually the title of a song I wrote just a few weeks ago in response to a heavy season of funerals involving well-known parishioners culminating for me, personally, in the death of my brother, Tim. It’s a favorite scripture from the Psalms (46:10) that, as a single line, reminds me that God has called us into being, and does not abandon us even in times when we may feel abandoned or short on hope.
There are smaller voices of fear and panic calling to us right now. We have to listen for that still, small voice that points us to the Spirit that is within each of us, remembering that this spirit resides even more deeply in the space between human hearts, even when our human bodies are keeping distance.
You may be able to imagine the flurry on campus when Friday afternoon we were informed that public celebrations of Mass were suspended throughout the state. It’s a smart decision, even if only to manage public perception, although it will hopefully do more than that. We hadn’t really expected it would “ever go this far” (I’m assuming some of you have had similar notions). So we are currently designing our immediate future “on the fly.” Our plans will undoubtedly evolve as we go forward, but in discussion with a few staff members, we have come up with a program to (again) “stay in touch without touch.”
We are unrolling “Touchstones Across Sacred Space” which is a podcast style, net-based presentation through email, Facebook and other platforms currently available to us as well as trying to streamline how this can be done better as we go forward. The format will be three “outreach" moments each week. These are currently being imagined in the form of a scripture reading (pdf or simply displayed through our own mpbdenver.org website), a song (we have several recordings already available of our choir, and may have soloists contribute as we go forward) and finally a homiletic-style reflection on the reading (as an audio or video recording).
These three (currently scheduled for Monday, Wednesday and Friday — scroll down for today's email!) will be based on the previous Sunday’s readings (Monday the first reading, Wednesday the second reading, and Friday the Gospel). Moving forward, I may even have staff or some of our priests who help here in the parish, give some of the reflections.
Although many parishes are trying to stream a Mass, which we may look at in the future, we thought that this was a way to make “contact” a bit more often and be able to allow us to stay in “touch without touch” (TWT — could this be a new text-shorthand?).
Know that God is God. Know that the time will come when we look back and remember this time that reminded us of the precious but fragile nature of life and our need to care for one another. Know as well that we will learn about our amazing, God-given abilities to adjust, to continue to hope and to share grace even across vast spaces.
God Bless and BE WELL,
Fr. Pat
Third Sunday of Lent
In those days, in their thirst for water,
the people grumbled against Moses,
saying, “Why did you ever make us leave Egypt?
Was it just to have us die here of thirst
with our children and our livestock?”
So Moses cried out to the LORD,
“What shall I do with this people?
a little more and they will stone me!”
The LORD answered Moses,
“Go over there in front of the people,
along with some of the elders of Israel,
holding in your hand, as you go,
the staff with which you struck the river.
I will be standing there in front of you on the rock in Horeb.
Strike the rock, and the water will flow from it
for the people to drink.”
This Moses did, in the presence of the elders of Israel.
The place was called Massah and Meribah,
because the Israelites quarreled there
and tested the LORD, saying,
“Is the LORD in our midst or not?”
the people grumbled against Moses,
saying, “Why did you ever make us leave Egypt?
Was it just to have us die here of thirst
with our children and our livestock?”
So Moses cried out to the LORD,
“What shall I do with this people?
a little more and they will stone me!”
The LORD answered Moses,
“Go over there in front of the people,
along with some of the elders of Israel,
holding in your hand, as you go,
the staff with which you struck the river.
I will be standing there in front of you on the rock in Horeb.
Strike the rock, and the water will flow from it
for the people to drink.”
This Moses did, in the presence of the elders of Israel.
The place was called Massah and Meribah,
because the Israelites quarreled there
and tested the LORD, saying,
“Is the LORD in our midst or not?”
Please share with friends and family.
If you wish to subscribe for news and updates from Most Precious Blood, click here.