Pastor’s Notes

“Troubled hearts”

Thomas and Philip figure prominent in this weekend’s Scriptures.   Both have troubled hearts and bring them to Jesus.  To troubled hearts of any generation, we Christians have something to say.  We live in troubled times.  After more than eight weeks of troubled wrestling against the 20/20 crisis of the Covid-19 virus, we don’t know if we are winning or losing.  We wrestle with challenge to health & health care, job loss, relationships between those sheltering in place, marriage (some better, after this; some worse), childcare, economic recession.  Shelter in place, testing and social distancing have slowed the rate of infection.  But we have lost a lot of people.  And a whole lot of “what-ifs “run circles in our head as we try to sleep at night. But the nocturnal exercise doesn’t change anything.

God wears the hard hat of a good architect on the work site.  The many rooms “dwelling places” in the Father’s House are also featured in this weekend’s Gospel of John.  They are the antidote to troubled hearts.  We chose this reading for funerals a lot. “I am going to prepare a place for you; that where I’m you always might be.”  Heavenly architecture has plenty of room for everybody.  But in this context, that’s really good news.

Jesus “Farewell address” in the 4^th gospel is given to his disciples at the Last Supper, the night before he died.  It is understandable that they were deeply upset at the prospects of life without him. He spoke about returning to his Father and about their mission to proclaim and live his message of love to the world. Only Thomas had the courage to say what others were thinking.  “We don’t know the way.”  Like Philip, we petition regularly in the Mass’s prayers of Intersession for the gift of faith, to see and believe like Jesus.  We ask to keep our eyes on that place being prepared for us.   The Master invites belief and its “works“ to be grounded in union with the Father and in Gospel values.   Later he said that after the return to the Father, we would do even greater works.  Imagine?  

The First Letter of Peter notes that Jesus is the cornerstone of the dwelling place God is building.  And we are the diverse, living stones layered like sandstone, from faith deposited over time from family, the grace of the sacraments, and active life in the local parish.  No stone is the perfect, but each has a unique task.    All living stones are called to be built into a communion of “wild saint’s” –  a home on the earth filled with God.   ‘Spiritual communion’ for these days of Eucharistic fast, is settling into that truth.  Everyone is an integral part of the mission- a priestly Church noticing details about our world and lifting them to the Father’s compassionate attention.  Even if we have to do this separated from one another.

Trappist monk, Thomas Merton’s infamous prayer notes this faith ache as troubles run circles in the head.  “My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and that I think I am following your will does not mean I am actually doing so.  But I believe the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all I am doing. I hope I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you will never leave me to face my perils alone.”

To our Mothers especially, “A gentle week.”      
Fr. Michael Weldon, OFM

Thanks for parts of this reflection are expressed to Celebration’s 2017 “Mission Possible” by Barbara Born