Dear Parishioners:
A great gift in our time is the
simple fact that we can be in touch with people literally all over the world at
the touch of a key. There is something
incredibly amazing about this reality of daily experience. A phone call, an email or an instant message,
a connection through Skype or Facetime or some other app on an
electronic device can create the opportunity for an encounter with virtually
every person on the planet. Some of our
elders have lived through the whole gamut of such devices: telephones with
operators and party lines, radio, television, computers, cell phones, ipads,
tablets, androids, iphones, etc., etc. etc.
Who knows what the next generations will see?
When we consider such advances in
technology, we can come to understand more deeply by analogy the realities of
our Faith that we have known through the centuries as Church. Prayer puts us in communion with God, the
Creator of the Universe, and with those who have gone before us into the
mystery of the Communion of Saints. We
are able to pray now and to be in touch with the members of the Church in her
three states: the Saints in Glory (the Church Triumphant), the Holy Souls of
Purgatory (the Church Suffering), and the Saints in training all throughout the
world (the Church Militant).
If we understand the Mass properly,
we begin to realize that this is the “place” where the whole Church is
present. We one with the Saints in Glory
in worship of the Living God. In fact,
Mass is our entry into the Mystery of Eternity in time. The Light of Glory is present to us in our
participation in the Mass. We are in
touch, too, with those who have gone before us in the Faith, our relatives and
friends who are entrusted to God’s Mercy and whom we long to see again. Various moments of silence, especially that
which takes place right after reception of Holy Communion, are the closest we
will be to them in this life. The
celebration of the same Liturgy of the Mass each day throughout the world
reminds us that we are all destined for a glory that hidden from our eyes as we
walk the journey of Faith.
May we all keep this in mind as we
enter into the Summer months. This may
be a time of vacation from certain pursuits and activities, but it must not be
a time away from the practice of our Faith.
Enjoy your Summer and keep the Faith alive in your family by continuing
to worship together. The family that prays together stays
together!
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