Thursday, August 12, 2010

Signs, Signs, Everywhere's Signs...

"... I have made you a sign for the house of Israel..." 
- Ezekiel 12


This morning's first reading at Mass was a bit... dark. The prophet Ezekiel was inspired to literally embody the exile that unfaithful Israel was about to become. He "shouldered the burden" and dug a hole in the wall of the city and escaped in the darkness of night to show the people where their sin was leading them. A sign in his very body of what was to come. God loves teaching us this way, through physical signs and symbols.


A few millennia away from Ezekiel's experience, sitting in the church pew, close to my wife, with a hand on our little boy's soft head of hair, I had a whole other train of thought start chugging down the tracks of my mind. 


"I have made you a sign..."


The summer has allowed me to go, most days, to daily Mass with my family. I'd heard it from Rebecca but now I see how others love to watch our little boy - quite literally the "MASScot" of St. Charles parish. Playing with his books, begging for goldfish, and pointing to Father at the altar (affectionately referred to as "ZAH!"), he brings loads of smiles to the retirees, young couples, and rosary ladies (glue of the Church, seriously) who attend Mass with us.


"I have made you a sign."


It's easy to see that little squirt as a sign of God's love in the world. Any child still dripping with the waters of Baptism seems still in communion with the angels, don't they? But then I thought of Rebecca this morning, and myself, and our son. And the thoughts got bigger. We must all become like little children.... magnets of joy, wonder, trust, and love for others to see. We are a family. We are a sign. A sign in our very bodies of what is to come. And what is that, you ask? LOVE, BLISS, COMMUNION... THE ONENESS. A unity in distinction, three persons in one family. Sound familiar? Whoa. I got schooled by the Holy Spirit, once again. "ZAH!"


An examination of conscience kicked in.... What is the language of my body saying in that pew, in this place, in the grocery store, at the bank, the mall, the many places where we live and move and make our living? Eyes are seeing us.... this little family. Are we a sign of what is to come? We are called to be! Are we in love?


The history of mankind, the history of salvation, passes by way of the family... The family is placed at the center of the great struggle between good and evil, between life and death, between love and all that is opposed to love.
- Pope John Paul II 


I've seen and heard (and been) the counter-sign often enough. Visit a department store at a peak hour or sale and you'll hear all manner of unlove, non-bliss, disunion and indifference in families. With bitterness, division, fracture, and a radical individualism, we can become rotted out building blocks for a culture not long for this world. How can any society stand on such tremulous ground? This is starting to sound as dark as that first reading from Ezekiel this morning... In this present darkness, the faithful family does seem to be exiled!


Hmmm. Well, it's always darkest before the dawn, they say. And such darkness has a way of highlighting the light. Goodness, patience, charity, and basic human kindness have never shown so bright as now, when their absence can seem so mainstream. We have to pray that the morning star still rises in our hearts. And look for grace in the right place. We personally need to get our butts to Mass as often as possible. For into darkness we might go, but for the grace of God poured out on that altar, and deep into the heart of every child who believes. God help us!
To the family is entrusted the task of striving, first and foremost, to unleash the forces of good...
- Pope John Paul II

2 comments:

Unknown said...

+LDM

Dear Bill, Rebecca, Seth and the new little baby God Willing,

May God's deepest peace rest in your hearts this day and every day and may Mary Immaculate give you her Most pure heart and keep you in her heart as well.
Dee texted all of us MOEs yesterday to pray for you and Colleen and the new baby and Scott saw the post on facebook as well. I was praying for you all yesterday and today and in fact you all haven't left my heart. I have been meaning to email you. Just by being yourselves you have left a deep impression on my heart and I don't think I will ever forget it. The two nights spent with you three, Tuesday and Friday and all day Saturday were the best two nights of the whole walk for me because you both poured yourselves out to us and gave us your undivided attention and shared of your selves with us and that to me spoke volumes more than anything anyone could have said. I admire you both very much. Thank you for your witness and thank you for your great love, and humility and opening your homes to us. By your great trust and faith in Our Dear Lord Jesus I am confident that all of you are snuggled deep in His Sacred Heart. May your always be like children. Happy feast day of this wonderful Franciscan saint, St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe, may he always intercede for you to die to self and live only for the other.
humbly yours in JMJ,
God Bless you and may Our Lady lead you
your friend
Erin

The Heart of Things said...

Erin!
Thanks so much for those beautiful, inspiring and humbling words! We were the ones blessed by YOUR presence. We miss having the house full of chanted hymns and psalms! Thanks so much for your amazing witness, and Erin, esp. your quiet attentiveness to Rebecca and the wee boy. She was just saying your name the other day. You guys are a gift! Hope our paths cross again.

Peace and Good,
The Donaghys

Talking to Your Little Ones About the Big Topic of Sex

A much repeated sentence we hear at our Theology of the Body retreats and courses is "I wish I heard this when I was younger!" ...