We may not think of this, especially those with children perhaps now making many demands of their time and attention, but Christ has come and stood among us in our rooms as well. He is most certainly with us today, right now as he was with his mother and friends in the upper room. This is central in his message to us.
And speaking of children, some may have seen the article in Buzzfeed about the challenges of being quarantined with little ones, some of them hilarious. One mother says: “We’ve been in quarantine for 18 days and my 9yo has been talking nonstop for 20 of them.” A father says: “My son just asked me if when I was little whether I had to stay inside for Covids 1 through 18.” Another says: “So, we don’t go to restaurants, kids aren’t signed up for anything, and we are just staying home during spring break? Hummm. Sounds like my childhood.” … And I would have to agree; that is what mine was like! I do come from a family of six children, so I have an idea how it might be, but from the perspective of a single person in isolation, you all deserve ‘kudos’ for your performances as challenged parents, trying to maintain a calm composure and positive attitude to dispel any fear your little ones might have hiding inside from the biological crisis outside their front door. Ironically, like us, the apostles and disciples were hiding indoors from the crisis outside their door, and their fear was really the same as ours: fear of the unknown. But like our fathers and mothers and caregivers of today, Mary, Christ’s Mother, was most certainly there in the room, demonstrating the same calm composure and positive attitude to dispel the apostles’ fears. But it would have been easier for her, because most certainly she knew what they did not, but which was soon to be revealed: that her son had risen from the dead, and with that, he was bringing the promise of new, continued life in spirit with God our Father after death. This is truly the most exciting event in the bible, if not in history. Today’s scripture is the sum total of what all scripture has been building toward: that Christ proved there is life after death, and that we must prepare for this wonderful transformation which he promised us by living the Great 2-Fold Commandment: love God with all your heart, and love your neighbour as yourself. And to do so confidently knowing he is with us now. This is the complete, full, existential, and utterly glorious message Christ was called to share with us. It is what his mission was all about. Sometimes today’s miraculous event is clouded by the story of Thomas’ disbelief, but we must focus on what Christ says: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” That means us! He is speaking directly to you and me. Christ is a living presence, here and now, in our lives every moment of every day. He is with us and in us, ready to nurture and support us, if only we acknowledge his presence, and seek his intervention, especially in our fear and vulnerability. We’ve looked at how to truly harness this spiritual connection with God our Maker and it is by prayer as expressed through meditation. Benedictine priest, John Main, tells us contemplative or meditative prayer is of the highest form of prayer and of the greatest value to our humanity. Quality of life and personal integrity depend upon it, as does our salvation. Meditative “prayer is not essentially about talking to God or thinking about God, but being with God! Because we no longer think about ourselves in this form of prayer, this time of silence creates the inner space in us which allows the “prayer of Jesus” to envelope us. Taken beyond our self-conscious into the mind of Jesus, we become open to that transcendent mystery of God with an openness of heart in all its greatest spiritual intensity.” “Although this may sound abstract, Christian meditation shows itself to actually be of the highest and most immediate order of our reality. Meditative, contemplative prayer changes the world, because it first changes us.” John makes it clear, “if we try to use prayer to change the world to our own [designs] without being prepared to be changed ourselves, we will only be living … in retreat from our own fears and anxieties [without letting God take-over to adjust our circumstances.]” So, know that Jesus is there, waiting for us, to interact with us in our inner selves. He has the answers for our fears and dilemmas. Go within, before without. Perhaps, it would help if we faced our fear with the innocence of our children. Often more curious than afraid, they stare out the windows of their rooms, trying to see what is waiting for us outside their doors, trying to peer into the future, perhaps with more trust in God than mom or dad or their entire community may realize. Emily Bronte, the beloved author of Wuthering Heights, wrote a poem which invites responses from a child, called: Past, Present, Future Tell me, tell me, smiling child, What the past is like to thee? “An Autumn evening soft and mild With a wind that sighs mournfully.” Tell me, what is the present hour? “A green and flowery spray Where a young bird sits gathering its power To mount and fly away.” And what is the future, happy one? “A sea beneath a cloudless sun; A mighty, glorious, dazzling sea Stretching into infinity.” Take heart my friends. A mighty, glorious, dazzling sea awaits us, stretching into infinity, into heaven, as far away as the cloudless sun, but as close to us as Christ is in our inner hearts. Rev Fr Christopher Tracey Saint Joseph Roman Catholic Parish Saugeen Shores, Ontario
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Father's Blog
Rev. Fr. Christopher Tracey
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