A world of winks and whispers

We live in a world of winks and whispers, a world where Grace and Hope and Love are ever present and always at work.

Our Little Black Book in Saturday’s (3/28) reflection suggests the important project and challenge of opening our eyes to all this: “Throughout my whole lifetime, I am meant to open my eyes to the great mystery that can never be seen completely or understood fully in this life.” "… I am meant to open my eyes…to try to make sense of our suffering and to grow. I am called to the great expansive adventure of opening my eyes of faith to this great mystery that is God. Lent is a great time to think about that.”

That insight and challenge and its oh-so-appropriate application to this unique Lenten time of prayer struck me the first time I read it this past Saturday and so I reread it Sunday morning before I turned the page to see a “wink or whisper?” Sunday’s reflection shared the story of a huge hospital in New Orleans (Charity) and our call to care for the ill. May God help us NOW to do well just that!

So, how is our shared journey through this crisis impacting your “eyes?” Another wink came for me when I went into one of the bathrooms here at Assumption and looked down to see 2 FULL ROLLS of toilet paper hanging from the wall! It made me smile, gave me a pinch of hope and aroused my gratitude for the good work of our brother Dave Lijewski as he seeks to both sanitize and maintain our parish home during these days.

Sunday’s (yesterday) scripture, especially the Gospel story of Jesus, Lazarus, Mary and Martha, have also offered me a whisper of God present, near and always Gracing, healing, bringing life.

Both Bishop Gruss (on diocesan website) and Fr. Rob Howe (on BlSacr social media) shared reflections on this Gospel that I found helpful and nourishing and maybe they are (or were) for you as well, a wink or whisper of grace?

I also listened to Fr. Jim Martin’s (S.J.) daily scripture reflection online and he suggested 3 other aspects of the Lazarus Gospel’s message:

++the value of family and friends—Jesus had them, loved them…and he calls us his friends, too. We too have and need friends and should be grateful for them--including our friend, Jesus.

++Jesus cries—Jesus, our brother, enters fully into all that is human including, maybe especially, the emotions that grow out of family and friendship and LOVE. Fear and sadness he knew—and shared.

++Reflecting on guiding tours/pilgrims to the holy land and to the Bethany site of Lazarus’ tomb, Fr. Jim said that when pilgrims go into the tomb, they are invited to ponder what they want to leave there, what they want to leave behind as they then come out to, as Lazarus did somehow, to continue their journeys as friends, companions and disciples of Jesus. Fr. Jim invited us to a similar prayer.

COMING ATTRACTIONS:

**We will continue to try to maintain contact with you all: phoning, responding to voicemail or email messages, and sending/posting messages such as this “Larkin Update.”

**We are exploring other avenues of connecting, like a new Facebook page for all us Larkin Catholics as well as any friends or guests that may join us there.

**We are also exploring what we need to do to provide (a) a brief video message from here, our parish home (that I am privileged to be able to enter at will—I carry you all with me when I do), and/or (b) perhaps even video of some of the coming Holy Week services.

United in prayer, hope for healing and health, and missing you all, Peace, Fr. Joe

Wanted to do another quick shout out to you all as these days of uncertainty unwind into our unknown future. May we find and share that which sustains us as we press on to that shared healthiness for which we are all hoping and praying. And I suspect you’ve already discovered that there is tons out there.

So, current plan is one of these little updates maybe twice a week and then the bulletin will also continue to be emailed, on our website and on our app.

“Let Go, Let God”. Pretty sure most of us have run across that bit of spiritual wisdom at some point. One of the reflections I read just yesterday suggested that we are being forced to ‘let go’ of a lot right now: plans, comfort, daily agendas, for some of us income and fiscal security, even a sense of physical security and you can add to this list readily from your own “new normal.”

As we let go, do we let God guide us in some fashion through the ‘dark valley.’ The reflection I noted above used the image of leaving ‘graves behind us’…a graphic image for growing, moving, and journeying onward. We left womb life for being born onto the earth. We’ve left home for school, first school in town and then many of us for ongoing education in other places. We left single life for marriage and then left aspects of that behind to become parents…we’ve let go a lot.

And for the most part such letting go has enriched and improved our lives and our future. So, I’m praying and hoping that God will guide us in ways we will follow, through this, to an actually enriched and improved future. Please pray and share that hope!

Peace, Fr. Joe

Good Morning, Fr. Joe here…it’s Sunday just after 9:30 when we’d “usually” be together for Eucharist. Today, that is not how we are….lots of other things are out of the ordinary as well. Did you happen to read this mornings (March 22, 2020) entry in our Little Black Book?

It eerily begins, “Suppose something terrible happens, a famine, …..”

And then a bit later in the reflection it talks about the problem of “hoarding” tho it does not use that term. The reflection seeks to remind us of blessings to be shared.

That reflection was written months if not years ago (Bishop Untener died in 2004 but I’m not certain that this reflection was composed (+/-) by him), but it for me anyway speaks very directly to what we are experiencing and enduring this very day as spring 2020 is just getting started.

For me, it points to a God who is always near, ever faithful to the promise to be with us as we journey through whatever desert or dark valley we encounter in our shared living. By the way, the “dark valley” image comes from today’s psalm, Psalm 23, often called the Good Shepherd psalm.

The LORD our light is near! So we give thanks for the hope that such LOVE offers us.

MEANWHILE, we are still trying to craft ways and discern the best ways of maintaining our faith family ties as we are all hunkered down. How best do we nurture our life-giving Catholic connection as members of this Assumption family of faith? We’ll keep you posted on that—again, as best we can.

Lastly, let me invite you to join me in giving thanks and offering prayer for those who are keeping things going: first, all manner of first responders and health care workers. God bless and protect them.

But then, the many faceless folks who keep our water running, our electricity on, the plumbing, internet and television available to inform, unite and sustain us in so many vital ways as we journey through this dark valley. Perhaps now more than ever, we are aware how much we rely on them always? May God bless them all.

Wishing and Praying for a Hope that sustains you and us and our ONE human family, Fr. Joe