Looking for my Father

This morning I arrived at Mass and immediately saw my dad’s truck in the parking lot. He always parks in the same place because he arrives early! He usually doesn’t attend daily Mass at the parish we share, because another parish has an earlier Mass, and he likes early.


When I walked in, I didn’t see him sitting in the same place he always sits. Our priest tries to get people to move out of their “regular” seat, and it works maybe once. After that we’re like stubborn children in the desert wandering back to our comfortable places. My dad sits in one of the back pews, and I sit to his right. But he wasn’t there. That’s not unusual because sometimes before Mass he will be in the side chapel praying in front of the Blessed Sacrament. I always stop there before Mass for a brief moment myself, but I didn’t recall seeing him there. So I started wandering around. When I’d say I’m looking for my dad, the response was, “Maybe he is in the restroom.” I chatted with a sweet couple, and they showed me a photo of their son-in-law who is serving in one of our military branches. After that I returned to the chapel to see if maybe I missed my dad. Our priest was coming out of the chapel, and I said, “I’m looking for my dad.” He looked through the glass in the cry room and said, “There is your dad. He’s sitting about five rows from the front. Can you believe it?” I said, “No wonder I couldn’t find him!”

When I reached my dad, I asked, “What are you doing here? I’ve been looking everywhere for you.” Two ladies sitting behind him were laughing. My dad chuckled too. I crawled pass him and took my place next to him.

After Mass my dad and our priest had a good laugh about this “moving” episode. On the way home, it became a reflection for me. It started by replacing the thought of my dad with the thought of God our Father. The image of our priest pointing me towards my dad became him pointing us to God. My little trip around the church looking for him became our journey towards God and those we meet along the way. However, the most important point was looking for my dad in the place I expected him to be. Unlike my dad, God doesn’t change places. But we find ourselves looking for Him sometimes in the same place or places we expect to find Him. My lesson for today is not to assume, and to keep searching. If we continually look for our Father we will see Him more. God is present in every space we occupy. So why do we look for Him to only be in the same place in our lives and hearts? And most of all, why are we surprised to find Him in the places we least expect?

--------------

Lord, we pray you will open our eyes and hearts to you, no matter where we find ourselves! Amen

Missing when missing daily Mass

This week, I made it to Mass three times. That's up from one time last week. Well technically I guess it was two times this week, because today was a Communion service. Anyway, missing this special time with Our Lord may or may not show up to others, but I can certainly feel it.

Today I was asked to do the readings, and the reading on Joseph and his brothers seemed appropriate! How much he must have missed his family, especially his father. We know the story of how he was sold into slavery and eventually was the reason his family survived famine. This is another example of God taking something really bad and turning it into something really good! But Joseph's heart had to be heavy as he longed for his father.

The separation is what stands out to me today. When I'm away, the day seems so different. It may not be something I can put my finger on, but it is a feeling of having missed out on what is the best part of my day.

Unlike Joseph, we don't have to wait years to be with God our Father, but it's not like that for everyone. In some parts of the world people are not free to attend Mass, and others don't have Our Lord in the Eucharist.

Eucharist is thanksgiving, and I don't want to miss out on the opportunity to participate. More importantly, I don't want to miss out on Communion with Our Lord. And I suspect that "something missing" is a heart longing for the Love of it's life, a longing sometimes hard to define. It's a longing only He can calm with a love only He can give!

Lord, thank you for being the Lamb of God. Thank you for loving us, and thank you for calling us. Amen!

Passing on the Faith

My mother is Protestant so when I was small going to Mass consisted of my Dad, two brothers and me. Mom was there for the special occasions, but for the most part it was the four of us. Being the baby and the only girl, I usually ended up next to my Father. People would laugh and say during the homily they would see my Dad and me both asleep. To this day when his eyes are closed at the homily my Dad says he is praying. We all get a good chuckle out of it.

This morning during Mass a young couple with a small child sat in front of us. The little girl looked to be about two years old. When Father was ready to read the Gospel, and we all made the small cross on our forehead, lips and chest, I saw the little one’s Dad make the crosses on her too. I thought that was so sweet. After Father started the homily, I noticed the little girl was making the crosses herself. Towards the end of Mass when we made the sign of the cross, she was doing her best to make it also. I saw her Dad smile at her Mom, and I smiled too. Sometimes our Lord sends us the nicest blessings. Today he sent the wonder of watching two parents pass their Faith to their little girl!


Note: Before the Gospel we make a small cross on our forehead as a remembrance to keep God’s Word in our thoughts. We make a small cross on our lips as a remembrance to keep God’s Word in our speech. We make a small cross on our chest as a remembrance to keep God’s Word in our hearts.