“LORD, IT IS GOOD THAT WE ARE HERE.”
These words of St. Peter from this Sunday’s Gospel echo in my heart as I think of each campus of our parish here in Northeast Minneapolis. Whether driving by St. Clement’s image of Divine Mercy, raised as a beacon of hope over Lowry Avenue, hearing the bells of Holy Cross ring out across University Avenue, or witnessing the holy hospitality of St. Hedwig’s open doors to the Catholic Eldercare community, as well as the youngest parishioners with the mom’s group, and everyone in between. Truly it is good that we are here in Northeast Minneapolis.
As the Lord promises Abram in the first reading, “All the communities of the earth shall find blessing in you.” Here at Holy Cross, the Lord has planted our parish at the confluence of so many rich and beautiful cultures and communities, for whom we have been given as a blessing for those around us.
Do we know, and do we truly live the reality that we possess a great blessing for all the communities of the earth? Or like Peter, do we want to pitch a tent, and simply bask in the radiance of God’s presence with only those closest to us? In order to receive the Lord’s great blessing, Abram had to go out from his father’s house.
In order to see the Lord transfigured the disciples had to ascend a high mountain with him. As lifelong disciples we are all called to live always in this dynamic movement between prayer and action. With the Spirit as our guide we must carefully guard our time for prayer and listening to the voice of the Lord. And when that voice of the Lord calls us to action, we must move without delay. Where might the Lord be calling us out of ourselves, out of our comfort zone, and into the rich blessing he has in store for not only for us, but also for those around us?
Might the Lord be calling you to:
invite a friend or neighbor to the Forty Hours?
find a friend, or sign up as a family to serve at one of our Lenten Fish Fries?
introduce yourself to one new person after Mass this weekend?
share about your small group with a co-worker?
pray grace before eating your meal at a local restaurant?
Next weekend we will celebrate our Forty Hours Devotion as a parish. The Lord invites each one of us to ascend the mountain with him, to make a sacrifice of one hour (or more) to come and sit before the radiance of His face. I pray that each one of us will accept this personal invitation from the Lord. And even more, I pray that each one of us, transformed by our encounter with the Lord at every Sunday liturgy, will listen and know where the Lord is calling us out of ourselves to bring the blessing of our life with Christ into the world around us.
Our Eucharistic devotion is a source of great fruitfulness in our life. As we grow together as lifelong disciples, nothing can replace time spent in quiet prayer with the Lord. Truly it is good that we are here. And when the Lord invites us forth, we must follow Him, knowing that wherever He is calling us, He has already gone before us, preparing the way. So we can truly hear Christ speaking to each one of us, just as he spoke to his disciples: “Rise, and do not be afraid.”
~Mary Conway, writing on behalf of the Pastoral Council