This morning our entire group departed our hotel at 5 am (sharp!) and made the fifteen-minute walk to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Tired and groggy but excited because we had the opportunity to celebrate Mass at Calvary, the spot where Jesus was crucified and died. We were able to receive Him fully: body, blood, soul, and divinity, in the Eucharist on the same spot where He died for each one of us.
I’m certain each of us there had our own intentions and emotions during the mass, I know it was an experience I’ll never forget and I know I brought a lot of people with me in my heart. My family, friends, those I’ve promised to pray for, everyone who made this pilgrimage possible, and the list could go on. Amidst all of my thoughts of loved ones a few stories from my own life ran through my head as well, stories of how those people have influenced my life and Faith and made me who I am.
Along with those stories, a very random one came through my mind that stood out in a strange way. Last fall, The Chicago Cubs won the World Series. Something I’ll always remember is hearing so many Cubs fans talk about the people they love who were cheering and celebrating from Heaven, my own family being no exception!
One story that stayed with me was about a man who, instead of watching game 7 on his big screen with his friends, took an old transistor radio to his father’s grave and sat and listened to it with him; just the two of them, the best seats in the house.
That story plucks at something very deep in our nature, namely that death is not the end, that our relationships with those we love most are not over or conquered when we die. I don’t think there is a deeper hope in any of us, and when we go to Mass we come face to face with the reason for that hope.
Today at Calvary we had a special opportunity to go to Mass at the spot of the absolute core of our Faith, and there is no doubt each of us experienced the depths of our Faith, Jesus Christ Crucified, in new and deeper ways.
No comments:
Post a Comment