Didn’t really think about this until I read someone’s Facebook post this afternoon – today is the last Sunday of 2020.

Finally.

I’m never one to wish time away, but this year sure has been a long one. This time next week we will be in 2021 and (hopefully) on our way to a much better year.

I had to chuckle in church today because the second reading was from Colossians, and it’s a very popular one in our family. For as long as I can remember when we were in church, everyone’s eyes in my family would always turn towards mom and dad when the lector spoke those famous words…… “Wives be submissive to your husbands.” We would always see Dad smiling and pointing towards Mom. The next line in that passage is “Husbands, love your wives.” As much as my Mom does for my Dad, he equally does as much for her.

I kept thinking about my parents during the homily, as Father spoke a lot about covenants. The first reading told the story of Abraham and Sarah and their son, Isaac. God made a covenant with Abraham and – even when things seemed impossible – He kept true to His word and blessed them with a son.

As children of God we are all part of the same covenant with Him. The Lord has promised good to all of us, and – as Father reminded us today – trusting in God is good. We must all continue to look forward and see in faith what the Lord has promised us. Even though there is so much uncertainty in the world currently, there is nothing uncertain with the Lord.

The week between Christmas and New Year’s Day is a special one for me. I always feel so full of potential – thinking about the upcoming year and the ‘clean slate’ I feel we’re all gifted on January 1st. This year as I begin to plan out my 2021, I’m going to try and focus on the covenant that Father spoke of today. Even when things appeared impossible, God followed through on His promise to His faithful servant. I have felt separated and alone at times over the past nine months. This quarantine has had that effect on several of us. We need to remember that we are not alone. Not only is the Lord with us always, we DO have each other.

Even when we are wearing our masks, Father reminded us today that we can still look each other in the eye. As we move forward into 2021, let’s make it a point to look forward in faith – and make eye contact with our fellow brothers and sisters. We may be in different boats, but we’re all sailing through the same COVID storm. Keep your eyes and heart focused on the one who can calm the waters.

Happy New Year – and see you back here next Sunday.

Okay. I can’t properly introduce my blog post this week without being honest about something. It’s less than a week until Christmas. It’s almost year-end at work. My mind is going a million miles a minute.

I kinda spaced out at the beginning of the homily today. (Sorry, Father Rob.) 😬

When I ‘came to’ and caught back up mentally with the other parishioners, Father was asking if there were any engineers in the congregation. Seemed like an odd question to ask, but hey – I wasn’t there for the beginning of the conversation. A few people raised their hands, and Father noted that engineers solve problems that most people don’t even think about.

My mind started to wander (again), but this time I was thinking about another time I had witnessed something similar with my own eyes. It was another Sunday a while back that I had attended mass. Right before it was my turn to walk up to the altar for communion, I noticed one of the ushers walking down the aisle. I wondered what he was doing, as there were so few people in church the ushers were not dismissing us pew by pew as they normally would. I watched him walk over to a pew across the aisle from me, and at that point I noticed what the usher had seen but I had not. There was an older couple that wanted to walk up to the altar for communion, but they both had difficultly walking. The husband had difficulty walking on his own, so he was unable to help his wife – who was having more difficulty than he was. This usher had walked up to assist her as she walked up to receive the blessed sacrament, and then he walked her back to her pew. That random act of kindness warmed my heart, and I think about every time I’ve received communion since.

Peeps – the next 11 days are going to FLY by. I know it feels like we have so many problems to solve, but we really don’t. Menus will figure themselves out for Christmas dinner. Anxiety about what gifts to buy and whether we bought the right thing really isn’t all that important.

I’m challenging myself – as well as all of you – to be a’mercy engineer.’ I’m going to focus less on my preoccupation with crap that really doesn’t matter, and I’m going to try to zero in on those problems that most people don’t think about.

What about my neighbor with young children who is quarantined? What about those among us that need some extra assistance this holiday season? What about my friends who may have just lost a loved one and need a little extra support?

I think if we all signed on as ‘mercy engineers,’ 2021 could be a very different year for all of us.

Have a very Merry Christmas – and see you back here next Sunday.

I’m not exactly sure why, but lighting that pink candle was always a special day when I was a kid. I don’t know if it was because I liked pink or if it was because it meant Christmas was getting closer!

This week’s second reading contained one of my favorite bible verses from 1 Thessalonians: “Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.” This verse always seems to come up in my life at times when it feels the hardest to be ‘rejoicing always.’

As we prepare for Christmas this year, everything feels different. There are no Christmas Plays, no Christmas Parties, and the prospect of having family get togethers isn’t looking good. It’s getting harder and harder to give thanks in all of our circumstances.

My thought process began to change as Father started his homily. He asked the congregation who among us has never experienced joy. I don’t think any hands went up. Then he asked us, “Where do you find joy?” Understandably, this was a much harder question – ESPECIALLY during this time of uncertainty.

Then Father talked about having the ability to hold a newborn baby and all the joy it brings. How true is that? I’m not sure that there’s much more in life more precious that holding a brand new human. He noted that even though that baby is going to cry and going to need to be cared for and going to need to be changed, you are not only holding that baby. You are holding all of that baby’s hopes. You are holding all of that baby’s dreams.

You are holding everything that baby is ever going to be.

It got me thinking about this year, especially this current time that we are having a hard time getting through. The holiday season is usually a source of stress for a lot of people. This year a lot of the things that cause us stress have been taken away from us due to COVID, but we aren’t left with more time to enjoy with our friends and family. Instead, we are left with more time apart from each other. It’s hard. It sucks. It does. However, just like the crying and the changing and the caring for – there’s more to the story.

Right around the corner, we have a brand new year coming. We know there will be more crying, more changing, more caring for – there always is. That’s life. What we need to remember is this – that’s not all we’re holding. We’re holding all of our hopes. We’re holding all of our dreams. We’re holding all we’ll be in this upcoming year.

Keeping this in mind – I think I’ll continue to pray without ceasing. There are many reasons to always rejoice. Even during these trying circumstances, I’m going to think about the upcoming new year and give thanks – because THAT is God’s will for us in Christ Jesus.

Have a great week – and see you back here next Sunday.

Being late for church was unacceptable in our household when I was growing up. In fact – we left for church earlier than I felt was necessary to not only be ‘not late,’ but we could almost be considered ‘early.’

I did not have that problem this week.

My morning got away from me, and the next thing I knew – I was walking into church at 8:30am on the dot. Funny thing about running late is that you realize as you’re walking into church late with other people that you’re not alone. Lesson learned in humility for the week to not judge latecomers – done, and goal set to get moving a little quicker next week.

This week’s gospel was from the book of Mark (1: 1-8), and it talked about John the Baptist proclaiming Jesus as the Messiah. As Father started his homily, he walked out into the congregation and asked two young children sitting with their grandmother if they knew what a luminary was. He let them ask their grandmother for help, and the answer of “something that lights up” was given. Father said that was correct and noted it could also be SOMEONE that lights up.

He proceed to ask the children if their grandmother was a luminary, and I proceed to get emotional when they stated she was because she was awesome and taught them to bake cookies. My mind immediately shifted to going to church with both of my grandmothers and making cookies with Nanny.

Father then began to talk about how luminaries work. He pointed out the Advent wreath, noting that we could now see two candles burning this week. He said that if the church hall (which is where mass is being held until the carpet renovation is complete in the church) was dark that the light would seem even brighter and allow us to see.

God uses luminaries in the same way. He sends us luminaries during dark times to help us see. He sent us Jesus. He sent John the Baptist to help us see Jesus. He still sends us signs everyday to help guide us on our way. Father also pointed out an interesting fact about luminaries – they can’t always see their own light. When you do a good deed for someone or help out someone else, you have no way of knowing how much light that gave them. We don’t always know how much our actions can effect and help others, but maybe we don’t need to. As long as we let God use us as He intended, we can trust our light is always shining where it needs to.

Mother Theresa once said, “Let God use you without consulting you.” During these dark days of illness and separation, we could all try a little harder to let God use our light in whatever ways He sees fit.

I’m sure glad he used two ladies in my life. I don’t know if they realized how much light they gave me, but I sure felt a little closer to them in church this week.

Have a great week – and see you back here next Sunday.