Special Weekday Message – March 22nd – Fr. Thomas
Today, March 25 is the Feast of the Annunciation, celebrating the announcement of Jesus’ conception in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, (Luke 1:26-38.) Now how do you think Mary must have felt at the annunciation? An angel, Gabriel, had come to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you!” Was it a dream? Was she hallucinating? Was she crazy? Maybe she wasn’t fully sure.So what do you find most impressive in the story? Maybe it’s Christ’s birth to a virgin. That is impressive, but, for the God who created the heavens and the earth out of nothing, that’s a minor miracle in God’s bag of surprises. OK! So you haven’t had a vision of an angel lately. However, how do we respond to those daily annunciations, those decisions we must face every day either to do the right thing, or the wrong thing? Here’s what the Mother of Jesus did. Mary teaches us how to practice “spiritual availability.” Her yes to God is an example of how we too can provide space where God enters in.
Mary’s response challenges us to ask of ourselves: When God makes a loving overture into our lives, do we try to avoid the encounter? Do we demand full knowledge before responding, or can we trust without complete knowledge or understanding? Do we let God be in control of my life, my plans, my future? Do we ask of God what cannot be answered, do we dare to say “Yes” that will change us forever?
The greatest gift is not our skills, abilities and possessions. The magi had their gold, frankincense and myrrh. Mary had only space, love, and faith to offer. What part of us prevents Christ from being evident in our lives and presenting Him to the world? Our time, talent, and treasure? What about the gifts and talents of art, writing, scholarship, and social justice? These are all gifts worth having and sharing. But leaders lose their charisma, scholarship can grow pedantic, social justice alone does not suffice. In the end, when all other gifts have lost their luster, the virgin who is boldly in love with God, and who makes a sanctuary of life in us, is the one who delivers Jesus Christ, who then delivers us from sin and death.
This is a perfect feast for Lent; these days of waiting for God’s will to be revealed, our hearts open to God’s presence. In these anxious times the most fearful thing is the loss of God’s presence. But, we have nothing to fear, God is with us, and we have been called by God to bring his Son into our own world and in our own time. God gives us these days to sort it all out, to make sense of it, so that we can say with Mary, “Let it be to me according to your will.”
Maybe there is some decision you’re having trouble saying “Yes” to. What stumbling block needs to be removed before we say Yes to God and trust in him? God will not compel us to say yes. Grace makes us sons and daughters, not slaves; lovers, not clients. God had to be born in Mary’s heart before he could be born in her womb; as someone once said, “In Mary, God fell in love with humanity.”
So, only nine months until Christmas. Isn’t this really the mystery we celebrate not just at Christmas; but every day of the year? Christ is born in us. God is here in us. If we truly grasp this mystery, think how much we can spread the joy and the hope of Christmas all year round to a world which painfully needs some good news these days. Perhaps, like Mary, be a womb of welcome, a sacred place made holy by the God who dwells within. It’s no surprise that she who bore the Son of God, was the channel by which “The myth has become reality, the heavenly becoming earthly, the Word, flesh, God, man.”
Lord, let it be done to me as you say. Blessed are you Mary among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Son of God, Son of Mary.
“O Holy Spirit, Lord and Giver of life,
as you overshadowed Mary that she might
be the Mother of Jesus our Savior, so work
silently in my heart, to form within me the
fullness of his redeemed and redeeming
humanity. Give me his loving heart, to burn
with love for God and love for my neighbor;
give me a share of his joy and sorrow, his
weakness and his strength, his labor for the
world’s salvation. May Mary, blessed among
women, Mother of our Savior, pray for me,
that Christ may be formed in me, that I may
live in union of heart and will with Jesus
Christ, her Son, our Lord and Savior. Amen.” -Fr. Cheslyn Jones
Urgent Message – Please continue to pray for an end to the COVID-19 virus and its victims and thank you for your continued financial support (check, automated bank transfers or electronic donations via www.myeoffering.com or Facebook donate button or PayPal) to the life and witness our congregation in this community.
The spread of COVID-19 once again raises the question about the likely or unlikely spread of germs via the common chalice. This is not a new situation, and not the first time I’ve had to address the situation. Many others have written about the research, going back generations, which consistently shows that the likelihood of spreading germs by receiving from the chalice is slim and none, especially when compared with other forms of human contact. As far back as 1943, W. Burroughs and E. Hemmens reported, “Experiments on the transmission of organisms transferred from one person to another by common use of the chalice showed that 0. 001% of the organisms transferred even under the most favorable conditions and when conditions approximated those of actual use, no transmission could be detected.” In 1973 Dr. Edward Dancewicz of the Centers for Disease Control confirmed that the risk is miniscule. The number of bacteria on a person’s lips is small, and the chance that there are pathogens among them is not great. Moreover, “even if pathogens are present, the risk of digesting them is small.” In 1988, Dr. O. N. Gill concluded: “Currently available data do not provide any support for suggesting that the practice of sharing a common communion cup should be abandoned.” In 1997, after studying 681 individuals over a ten year period, microbiologist Anne LaGrange Loving reported that she observed no difference in illness rates between those who communed from the chalice on a daily basis and those who never attend mass. And In 1998 the CDC wrote, “The risk is so small that it is undetectable.” The CDC also said that wiping the chalice further reduces any possible risk. In general, exposure to a single virus cannot result in infection. For each disease there is a minimum number of germs (usually millions) that must be transmitted from person to person before infection can occur. Most people have a normal immune system which fights off infectious diseases. Of course, some may wish to err on the side of extra caution and have the Eucharistic Minister “intinct” for them; i.e. dip the host into the chalice. But the cynic might ask, “Doesn’t that transmit germs off the hand and into the chalice?” Moreover, one may also receive the host only, which contains the fullness of Jesus’ Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity.
All physical systems, over time, accumulate debris which gets cluttered, clogged, and hinders the proper operation of machinery. It’s an unfortunate fact of life, too, that as we age, plaque builds up in our veins and arteries, which gradually restricts blood flow. Similarly, ships can become encrusted with barnacles, which slows their progress, and canals and rivers have to be dredged periodically so that the mud and silt won’t build up. Any finally, closets fill up with all kinds of interesting items. (If you look into your “wardrobe” and see a lamppost, a fawn, a witch and a lion, perhaps it’s time to clear it out!)
