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Pastoral Message From Father Len
For the week of August 17, 2008
Lift Up Your Hearts These words should be familiar to each one of us. These words are repeated at every Mass celebrated throughout the world. For many a presiding priest these words may be difficult to utter. Let me explain by example. Within walking distance of the huge Friary/Faculty House in Philadelphia was a complex of many homes. The neighborhood was usually quiet, the residents cared about each other—pretty much friendly. One late evening in the beautiful month of September the relative silence of the neighborhood was shattered by the screeching sounds of fire engines making their way to a house fire. The commotion was near our friary. We left the friary to find out what had happened. According to witnesses, the man who lived in the house with his wife and three children, came home from work. As was his custom he would come home, kick off his shoes, toss something on the oven to eat, grab a bottle of beer, and relax while watching TV. This particular evening, unfortunately, he fell asleep in the chair. On the stove in the kitchen towards the back of the house, the cooking oil began to splatter onto the stove and caused the fire. In a matter of minutes flames spread quickly and consumed the back section of the house. Smoke spread to the living room where he was seated. Horrified, he dashed towards the kitchen, only to be repelled by the flames. The fire fighters tried to restrain him from remaining in the burning house. You see—his three children were trapped in the bedroom upstairs—with the only stairwell leading upstairs totally engulfed in flames. The fire was put out within a short time. The wife arrived on the scene—screaming, crying, hysterical, as would be expected. Husband and wife ran toward each other for that most welcome embrace of mutual support and consolation. The loss of the house was irrelevant to the irreplaceable loss of three young children, ages three to seven. Five lives—three lost and two irrevocably changed as a result of this tragedy. This was a beautiful family—fervent, devout Catholics, at Mass regularly; hard-working, kind and compassionate. They were people of great faith. On the next day, Sunday, I was both surprised and edified to find the husband and wife, now left childless, attending Mass as usual. News of the tragedy spread throughout the parochial neighborhood. Many of the parishioners were extending their expressions of condolences and sympathy. And so—I come to the words introducing the Preface in the Mass: Life up your hearts. I looked at this couple seated up front and thought: how can they lift up their heavily burdened, devastated hearts to the Lord after such a great tragedy. But they responded with everyone, We lift them up to the Lord. I was choked up when I offered the next invocation Let us give thanks to the Lord our God and all the assembly with this couple responded It is right to give him thanks and praise. After Mass they continued to receive the kind words of the others. They went back to the destroyed home—but they immediately decided to rebuild. There was no animosity between them, or any suggestion or hint of blame. Their love for each other was great and would not allow even the slightest possibility of marital rift. Their faith and trust in the words of Jesus “Come to me all you who labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you” continue to be most evident to all. What if this happened to you? |
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