Happy Fifth Sunday!
Well, this upcoming week I will be scooting out of town to squeeze in some time away before the start of Lent. I shall return for next weekend’s Masses as normal. I met a very good friend of mine, Fr. Tony, fourteen years ago during seminary, when he and I were classmates in Rome. We both shared a love of the outdoors and traveled together often while studying abroad. He is now a priest of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis and is the pastor of a parish along the Ohio River.
So, I’m taking the Jeep south and will spend the week relaxing at his rectory. Undoubtedly, we will grill some celebratory steaks and toast another year in the priesthood. I’ll continue to appreciate the steady progress of the beautiful renovations unfolding at his church over the past few years. Chances are better than half that we’ll meet up with his parents or siblings for dinner in Indianapolis. And I’m certain that at some point we’ll enjoy a day of winter hiking, since the local landscape includes Hoosier National Forest. Temps down there will be rising into the 50s midweek, so we shall see. After the blast of icy cold in Michigan as of late, it will probably feel like Florida weather to me!
I always look forward to spending time with Fr. Tony, even though we only see each other once or twice a year in person. It reminds me of the promise God gives in Psalm 133: “Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity… For there the Lord has commanded his blessing, life forevermore.” God pours out his blessing in the distinct forms of friendship found in each walk of life, and mine is no different. There is a special bond shared within the brotherhood of holy orders, for which I am grateful daily. And I know for sure that this fellowship among men is one of the gifts given to me that I could never have acquired on my own plans.
We need to be reminded often, my brothers and sisters, that God has not waited 13 billion years to create us for this life just to sit back and watch us struggle and slide through it — or to act toward us as if He does not care. When you and I awake from the slumber of sin and embrace the life of grace, we are continuously transformed, Jesus says, into salt for the earth and light for the world. We see for ourselves what an incomparable blessing it is to live under the umbrella of God’s master plan instead of the shackles of our own. Importantly, other people see it, too, and they glorify the Father of heaven.
I’m blessed and encouraged, and I thank God for my vocation because I have friends like Fr. Tony in it. They are the kind of people who have chosen to generously cooperate with God’s good plan for their lives. And now they season the earth like salt seasons food and enlighten the world like sunlight fills the sky. May each of us pray for the desire and courage to more generously live our own vocation like those around us whose lives most deeply mirror this day’s gospel.
Fr. Brian
