Remember; Don't Forget
This photo is from my parish last week. For multiple reasons, the poster really tickles my funny bone. I think it’s the strong dosage of Catholic guilt laden in the messaging. But it’s a joy to be able to keep laughing. In the words of Jeff Cavins when he spoke about coming back to Church, “It’s just like family! On the downside, it’s just like family.” ;)
Welcome to Word for the Week, the series in which I:
share my experience of hearing God’s Word in Mass last weekend,
explore what I believe the Lord is calling me to do about that Word, and
ask how this Word might impact your life, as well.
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I had “home church” this week, and then I went to church in person to receive the Eucharist right after they concluded Mass.
There’s an ache in my heart to celebrate Mass with the entire community. Socially-distancing isn’t the same. I miss singing in the pew at the top of my lungs with my husband and kids. We don’t have a system figured out as a family of how to celebrate the Lord’s supper in a way that is still meaningful and yet within our means of time and energy.
It was challenging last week, especially on the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ.
And yet. God provides. After I went to receive Communion in our parish center, I stepped into the church to pray. I was prepared to wear a face mask and only to stay for a few moments, but it turned out that no one was in our chapel.
So I was able to sit in the presence of Christ for an hour to reflect, journal, cry, and rejoice, without fear of spreading germs. It was such a gift. That gift didn’t remove my longing for community, but it set that longing into perspective. Ultimately, my heart’s desire is for union with Christ. And He provides that union in different ways in different seasons of life.
The word that stood out to me from the readings was the one-two punch of “remember” and “don’t forget.”
I believe the Lord is calling me to remember past challenging seasons that He has brought me through. That’s my style of songwriting (to explore a painful experience and to draw hope and joy from it), but sometimes I doubt whether my typical approach is too heavy or complex. I sense the Lord encouraging me to stay the course.
God is inviting me, with my creativity and my personality and my Gospel-music sensibilities, to recall how He has redeemed me. To not forget the wounds of the past. And also to have faith that this particularly challenging season is going to be a beautiful story someday. When I remember all of that, I find so much to be thankful for right now.
Can you remember a challenging time that the Lord brought you through in the past? Can you recall both how you felt in the midst of that struggle, and also the victory after the storm passed? I’ll invite you to join me in remembering His faithfulness in the midst of any hardships we might be facing. Let’s not forget what the Lord has brought us through!
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