This & That

by François Brassard, Ladysmith, BC

The Catholic Church Has Died. Long Live The Church!

   I don’t attend Mass anymore in any local parish. I just can’t stand it. It’s like attending the funeral of a much loved friend who died after a long illness. What a terrible waste of life! It’s so devastatingly sad to watch a friend pass away when you know that with a bit of humility and courage the person could have beaten the disease. So gifted, but so blind to see it, and so unwilling to give! For some time now I have been grieving the loss of my friend, the leadership of the institutional Church. What gives me great solace, however, is my profound faith in the Resurrection of the living and the dead.
It’s been several years now since my friend died, and I’ve moved on in my journey of faith. I follow a profoundly Catholic path. I gather regularly with my friends, mostly married Catholic priests. We celebrate the Eucharist together and through our Jesus interchange we deepen our connection to the Holy Spirit.
I’m not sad anymore. Living the Jesus life ever more faithfully has removed the scales from my eyes. By the grace of the Holy Spirit, I am now beginning to see a new –very old- Church being born, a profoundly catholic Church, very inclusive, very respectful, very caring, very loving of all that the Spirit creates. This ‘new’ Catholic Church is everywhere: it’s in my home, in my family, in my friends, in my garden, in my job, in my country… And I am a part of it all to the extent that I listen with my whole being to the whisperings of the Holy Spirit prompting me to give all that I am, so that God’s Plan, whatever it is, might be made manifest. That’s what Jesus did in such an incredibly powerful way. I want to be and do as Jesus is and does. Celebrating the Eucharist with my friends in a meaningful way helps me to travel that road.
What a beautiful Church this is that is being born again for a new Time!