I just got back from our Annual Clergy Retreat and it was good to be away praying together. We all realized how much this past 18 months of pandemic has taken out of us and how much we need to come away and renew ourselves in Christ. Thank you for your patience while we were away. We prayed every day for all of you.
On Tuesday night, I took some time away from my retreat to continue our Tuesday nights at 7 pm on the retreat, Living the Eucharist: Circle of Life. This week we went through the third movement called the Liturgy of the Eucharist. After the second movement’s focus on God’s love for us throughout all of history, how God continues to be at work in our world today and in particular in our lives here and now; the natural response to that abundant love is one of gratitude. If that second movement was God’s coming at us with this love, then this movement is all about us going at God with our gratitude. The word, eucharist, literally means thanksgiving and that is what this movement does—moves us to a stance of grateful hearts. Here we prepare the work of our hands, the bread and wine, representing all work of all humans and offer it up to God through Jesus with the Holy Spirit. We not only offer up the bread and wine, we also offer up the tithing gifts of our financial support of the church and we present ourselves as our ultimate offering to God.
Here is the amazing thing: God welcomes our offering of ourselves and our gifts and in return to us, God gives God’s very self—in the Body and Blood of his son. Once again—God literally gives us God’s very self! Wow! That is powerful! When we all come forward to receive the Body of Christ in our hands, we commit to that reality. Yes, we believe that the bread is now Body of Christ but we also commit to becoming what we receive—the Body of Christ broken for others to receive too.
Next week, I will connect the previous movements to the last movement of Sending Forth in which we are sent to love others as God has loved us. I encourage you to join me on Tuesday night at 7pm as I break open the last movement and connect the Eucharist to our daily lives. Please watch the series online here. Please come and join me for this next session either in person or online.
This Thursday, October 28, we will celebrate our parish Feast Day of St. Simon. We invite you to join us for one of our Masses that day at 6:30 am or 8:30 am and celebrate the gift of community in prayer. Also, we invite you to post some cherished memories of your parish experiences with photos and comments over the many years. Please share your best moments in the Saint Simon Community on your personal social media and tag our sites. Let’s share smiles from baptisms to barbecues, morning Mass to Monster Mash, and Helping Hands to Honey Helpers. Just use the hashtag #GOSAINTS. Instructions here.
Finally, while I was away on retreat, naturally I was reflecting on life over the past year and how this pandemic has changed so much in our lives as priests and indeed for all of us. Listening to many of the stories from my brother priests over meals, it seems to be a common experience among our parishioners that many are struggling with depression and loneliness, especially among the young and the elderly.
A few weeks ago, the new Hope and Wellness Ministry sponsored a staff formation called Mental Health 101. It was a fantastic session and we heard some eye-opening information that will help us all be mindful of the need to be caring to those around. One thing that struck me was that we all are on a continuum of “mental health.”
Think of physical health for a moment. Imagine a straight line and on the far left is good physical health: we exercise regularly, eat healthy and are generally in great health. Then on the far right on the line is bad health; we don’t exercise at all, we are overweight, don’t eat right at all, have serious heart conditions, maybe some other major health issues as well. Most of us are at neither extremes but we are somewhere in the middle on the continuum.
There is the similar line for mental health. On one end of the continuum is good mental health: staying physically healthy, having good friends and community, recognizing when there is stress in our lives and channeling good practices to relieve it. On the other end of the continuum is mental illness: we struggle with chronic depression, don’t have a network of support, suffering from debilitating clinical disorders. Again, all of us are somewhere on this continuum between the extremes and where we are often depends on what is happening in our lives.
The important thing for all of us is to be aware of our mental wellness and that of others. It is important for us to be attentive to those in our lives and ask how they are doing. The more we can be mindful of the stresses in our lives, the better a community we can be for one another. Over the months ahead, the Hope and Wellness Ministry will be bringing us opportunities to equip us to take better care of our mental health. Please take the time to attend events, zooms and engage in this area. It is for all of us.
God Bless,
Fr. Brendan