I have been trying to visit different churches for my daily mass, and 6:30 am is the best time for me, but not all parishes have mass at this time. I was on my way to St. Francis of Assisi church in Bakersfield this morning when I had a change of mind and decided to go to St. Phillip the Apostle, instead. I was really running tight time-wise, and was dismayed when I found St. Phillip's parking lot torn up for repaving and the daily masses had been canceled this week. I actually got angry that the church would deprive me of my daily Eucharist! However, as usual, the Holy Spirit had my back and reminded me that there is a 7am mass at Our Lady of Perpetual Help. I was thinking it would put me 1/2 hour behind schedule for the day, but I find my days go by so much smoother with the Grace I receive from the Eucharist, so I drove clear across town (no small distance in Bakersfield) and made it in time. I think the priest went to seminary in Indianapolis! I have never before been to a 12 minute mass (homily included--in fact the homily was so to the point that I am still thinking about it). I am not use to saying the prayers and responses without pauses or breaths. I am not saying it was less than sacred, but I like to take the time to think about what is going on in the Liturgy, not just go through the motions. The good thing is that I was put right back on schedule for the day, and I had Jesus with me the whole time!
Now, as a follow up to my post about not being afraid to die. It occurs to me that we should be looking forward to it. As I heard someone say on TV last night (I think it was Father Corapi), our best times on Earth are not even blips on the radar compared to the happiness we will find in Heaven. Now that's something to shoot for.
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