|
|
|
Feast of St. John Lateran in Rome Jn 3/13-22 |
||
| Background: Many Catholics will care little about the anniversary of the dedication of the Pope's Cathedral in Rome, especially since they know about St. Peter's and are surprised to find that it is not really the Pope's cathedral and know hardly anything about St. John Lateran. Moreover the Gospel today warns against too much concern about physical church buildings. Once more the liturgists have shown little concern for the Sunday homilist and his congregation. The homilist will have to twist and turn to find material for this Sunday. Perhaps a useful them might be that God lurks everywhere, in the sunrise, in a starry night, in a gentle rain, in a friendly face in a crowd, in the hand of the beloved, in reconciliation after a quarrel. The church building is the place where we bring all our experiences of grace to offer them formally to God and to go forth renewed and open to more grace experiences in our daily life. |
read the padre |
|
 |
Story: Once upon a time, there was a little boy who refused to go to Church with his family on Sunday. BORING! He said. I don't know what's happening. I don't like the music. I can understand what they're reading out of those books. I don't know what the man in the funny clothes is talking about. And they won't let me play with my trucks. If God is there in Church I don't see him. Why can't I talk to God in my own house while I'm watching Sesame street or the Green Bay Packers? And why won't they let me eat that bread that everyone else gets to eat? His parents and his sisters tried to explain to him about sacred space. God indeed was everywhere, even when the TV was on. But He was especially in Church and in the bread. If we don't go to Church on Sunday, then we'll forget about God being in Sesame Street too. (Let's not push it about the Green Bay Packers!) If we don't go to church on Sunday, we'll begin to forget about God during the rest of the week. The little boy didn't believe them. So he talked to God about it (with the TV off). I stop by your house, God said. Don't you think you might stop by mine once in awhile. Oh, said the little boy, who had already learned about favors and picking up markers, why didn't you put it that way before. So he went to church and prayed harder than anyone else in his family. He didn't even miss his trucks. |
|
