The picture above is of The Church
of the Primacy of Peter (Mensa Domini Church). The church contains a
projection of limestone rock in front of the present altar which is venerated
as a "Mensa Christi", Latin for table of Christ. According to tradition
this is the spot where Jesus is said to have laid out a breakfast of bread and
fish for the Apostles, and told Peter to "Feed my sheep" after
the miraculous catch, the third time he appeared to them after his resurrection. (John 21:1-24)
Welcome to "The Deacon's Door"
May 3, 2020
Fourth Sunday of Easter
All of the readings today
for the 4th Sunday of Easter, cause us to find comfort during a time
of challenge and the unknown. Our
Catholic Churches remain closed and we continue to stay in our homes in
isolation, away from the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. I have had a number of people ask me what I
thought would be the final result of this void in our lives. What will happen after we have been denied
the opportunity to be physically present for the Mass on Sunday and denied to
receive the Eucharist for so long? It is
an interesting question. One I think is
worth pondering in prayer, as we face our daily COVID routine. What will our faith look like when we return
to Mass and the Eucharist?
For me, I believe it will be
a joyous reunion of sorts with my love of the Mass and the True Body and Blood
of Christ in the Eucharist. For me, I
believe it will have made me appreciate more the blessings I have of being able
to live in a county where I can practice my faith and where I can celebrate
that faith with my Parish Family. I believe
I will have a greater appreciation for the reverence that is deserved to be
shown at Mass and when receiving the Body and Blood of Christ. For me, it will be a day of celebration that
I have weathered the storm and that my faith has not only gotten me through the
hard times, but has been strengthened by the crosses I have endured away from
my church.
As we continue with the
challenges we face with this pandemic, we cannot help but feel a little
unsettled. We have experienced the loss
of so much of our freedom, our security, our independence and certainly much of
what we have taken for granted in our lives.
And yet in the scriptures that God has placed before us, we find hope
and assurance of his ever-present mercy and love for us all.
Listen to the words from
1 Peter in the readings from today: “Beloved: If you are patient when you suffer for doing
what is good, this is a grace before God.
For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you,
leaving you an example that you should follow in his footsteps… He himself bore our sins in his body upon the
cross, so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds
you have been healed…”
I
pray that we all will emerge from this time of suffering and challenge to be
able to count ourselves as the chosen ones of God. It is with an absolute trust and grace that
we are following Christ like sheep through the Gate – knowing that our
faith will see us through. As we hear in
the Psalms from today: “The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.”
As you may be aware, the challenges
continue. The Iowa Bishops have extended
the closure of our Catholic Churches through May. While we mourn the loss of being present for
Mass and the Eucharist, we thank God for the dedication and efforts of Fr.
Atwood and our volunteers who are providing us the opportunity to watch the
live stream of Sunday Mass each week during this pandemic. As a reminder, we will continue to live stream
Mass on Sundays from Sacred Heart Church.
You can follow that Mass at 9:00 AM on Sunday morning on Facebook or
YouTube and can find it posted on Facebook and the SH Web Page. (Sacred Heart
Oelwein Mass) to be viewed at a later
time. It will also be played at about 3:00 pm on
Mediacom each Sunday.
“Pax et bonum” (Peace and Goodness)
Deacon Jim Patera
319-509-1210
pateraj@msn.com
No comments:
Post a Comment