Dear Friends,
The massive disruption caused by our current situation has led me to ask anew, what sets the rhythm for our lives?
For so many of us - even those of us without school-age children or grandchildren - the academic calendar has pride of place. We tend to think about years in September-to-June cycles, and the school schedule shapes our imagination for the rest of our activity.
Of course, there are contenders for the throne here. Sports have seasons around which fans fit their lives. Games that lead into deepened excitement or disappointment of post-season play, and the eager hopefulness of the offseason’s buying, selling, and trading mark every year.
Work, too, has its cycles and seasons. I’ll spare you the analysis!
The one rhythm for me that remains stronger than all other options (although it can be a close competition) is the liturgical calendar.
I live the seasons – Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter, with Ordinary Time mixed in – and am formed by the seasons. I find that my conversations are informed by the liturgical seasons, and my mood often reflects the same. I feel and live differently in Lent than I do in Christmas.
Which all leads me to say that we are right to pay attention to liturgical seasons and the seasons’ special days. Ascension Thursday (celebrated this Sunday - I guess we needed a couple more days with Jesus this year?!) is one of those days we should mark.
Jesus’ Ascension into heaven means he has entered earth’s control room. It is from heaven that Jesus sends the Holy Spirit - that he inspires (breathes into!) and animates the lives of his faithful followers. Jesus’ Ascension allows him to be immediately present to his people on earth, whom he commissions to bring God’s love to life in the world. If that doesn’t pump you up, swing by the shed sometime soon.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. In this period before Pentecost, it is ours to join the disciples in nine days (minus a couple) of prayer: the Church’s first novena. As the Apostles were gathered together after Jesus’ Ascension they committed themselves to prayer in anticipation of receiving his Spirit.
If there’s to be a “new normal,” let it be that! Let's beg God for a fresh outpouring of his Spirit so that his love at work in us and through us can become the rhythm of our lives!
In the Peace of our Risen Lord,
Father Daniel
δοῦλος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ