St Blaise
February 2019
3 Feb 2019 homily
I had forgotten today was the feast of Saint Blaise and had a nice surprise at the end of mass. Our pastor Msgr. Michael came out and joined the celebrant in blessing throats (and our health in general). I really appreciate these rituals and am glad that my sons have a chance to experience this aspect of Catholicism - in case it goes away. Having a Monseigneur bless my throat is
I came to mass thinking of how fractured I can feel. The common trope of how many Catholic Christians are one thing on Sunday and other things during the week is true for me. I appreciate mass for bringing me back to a common place. I have my own rebellions (I say the version of the credo that is a decade or so older than the current and sometimes say the Latin “Agnus Dei” in my head) but the mass is a good thing in my life. I try to bring something to think and pray on. Lately it has been topics around being a volunteer EMT and being a parent.
Today I thought about a Venn diagram with circles like: father; husband; devops engineer; BJJ blue belt; Hoboken EMT; Catholic … Somebody trying to be disciplined and to feel coherence (see “Extreme Ownership”) and succeeding some of the time. But really wanting to be a lot better. On all fronts.
How do you make a tighter Venn with Catholic encircling all the others?