Taking the Time to Make a Difference

Dates, times and places. These are often the gateways into a deeper reality. World history and personal histories are often marked with such detail, -- dates, times and places -- and in turn, these details shape a new experience in the present of the events that were recorded in the past. Wedding anniversaries, the date of the death of a loved one, the place of birth – these are among the entry points into a past that continues somehow in the present. When we go back to such a place or time, somehow, what happened in the past stretches through to the present day. My wife and I have recently returned from travels in Jordan and Israel, the Holy Land as we often call this part of the world. In the midst of current reality – tension among Israelis and Palestinians, Jews and Arabs, Roman Catholics and Greek Orthodox and Armenian Catholics – we entered nonetheless into a deeper reality: We lived and breathed in places where Moses and Jesus and the apostles lived and breathed. We looked at the Promised Land from the top of Mouth Nebo. We walked on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, certainly a place were Jesus had walked. We sailed on a small boat on the Sea of Galilee, the same sea Jesus sailed, the sea where the apostles cast their net in deep water and caught an astounding number of fish. This deeper reality is not just imaginary. It is physical. We stumbled over rocks on a mountainside, felt the warmth of the sun and the coolness of the water in the Jordan River, enjoyed the breeze across the Sea of Galilee, touched the rocky reality of Golgotha. Among the deeper realities for me was the experience of celebrating Mass at the Mount of the Beatitudes. On a hillside overlooking the Sea of Galilee, we experienced the presence of Jesus as we ate the bread that had become his body and drank the wine, now his blood. Present day buildings and changes in the landscape were no obstacle to the deeper reality: here, somewhere on this same hillside in view of the same sea, Jesus taught his disciples then and his followers today: Blessed are the poor in spirit, the meek, the ones who mourn, who hunger and thirst for justice, the merciful, the clean of heart, the peacemakers and they who suffer persecution for the sake of justice.

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I have been writing this column for more than 20 years. A friend once told me that almost everything I write is really just another variation on some theme from the Beatitudes. I take that as a complement. After all, the Sermon on the Mount brings a deeper reality to the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai, and the beatitudes contain the central tenants of Christian discipleship – the challenge of the present for all Christian families.

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The U.S. Catholic bishops point out, in Follow the Way of Love, that the family is holy. What you do in your family to create a community of love, to help each other to grow, and to serve those in need is critical, not only for your own sanctification but for the strength of society and our Church. It is a participation in the work of the Lord, a sharing in the mission of the Church. It is holy. Where are the holy places of your family. Where do you experience the presence of the past? What are the dates and times and places of significance in your family relationships? How do you celebrate the events that shaped your present day reality? Do you visit the holy sites of births and deaths, the places where you learned about life? Do you recall the amazing grace you received at the hour you first believed? Take the time to reflect on the dates and times and places that are holy to you and your family. Take your family with you through those gateways in to deeper reality.

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