A Shadow of Things to Come

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to go to a Sunday Mass in a place where the language is different from yours? Well, we experienced that today. We went to St. Catherine’s, a local parish for Sunday Mass, where the main language was Arabic. While the language was different, Mass remained the same. It was a good show of the universality of the Catholic Church. No matter where you are in the world, Mass is Mass. The structure doesn’t change. Essentially it is the same Mass we know in the States, in our own parishes.

At this Mass, two unique things happened. The first was that we witnessed a Franciscan friar take Solemn Vows. At a certain point, the friar prostrated himself and the Litany of Saints was sung. The thought came that in a few short months, our class will prostrate ourselves during the Litany of Saints at our ordination to the Diaconate. It was a beautiful moment to see this one friar profess himself to the Franciscans and to think about our class soon becoming deacons. It is hard to believe that it is coming so soon.

The other interesting thing about today was that one of the priests at the parish was reassigned to work in Syria. The presider, at the end of mass, gave a great speech about the “hard decision” (his words) that is was to send this priest to another place where they are in need of one. This was also the only point any English was spoken, so we could understand. And while his English was a little hard to hear, for me at least, his message was clear—while the decision was hard, it was one that was prayed over. This is a true test of obedience, to say yes to a difficult assignment. Yet, that will inevitably happen to us one day. We will be assigned to something that will be difficult. What we can do is to trust that the Lord and that good things will come from us being the Lord’s instrument. “The Lord is my rock and my stronghold, my fortress, I stand firm.” (Psalm 62)