November 18, 2020
Greetings and Prayers,
This has been a year unlike any other and I think it’s safe to say we’re all craving nourishment this Thanksgiving – the spiritual kind that comes from being with loved ones and honoring our Catholic tradition of caring for others.
Our Liturgical Year A, and the Gospel of Matthew is imprinted in our memories, the corporal works of mercy and the great challenge of the choices of action or inaction. We are truly blessed at Good Shepherd to witness the generosity of those who responded to the appeal of the Thanksgiving Basket, the Diaper Drive by the Knights of Columbus, and the upcoming Giving Tree for Christmas. Even in the uncertainty and the fear of the pandemic, the people have responded to the call of Jesus, to remember the poor, to see the light in all dark situations, to be people of hope and agents of the Resurrection.
As we enter the new Liturgical season, with the first Sunday of Advent, we are blessed this year to journey with the Gospel of Mark. The shortest of our Gospels, Mark is a great short story writer. He allows us to fill in the blanks in our own situations in life. Mark’s community is suffering, we encounter the suffering servant in Jesus. It is truly appropriate as our world is suffering with this pandemic. The suffering servant of Mark’s Gospel offers us companionship, walking with us in our crosses, carrying us through the Good Friday experience to the Resurrection. We can tolerate the winters of our lives, for we know in faith that spring will come.
Thanksgiving 2020 will be different. We do not know, as of now, what restrictions Governor Murphy will impose. It has always been a tradition that Thanksgiving was a great family get-together. Families looked forward to the event, the great preparation beforehand, with the food and coming together, the long journey in some cases, and time involved. Grandparents, parents and children look forward to sitting down to Thanksgiving dinner. It is in our families’ love for one another, we are truly great. When we leave after dinner, we are strengthened for the journey ahead and whatever life puts before us. We may not be able to have this experience this year in the interest of safety for all. While we cannot allow fear to control our lives, one has to have a perfect balance between being safe and paranoid. Our seniors and those who have medical issues ought to be our primary concerns. I believe we will get through this pandemic, a cure will be found, and then we will return to some form of normality. There will be many opportunities for having Thanksgiving gatherings in the future.
I always like to ask myself in every situation - What is the life lesson for me? Since March 17th, our world has changed, normality is different. What we took for granted is no longer the reality. There are some things we can control and others we cannot, but we are all in control of our responses to situations. I looked forward to going home to Ireland this year, but it did not happen. I was disappointed but in the great scheme of things, you adjust, move on, and you realize in the absence there is presence in love. The biggest life lesson I feel, is that we realized that this pandemic has taught us what is important and what is less important to us, especially our families and loved ones, who we sometimes take for granted.
As I will gather with my friends for Thanksgiving in Denville this year, I will be thanking God for keeping Fr. Michal and I safe, grateful for our excellent staff, thankful for the living faith of our community, the daily Mass communicants, the seniors who come to Church on weekends with their walkers and canes, the many faces who continue to smile, and hope, the generosity of our parish family for the poor, the sick, the lonely and bereaved, and the many men and women who have volunteered at daily and weekend Masses sanitizing our Church to keep our parish families safe and healthy. I am truly grateful to all those who help us to pay our bills and continue to be agents of the Resurrection.
Happy Thanksgiving,
Fr. Tim