THE MEANING OF DATES, TIMES, AND SEASONS
“My times are in thy hand…” -Psalm 31:15
Just a few weeks ago in the heart of August the Church celebrated Our Lady’s bodily Assumption into heaven which came at the end of her earthly sojourn. This Sunday we come to September 8th, the day that is traditionally celebrated as her birthday. This is a reminder perhaps that each of us live our lives between two dates which are both ordinary and extraordinary at the same time. Our lives and our deaths intersect with the lives and deaths of countless other souls as we share the same space and time continuum with the whole mystical body of the Church.
To me, one of the most fascinating aspects of Catholicism is the multi-layered richness of the Liturgical Calendar: the saints, the seasons, the martyrology, the necrology, the celebration of holy days, holy years and jubilees. Preparations are underway in Rome for a Jubilee Year which comes every 25 years with special festivities and graces including some much-anticipated canonizations. We are also counting time in this Archdiocese as the second year of the Synod implementation which is focused on the Holy Mass and Eucharist.
The days and weeks give way to the months, years and decades, but what does it all mean? We humans easily get into rhythms which sometimes (if we are honest) become ruts. We both crave monotony but also long for novelty. Time often seems to pass too quickly but at times it can’t seem to pass quick enough. We forget occasionally that our lives are progressing through the present moment to the full plan and purpose that God has in store. All of it speaks to the fact that time is going somewhere through the daily, weekly, monthly and yearly cycles of time, but time is not ultimately cyclical but rather moving to fulfillment. Let’s remember that the real ‘hands of time’ are not on any clock, but the Lord’s hands which hold our lives and draws us to Himself! As Christians we seek to meet God in the present moment, to seize the time we are given to serve God’s will, and to entrust ourselves back to God when He calls us home.
A couple of notes:
+ Next weekend (September 14/15) we will celebrate the patronal feast of our parish: the Exaltation of the Holy Cross which is celebrated each year on September 14. Bishop Michael Izen will celebrate the 9:30 am Mass at Holy Cross. SeptemberFest coincides perfectly with our celebration of our parish feast day! Please tell all your friends and plan to sign up to volunteer for a shift or two.
+ The Saturday evening Mass at 4:30 pm with confessions at 3:45 pm returns to Holy Cross this weekend. Over the next few weeks there are several special occasions including SeptemberFest, visitors from PACIM in conjunction with the dedication of a 1944 Warsaw Uprising Monument in Columbia Heights on September 21 and finally a Blue Mass on September 28 to honor and pray for all police, fire and first responders on September 28. Please consider joining us for Mass with Archbishop Hebda and Fr. Terry Hayes (Minneapolis Police Chaplain for over 50 years) and dinner in Kolbe Hall. See information on p. 6 to RSVP.
+ School is back in session. Prayers for St. John Paul II Catholic School community as the year gets underway, and their new chaplain, Fr. Justus. Don’t forget to register for Faith Formation and stay tuned for Lifelong Discipleship opportunities.
Let’s not miss the grace of today!
-Fr. Howe