Bamboo for Me and You

Back home to local roamin'...

HERS:
We journeyed to Rockville, MD Sunday morning to attend the 8:30 mass at St. Raphael's Catholic Church. I intentionally use the word "journeyed" because St. Raphael is the Patron Saint of travelers.

This is one of the first parishes we've attended that does not have any church history on their website. If I had to guess, I would think the church building was constructed sometime in the 70s. The architecture was very simple. The pastor of the parish, Fr. Michael Salah said mass.

Most notable was his homily. He had A LOT to say, but I think this week I am fixated on his description of how bamboo grows. Now, I knew that once you have bamboo in an area, it is very difficult to get rid of, but I never knew the reason why. Fr. Michael said that it is after about three years from the time that bamboo is first planted that you actually see a bamboo shoot sprout from the ground. He said that in that time, the bamboo is growing in an intricate fashion and spreading it's root system out further and further. After about three years, the first shoot of bamboo appears and after that it grows at a rapid rate.

He likened that time of "spreading" to an individual's faith journey. I liken it to my own journey. There are times in my journey when I feel like a weed. I wonder if I am in the "right place". I wonder if I am doing the "right" things. I wonder what my purpose is.  Are there beautiful flowers all around me? Lately, I have been feeling like my roots are spreading, but sometimes they get tangled up. Sometimes along my journey, I feel like I have sprouted. I get a glimpse into my faith journey, and it feels like things are falling into place. But there is upkeep. So much upkeep! My faith needs water, sunshine and good soil. Sometimes these are lacking. I wonder if faith should come naturally or if it feels like work.

The gospel this week also touched on a gardening theme. "I am the vine and you are the branches". This reminds me that without God we are nothing. It goes on to say, "He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit. And every one that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit". This again, reminds me of my faith journey. What does this mean to me? This is a constant process. I think of the bushes in the front of my neighbors home. Several years back, my neighbor hacked down every bush in the front of her home. They had been overgrown and she said she wanted to breathe new life into them. We looked at her husband who made it clear that this was one crazy move on her part. Well low and behold, these bushes came back... it took a couple of years, but they now look beautiful. I think this means that sometimes we have to hack down what is keeping us from being beautiful on the inside.

I think Fr. Michael missed his second calling as a comedian. At the end of mass, the final prayers were chanted and he ended by chanting, "Why is our last song number 6 - 6 - 6 ? It was hilarious!

After mass, we headed to the Tasty Diner in downtown Bethesda, MD for a good old fashioned breakfast.

HIS:

This week the Roamin Catholics are back in home base after doin' some travelin' and celebratin'.  It's good to be home.  Sunday morning we attended the 8:30 am mass at St Raphael’s in Rockville, MD.  I couldn’t find any history of the parish so I will dive right into the theology.

We continue the celebration of the risen Lord as today is the fifth Sunday of Easter.  We have approximately four more weeks until Pentecost, which marks the end of  the Easter Season.  This weeks second reading says “let us love not in word or speech but in deed or truth.”  These are very powerful words.  This is a variation on the always popular, actions speak louder that words adage.  I think this is a good message to hear today as there is a lot of rhetoric in our society without a lot of action to back it up.  Be the change you want to see!  The reading goes on to say that we should love one another just as the Lord has commanded us.  A great command indeed!

This week’s gospel refers to Jesus as the true vine and his Father as the vine grower.  Given that Im a big wine aficionado, I can get behind this metaphor 😊  The Gospel from St John continues on, telling us that the Lord takes away every branch that does not bear fruit.  The vine cannot bear fruit unless it remains on the branch.  Remain in me as I remain in you.   The pastor expanded on this theme by comparing it to our everyday lives.  We cant do everything on our own.  We rely on Apple to make our phones, Chevy to make our cars and Starbucks to make our coffee.  We are reliant on others!  To take it one step further, I believe that in order for us to grow, we need to rid ourselves of the things that hold us back.  Prune our lives to include only those things that help us grow.  Some great advice.

The Pastor’s homily was a whirlwind.  He moved fast and covered a lot of ground.  It was hard to follow him and catch everything he said but I will get into some of the details that I was able to snatch as they flew past me.  He said wearelikebamboo,loveisallyouneed,keepworkingatit untilyougetitright,StPaulsaiditlikeitisevenifitupsetpeople…..justlikethepastor….alludedtoadiscussionwherehedisagreedwiththePope!!  Did you get all that?  To elaborate a bit, Pastor Salah mentioned that when you plant a bamboo seed, it doesn’t sprout above the ground for three years, but beneath the ground it is growing a web of support that when it does pop its head above the ground, it grows strong and fast ready for the world.  What he didn’t say is, if you ever grew bamboo, you would know that it grows like a weed and spreads everywhere…..His overall message was very uplifting, but two things that he said that were particularly positive were the notion to keep working at it until you succeed and love is all you need (not sure he meant to quote the Beatles.)  As we don’t know this pastor well, it was interesting to get a little insight into who he is by his homily.  He mentioned that St. Paul would say it like it is, like he (the pastor) did.  Even when it upset people.  I think I want to join this parish just to see what controversies arise!  The other eye opener was when he looked over at the cantor and referred to a conversation he had with her and some others on Saturday evening where apparently he was in disagreement with the Pope.  So much for Papal infallibility….Interestingly enough, this isn’t the first time I heard a priest mention or allude to not agreeing with the Pope.

I’m not even sure where to begin with the last item (I am still SMHing), but here goes.  As Father Salah was chanting at the close of Mass, he looked up at the closing hymn number and chanted “who picked 666 as the closing hymn?”  Maybe its one of those, you had to be there but Im still chuckling at the way he did this.  I also find myself wondering why the publisher OF A CHURCH HYMNAL wouldn’t just skip that number…

Mary and I fed our bodies with a visit to a Bethesda institution.  Tastee Diner.  This establishment has been around since the 1930s.  In terms of the décor, I don’t think it has change much since the 1930s.  In terms of the food, I’m not sure the menu has changed much since the 1930s.  I love places like Tastee Diner but we need to find a way to find a little economy on our caloric intake on our weekends.

And of course, our Soulfie: