We Are Imperfect And That Is Good!
HIS:
Mass got started a little late as the altar server was
either late in arriving or a new one needed to be pressed into service at the
last minute. The void was filled by multiple verses of the opening hymn
while the young lad got ready. Father Kevin O’Reilly had mass. He
is the pastor and the only priest at this small but vibrant parish. I
quick look through the website indicates many activities and ministries here at
St Mary’s. Mass was a quick one. Father Kevin was direct and to the
point in his homily. He said a couple of things that certainly rang a
bell within me. The first I mentioned earlier (we are imperfect) and the
second is that we should pray that we are never closed minded. Once
again, words that can be applied to our world today. I have found that
when I take time to listen to those who’s political views that I do not necessarily
agree with, I find that there is a lot of common ground. While there are
certainly a whole lot of “wing nuts” out there (left wing, right wing) who are
never going to cede an inch of political territory, those on either side of
center are not as far apart as we all might think. The second reading
today talked about a thorn in the side of Paul. This is most certainly
not an actual thorn in his side, but a metaphor for an affliction. It
could be a disease or some other burden he was meant to carry. We all
carry burdens with us. Thus the thought that we are imperfect. We
cant allow those burdens to weigh us down. We need to allow these
imperfections to make us more perfect. I believe as we are shaped by
these challenges we are meant to become better people. We all have been
given the gift of free will and can choose to live our lives as we see
fit. With that in mind, my belief is that we should spend our precious
time here on earth striving to be just a little bit better than the day before
and don’t sweat the small stuff.
HERS:
What a lovely evening! We attended the 5:00 pm mass at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Barnesville, MD. Now if you're paying close attention you will note that we have already attended mass at St. Mary's, but that was a different one. Mass was celebrated by Fr. Kevin O'Reilly, complete with a hint of Irish brogue. This may have been one of the smallest churches we have visited thus far and it was certainly one of the most casual and welcoming parishes we have attended.
In the second reading, Paul reflected on "a thorn in the flesh". And in the gospel Jesus is met with resistance in his "hood". Yes, I'm taking some liberties with wording here, but that keeps things fun and fresh. Fr. O'Reilly succinctly tied these two concepts together in his homily. I must also note that his homily was the shortest we have encountered in these last six months as Roamin' Catholics. In keeping with sports of the season, his homily hit a home run in my estimation.
He began with Paul's "thorn in the flesh". We all have a thorn in our flesh. This might be an illness (mental or physical), a condition, a difficulty, a challenge, a vice... something that causes us to struggle. I'm ad-libbing a bit here, but I think you get the point. I'll share one of mine. I struggle with flat feet that has caused a number of issues with discomfort, activity modification and stress. As a result, if I want to be comfortable, I have to wear sneakers. The stress comes from worrying that I will end up in a wheelchair when I am older. Whew. I put it out there. Those who knew me pre-foot issues know that I was a bit of a shoe and clothes hound. Yeah, at one point, I think I counted a little over a hundred pairs of shoes in my closet. This thorn in my side makes me feel less... lady-like. C'mon ladies, you know what I'm talking about. When you have on a great outfit from head to toe, you feel good. My great outfit usually stops at my ankles. I know, I know, there are people who are struggling with far worse things. Yes. I do not deny that. The second reading goes on to say, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness." Sometimes I wonder if this challenge has been given to me so I focus less on my outward appearance and more on what is happening on the inside. And one step further, does that give me the potential to do the same with others?
Ok, enough about me. We all have our thorns, and perhaps those thorns are what will make us stronger if we put our faith in God.
The second part of the homily tied back to the gospel reading. Jesus went back to his "hood" in Nazareth, but was met with criticism... yeah, in his hometown. What was up with that? They pegged him as "the carpenter" and could not understand where he got his power to teach and heal. Oh the homily tie in! Fr. O'Reilly brought this one home. He said that Jesus was being judged and labeled by his homies. Ok, who reading this has not done this? We judge, we label, we categorize. He's a Republican. She's a Trump supporter. He's gay. She's a liberal. He is handicapped. She is slutty. He is a jerk. She is... He is... They are... Fill in the blanks. And this is a problem. As soon as we've categorized someone, we've judged them. We haven't allowed for their power to transform our lives. We haven't allowed for their miracles to become our miracles. This is a tough one. We're all human, but we all have been labeled and give labels. Society creates new labels all the time. And the more we do this, we separate ourselves from others... and from God.
Funny little tidbit when they announced the closing song... it sounded like the solist said, "Our closing hymm this evening will be, There's a Wine List in God's Mercy." Lol. Turns out it is WIDENESS, not WINE LIST... although, it probably works either way. It did make us chuckle though!
On the way out the door, the greeter said goodbye and told us we were welcome to come back anytime. This was a first in our journey. This church wins the award so far for the most friendly.
We moved on to feed our bodies at the Comus Inn in Dickerson, MD... just a short drive from St. Mary's Church.
We were welcomed by a friendly and charming older gentleman named Jesse who was so sweet when seating us. He pulled out my chair and told me this spot would provide a beautiful view of the Sugarloaf Mountains, and then proceed to tell Lou that he would have the most beautiful view in the restaurant... what a charmer! Our server, Kaitlin, was helpful and friendly as well. At that point, if the food was horrible, Jesse and Kaitlin's personalities would have almost made up for it. Fortunately, the food was delicious. This was one of my favorite dinner experiences so far. What I have experience in our journey so far, is that extending kindness and a positive attitude comes back to me tenfold. Just a quick peek at the sun setting over the peak of Sugarloaf Mountain....
I completely enjoyed our experience this week!
And we close with our Soulfie:
We are imperfect and that is good! Boy, if it were so
easy. This is a little piece of wisdom that could avoid a whole lot of
angst if we could all just adopt this concept. That said, I believe this
could be one of the keys to a more tranquil, serene life. Let me say it
again, we are imperfect and that is good! This week’s mass was at St.
Mary’s Church and Shrine of our Lady of Fatima in Barnesville, MD.
Barnesville is a tiny (and by tiny, I mean don’t blink as you drive through or
you will miss it) little hamlet in northwestern Montgomery County, Md. As
we go through our journey, it amazes me that there are so many Catholic
churches within a 15 mile radius of our home. Just when I think we are
running our of nearby churches, I find another.
St. Mary’s roots go way back to the 18th century
in the area in which they are located. The original church building was
destroyed by fire in July 118 years ago. The parish community came
together and rebuilt the church which provided a refuge for soldiers on both
sides of the conflict between the states. Back in the late 50’s Pope Pius
the XII urged every diocese to designate one parish with at least one Shrine
dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima. This is in remembrance of the vision of
Mary presented to three shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal. St Mary’s
in Barnesville is a simple church and perhaps the smallest church we have been
to thus far. For me, it is somewhat typical of what you would see in a
church built in the early part of the nineteenth century. The inside has
the requisite stained glass windows (one paid for by the Sewing Society) and
large altar and crucifix. No surprises here. On the left of the
altar is the shrine to Mary as prescribed by Pope Pius back in 1958.
Dinner this week was at The Comus Inn. This weeks
dining establishment was chosen more out of a complete lack of choice than
anything else. As I mentioned earlier, Barnesville was very small and it
and the surrounding area don’t offer a tremendous amount of choice when it
comes to trying to find a restaurant. That said, The Comus Inn did not
disappoint. Mary and I were reviewing our dining experiences so far
during this journey and trying to determine which has been the best and we both
agreed that Comus (so far) wins first prize. The company (as always), the
experience and the food were all top notch!! Our experience began with
the maître de, Jesse. He greeted us with a big smile and very friendly
demeanor. He also came by to check on us a few times during our
dinner. The other person who contributed to the positive experience was
our server Caitlin. She was also very friendly and helpful. Lastly
but by no means least was the food! Mary had shrimp and grits and I had
bacon wrapped pork tenderloin. We shared a bottle of Fleur de Lyeth red
blend (very affordable for restaurant pricing) and ended the meal with a cheese
plate. OMG, what an absolutely fabulous dining experience. We will
absolutely be back again. As always, Live Life Like you Mean It!
HERS:
What a lovely evening! We attended the 5:00 pm mass at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Barnesville, MD. Now if you're paying close attention you will note that we have already attended mass at St. Mary's, but that was a different one. Mass was celebrated by Fr. Kevin O'Reilly, complete with a hint of Irish brogue. This may have been one of the smallest churches we have visited thus far and it was certainly one of the most casual and welcoming parishes we have attended.
In the second reading, Paul reflected on "a thorn in the flesh". And in the gospel Jesus is met with resistance in his "hood". Yes, I'm taking some liberties with wording here, but that keeps things fun and fresh. Fr. O'Reilly succinctly tied these two concepts together in his homily. I must also note that his homily was the shortest we have encountered in these last six months as Roamin' Catholics. In keeping with sports of the season, his homily hit a home run in my estimation.
He began with Paul's "thorn in the flesh". We all have a thorn in our flesh. This might be an illness (mental or physical), a condition, a difficulty, a challenge, a vice... something that causes us to struggle. I'm ad-libbing a bit here, but I think you get the point. I'll share one of mine. I struggle with flat feet that has caused a number of issues with discomfort, activity modification and stress. As a result, if I want to be comfortable, I have to wear sneakers. The stress comes from worrying that I will end up in a wheelchair when I am older. Whew. I put it out there. Those who knew me pre-foot issues know that I was a bit of a shoe and clothes hound. Yeah, at one point, I think I counted a little over a hundred pairs of shoes in my closet. This thorn in my side makes me feel less... lady-like. C'mon ladies, you know what I'm talking about. When you have on a great outfit from head to toe, you feel good. My great outfit usually stops at my ankles. I know, I know, there are people who are struggling with far worse things. Yes. I do not deny that. The second reading goes on to say, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness." Sometimes I wonder if this challenge has been given to me so I focus less on my outward appearance and more on what is happening on the inside. And one step further, does that give me the potential to do the same with others?
Ok, enough about me. We all have our thorns, and perhaps those thorns are what will make us stronger if we put our faith in God.
The second part of the homily tied back to the gospel reading. Jesus went back to his "hood" in Nazareth, but was met with criticism... yeah, in his hometown. What was up with that? They pegged him as "the carpenter" and could not understand where he got his power to teach and heal. Oh the homily tie in! Fr. O'Reilly brought this one home. He said that Jesus was being judged and labeled by his homies. Ok, who reading this has not done this? We judge, we label, we categorize. He's a Republican. She's a Trump supporter. He's gay. She's a liberal. He is handicapped. She is slutty. He is a jerk. She is... He is... They are... Fill in the blanks. And this is a problem. As soon as we've categorized someone, we've judged them. We haven't allowed for their power to transform our lives. We haven't allowed for their miracles to become our miracles. This is a tough one. We're all human, but we all have been labeled and give labels. Society creates new labels all the time. And the more we do this, we separate ourselves from others... and from God.
Funny little tidbit when they announced the closing song... it sounded like the solist said, "Our closing hymm this evening will be, There's a Wine List in God's Mercy." Lol. Turns out it is WIDENESS, not WINE LIST... although, it probably works either way. It did make us chuckle though!
On the way out the door, the greeter said goodbye and told us we were welcome to come back anytime. This was a first in our journey. This church wins the award so far for the most friendly.
We moved on to feed our bodies at the Comus Inn in Dickerson, MD... just a short drive from St. Mary's Church.
We were welcomed by a friendly and charming older gentleman named Jesse who was so sweet when seating us. He pulled out my chair and told me this spot would provide a beautiful view of the Sugarloaf Mountains, and then proceed to tell Lou that he would have the most beautiful view in the restaurant... what a charmer! Our server, Kaitlin, was helpful and friendly as well. At that point, if the food was horrible, Jesse and Kaitlin's personalities would have almost made up for it. Fortunately, the food was delicious. This was one of my favorite dinner experiences so far. What I have experience in our journey so far, is that extending kindness and a positive attitude comes back to me tenfold. Just a quick peek at the sun setting over the peak of Sugarloaf Mountain....
I completely enjoyed our experience this week!
And we close with our Soulfie:
Comments
Post a Comment