Dear parishioners and friends,

Did you ever have “one of those days?” Or perhaps one of those weeks? A couple of weeks ago was “one of those weeks” for me. Things did not seem to be going well in the workplace. I felt inundated with unanswered calls and messages. I felt extremely betrayed and as if I had lost control. In some ways, I felt very let down by some in whom I had placed my trust and even let down by myself. I questioned my own judgement. Well, by now you get the idea. It was “one of those weeks.”

At times like these, I find that it is important for me to step back and reflect upon just what the first disciples of Jesus Christ must have felt after he had ascended to His Father. Here they were… enjoying life with their newly resurrected friend. Christ was popping up in their lives all over the place. Very much alive and with them throughout the journey. And then BOOM...He is gone! Or so they think. This resurrected Christ, however, did not leave them. Rather He entrusted them with a mission and a task. For the very mission and task that He had come to earth to carry out, had now been fulfilled.

At the darkest moments of our lives, it is important for us to realize that our Lord does not abandon us. Rather He has gone on to take care of us from a new place, and perhaps He is calling us to experience His presence in a new and different way. He is fulfilling his mission. And by fulfilling it, He calls us to fulfill ours as well. Be sure of this …” I am with you always, even until the end of time!”

Love,

Fr. Andrew