COMMUNITY....

I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die,

for the harder I work the more I live.

~George Bernard Shaw

At Mass today, the Gospel spoke of a father who had two sons. One son went away and squandered his money and was "lost", the other son stayed with his father, obeyed his every wish, and was "responsible." One day the lost son came home and the father threw a huge feast with a fattened calf with many people in celebration of his son's return. The responsible son was outraged, as he had always done what he had asked and had not even received a sheep in celebration of his efforts. The father said that his son had been lost and now he had been found--the other son already had everything of his father's. For the first time, the power in this Gospel struck me beyond the jealously that is so present from the "responsible" son that I often focused on. I realized today the unconditional love that the father must have had for his sons--especially his "lost" son. He had lost all his money, left his father, and his duties to go do what he wanted to do, but when he lost it all he came back. His father did not hesitate, he did not lay guilt on his son, he welcomed him with a beautiful robe, a wonderful celebration, and most of all, open arms.

Father Michael emphasized the idea of community in this passage. Yes, we are to help each other on the path of life, but when someone goes astray and then comes back, we are to welcome them with our love, not our "I told you so's." He also spoke of the wondrous importance of community, whether it be our families, our friends, our religious communities, even our world and how necessary they really are and how important it is that we are present to them, offer them our gifts, and most of all present them with our unconditional love, despite the heartaches they can bring. Mass today was a time of great reflection--it made me ask a lot of questions of myself, wondering, do I live up to this standard we should all follow? How do I react when someone who has been "lost" from me is now "found?" And it has provided me with some GOOD thinking time.

It was a perfect day for that Gospel as right after Mass I attended the 50th Anniversary of my great-aunt and uncle--Dorothy and Fred. They are a wonderful example of unconditional love. Often times, I tend to get caught up in the media's portrayal of love. Hollywood paints a picture of a life of pure romance and bliss. Reality, however, wakes us up to the challenges love can bring. Whether it be a spouse, a friend, a community member, a relative, whoever it may be that we love, with it comes heartache and disappointment, it is inevitable, but it is how we choose to react to it that determines the strength of that love. Uncle Fred and Aunt Dorothy have had their share of trials, I have no doubt, but despite it all, their unconditional love has proven to be stronger than any argument they have ever faced. They have given their lives to their community, they have been REAL examples of love, of what it means to give when you feel as though you have be run dry.

What a wonderful reality it is that we are all human. How boring would it be if everything was romance?? If it was, how would we ever TRULY appreciate the wonder of love if we never doubted, argued, or questioned? I don't think that I would appreciate anything in my life half as much as I do had I never known pain or heartache. The "responsible" son was reacting in a way that many of us would react--with jealousy that his brother who has done nothing seems to be getting everything, but soon he realizes he is the one that has had everything all along---what a lesson for me, I'll tell you that!!

I am so grateful for Father Michael's homily this morning--he did a superb job! I am also grateful for my great-aunt and uncle on their 50th Wedding Anniversary and for the unconditional love they never cease to remind us of. I have lots of pictures from the day, but am too lazy to upload them tonight! (SMILE) May we all show one another the unconditional love that every single human being, actually, every single creature, deserves. Can you imagine life without knowing someone loves us unconditionally? And think of what the world would be like if we weren't afraid to love so unconditionally?!?!