DON’T WAIT TIL THE END
I love gifts.
Do you know what the best gift for me is?
The mass.
But do you know which part of mass?
The end (it looks like you’re not the only one).
As a priest, the end of mass is when I get to give a personal sign of peace to whomever wants it. After mass, I ask people to give me their names until I remember them (sometimes it takes a whiiiiiiiile), shake their hands, and give a blessing if ever asked. The last one is the kicker. If they want to receive a blessing, I ask them what they want for themselves. And it is then that I am blessed. It is a gift for me when my parishioners reveal who they are, what they care about, and what they really need or want from God.
And many of my parishioners just want to belong. To find a place where they do not have to fit in, where they can come just as they are, and where they can feel loved and accepted by God. In a similar way, their prayers find a place of belonging in God’s hearts.
The act of that blessing allows us all to belong to God. We can ask for anything. And if it is a deep desire, we can sense that God wants that thing for us, too. And that’s when a God appears, as the readings and psalm say and as prayers reveal, who is “good… an eternal.. refuge… savior.”
What a gift God is.
What a gift we are.
Let’s give the gift of ourselves.
Let’s just not wait until the end. 😉
And, if you’re ever in Phoenix, look me up.
Be blessed!
How might we be a gift to others by revealing ourselves vulnerably - telling of our needs, cares, and wants? How might we bless others in receiving them so as to have them feel belonging? How might this all reveal a God that is good and eternal, a refuge and a savior?
Eddie Ngo, SJ