This was an extra eventful week in my Catholic faith journey, from fellowshipping with some outstanding Catholics growing in their own journey as well, to a Wednesday evening Mass that sort of flipped the script on my original plans for the evening, though in a positively extraordinary way.
What I thought I was going to be a rather standard, 30-minute mass (and partly because I was apparently a bit absent-minded that day), turned into a ~15 minute, pre-Mass homage to our treasured mother of Christ, Mary, followed by Mass itself (led by the head pastor, Fr. Robert), and then finished with an approximately 40 minute procession, including saying the Rosary (the Joyful Mysteries) and carrying a small shrine for Mary around the church grounds.
And here I had thought that I was going to celebrate the Eucharist, enjoy my short, but peaceful communion with God, and then head home to continue reading an engrossing fantasy book series by one of my favorite authors, Tad Williams.
Well, as a friend told me long ago — and which she borrowed from John Lennon — “Life happens when you are busy making other plans”.
In this case, the God “happened” while I was preoccupied with all of my evening plans. During the pre-Mass homage to Mary, and per Fr. Robert’s request, many of the women attending the Mass walked up to the statue, single file, and placed a rose at the foot of the shrine, as we all sang “Ave Maria!” That in itself was awe-inspiring and deeply meditative.
Yet the procession after Mass became another case of me feeling *mind blown*. It reminded me of the Easter vigil I attended this year — that is, in that evening, we experienced a Heaven on Earth — we experienced a central purpose of what Mass is about: being in communion with God’s kingdom and celebrating the Eucharist from our Savior, Jesus Christ. But more on that in a little bit.
First, more about the procession itself: When Mass concluded, Father Robert announced that we would then begin the procession for honoring Mary; and that’s when an elderly lady stood up from the pews, and while carrying a Rosary and some handouts (which appeared to be for the ~30 people who stayed after Mass for the procession), she explained that we would be doing the procession throughout the church grounds and to follow Father Robert, who led the pack.
A statue of Mary was placed in a long bin with bed of floral arrangements and a small string of lights to allow the statue to glow under the evening sky. Two poles, similar to how poles affixed to a coffin, were used to support the entire shrine. As such, the woman in charge asked for four volunteers to carry the shrine during the procession.
That’s when the story took an even more interesting turn for me: Three people stepped up to help carry the shrine, but they were missing a fourth person. After a few minutes of the leader repeatedly asking for the final remaining volunteer, I suddenly told myself, “Chris, just get over there and help out”. And I happy to say I am glad I did. Carrying the shrine itself was a bit nerve-wracking: Not that the shrine was heavy per say, but it was rather awkward.
So, for the next 40 minutes, half my brain was concentrating on praying all the Joyful Mysteries in the Rosary, and the other half of my brain screaming, “Don’t drop the shrine! Don’t drop the shrine! Whatever you do, don’t drop the shrine!” Needless to say, I was near soaking in sweat by the time the procession finished. (Not to mention it was about 80 degrees out in this desert city that I call home).
Yet the sweat was totally worth it: I participated in honoring the ultimate ark of the Covenant — Mary — that enabled Christ to live incarnate as man, and then suffer, die, resurrect for eternal salvation. Meaning that my carrying a shrine for 40 minutes was nothing compared to the sacrifice Christ made for us. Therefore, it was an even bigger honor to celebrate Mary in such a glorious way.
And speaking of Christ’s sacrifice, this week’s Gospel reading, John 17:11-19 further cements Christ preparing our salvation and ensuring that we, in turn, are fully prepared to receive it, that we fully ready to walk with Christ.
In fact, this week’s Gospel reading weaves well the prior two, weekly Gospel readings: John 15:1-8 (Jesus is the vine and we are the branches) and John 15: 9-17 (Jesus instructs us to love another, alludes to His sacrifice for our salvation, and that we live out the Gospel). Namely, now that Christ has explained the importance us nurturing a relationship with the triune God, and that God is at the root of real love, Christ then petitions our Heavenly Father to protect us from evil / anything that blocks us from embracing God’s word and its universal truth.
Also, and as throughout Sacred Scripture, John 17:11-19 is layered in multiple meanings. For instance, Jesus, also referred to as the Word that became flesh, delivers the Word to us — not just in what he preached, but also in His fulfilling His sacrifice and resurrection for us. Verse 17 summarizes it this way: “I consecrate myself in them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth.” This is a rich example of allegory found throughout Sacred Scripture: Christ delivers the Gospel, and then He fulfills it. And by genuinely accepting Christ’s death and resurrection for us, God’s grace protects us from becoming spiritually corrupted.