In the years immediately following my ordination, while an Assistant Pastor and then a high school teacher, I began the habit of writing everything in a calendar. Although today I am somewhat crazy about being organized, writing everything in a calendar became necessary. Too often I would forget various appointments and miss parish events. My years in high school were a little easier, not only because the bell would ring every forty-five minutes, but more accurately because of the fear of leaving a classroom full of students with no supervision to cause some disturbance in the corridor.
If I had to venture a guess, I think I would be on target to say that most of us live by a personal or family calendar. Writing all of the important appointments and family events in the small space provided is a reminder that all of us have full lives…we are surrounded by activity…we have much to accomplish each day, each week, each month and year. So the calendar becomes part of our lives.
I wonder though, how often might we write on the calendar…spend uninterrupted time in conversation with family; …relax at home without anything else to do or any place to be; …a quiet day to read or play with the children. In the space provided on any given day, does your calendar ever read: spend some extended quiet time in church giving thanks to God for the gifts in my life?
It seems that with so much activity, it is easy to lose sight of what is most important. All of the “responsibilities” we write on our calendar tend to become our priority; it is what gets our attention, our time, and our energy. Yet daily, we have the opportunity to come together to celebrate as a community, to be refreshed by the Lord and to be strengthened to live out the Gospel message. All of us should want to fill our calendar with that!!!
If our calendar dictates what we must do, where we must be, who we need to visit; perhaps the first thing that should be written in one of the days each week is “St. David Church.” Each of us needs this time to allow Christ to fill us with His love; to be nourished at His table; and to pray for one another. Everything else should be secondary. I encourage you to go to your calendar and simply write “Our time with the Lord at St. David’s Church.”
Let us pray for one another that we give ourselves the time to receive from the Lord.
God Bless You,
Father Kennedy