I am pulling the Beatitudes from Luke for tonight's youth group. In the Catholic Youth Bible, on the page opposite, is an article entitled "The Reunion Dinner." It tells of the tradition I am already familiar with regarding the Chinese New Year - family gathers from around the world to celebrate a meal together. They are relating this to Luke 7.1-10.
However, as I plug away here I am thinking of my brother and the rest of my family. One of the things I love about the Catholic Mass is that I know my parents in another state, my brother in another country, and I all celebrate the same Mass. We are spread through several time zones, in a war zone, in suburbia, yet we are bound by this common experience.
It gives me great comfort and no little strength. It is also something I experience when I travel alone or with the ministries. The Masses for World Youth Day that are in a multitude of languages. The Mass in our twin parish in New Orleans where the people gather despite the slow recovery from Katrina. The simultaneous sense that something is different, yet fundamentally the same. This is a gift. I always hope to help the youth and young adults to see it as such, too.
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