worship at the cathedral 12: his presence is the gift

When we were seminarians we were encouraged to visit the Blessed Sacrament several times a day and it has become a habit for many of us to pass by the chapel every time we leave our dorms for the classrooms, and also every time we leave the classrooms for the dorms.  We pass by, make the sign of the cross, genuflect, say hi or just make eye contact with the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, make the sign of the cross again, and leave.  For many of us this simple act of "visiting the Lord" has become a habit.  It is an important first act whenever we come to the parish – greeting the Lord first in the church before even greeting the parish priest.  Not much fuss or rituals, but just a simple acknowledgement that He is there, that somebody important is there.

I use to tell the story of a mother and child in an Buddhist country (this was just told to me when I was a very young seminarian and the story just stuck) hurrying to visit a temple.  They happen to pass by a Catholic Church and the boy saw a tiny lamp in an otherwise dark church.  And the boy asked her mother, "Why is there a lamp lighted in that church?" And the mother replied, "Catholics believe that Jesus, their God, is there present in that church and so a lamp is always lighted up."  And the boy said to his mother, "So if God is already there why do we need to go elsewhere?"

It's a story told primarily to us Catholics (and not to Buddhists), questioning our preference to see and experience God in this and that place when we believe that "if God is already there, why do we need to go elsewhere?" I think we need to rethink so many of our priorities in prayer in light of this observation.  We need to love the Mass and we need to put as number one in our list of devotions, the visit to the Blessed Sacrament.

Again, I would like to invite our parishioners prior to the Solemnity of the Corpus Christi on June 18 to commit ourselves to be with the Lord in the Adoration Chapel "one hour once a week".  We will offer this commitment to Him, not as a gift (His presence is THE gift), but as our response to this most wonderful gift of his presence.

If you have committed yourself to the Lord, please claim a "certificate" (again from the guard house) to remind you of your commitment.  Paste it where you can immediately see it so that you will not forget.