I went back tonight to the spiritual community of my young adulthood. I went back to say goodbye, as yet another church in the city of Buffalo is having its doors closed. I went to offer support, and was taken aback by how it hit me…
Memories flooded over me… this was the church of my first folk mass, the church my family gathered at on Sundays… followed by breakfast together at a local family restaurant. It was the church that was my ‘go-to place,’ for faith sharing, social gatherings, and especially the place I was given the opportunities to share my gifts. Family baptisms and funerals were celebrated there, and so, so many good and holy, and yes, often broken people became a rich fabric of my life when I didn’t even know I needed it.
I have moved on from that community. As my spirituality changed, I knew I was called elsewhere, but that in no way diminishes the deep impact it made on my life.
I went tonight with a sense of solidarity, as one attends a wake to support the grieving. I did not realize how much I needed to grieve a bit myself. And in that spirit, I watched as a community I no longer knew continued to BE for each other, what I received so many years ago. I saw how they cared for each other, as every faith community is called to do.
It was holy.
And on this Holy Thursday, as tradition has the Blessed Sacrament carried to its final resting place, we sang… It was an anthem new to my ears…but oh so fitting for this small east side community that is facing their final hour as they’ve known it…
Stay here and keep watch with me, the hour has come.
Stay here and keep watch with me, watch and pray.