Open Hearts

Have you ever had a week where you feel good energy emanating from everyone, and everything seems in harmony? That's how I felt this past week. I'm not exaggerating. So much good is happening at St. Helena's that I am convinced the Holy Spirit is leading us toward an abundant new life. I am absolutely glowing with pride.

First of all, the very fact that we were able to celebrate LGBTQ Pride on Sunday is a huge achievement. Many parishes would be afraid even to mention the word "gay" or "lesbian," but I was proud of those who set aside any personal discomfort and showing up for Mass with open and generous hearts. I have been delighted, moreover, by the visitors we have had over the last few weeks, which testifies to the good energy we are generating. I was also proud on Sunday when one of our youth was unexpectedly injured while the adults were in the vestry meeting, and everybody--Anglos and Latinos--pulled together to care for her. Coming together in a moment of crisis is one of the things we do best. And I was incredibly proud that we were able to be honest at the vestry meeting about the "pinches" we are all feeling as a result of the changes we are implementing. Nobody said it would be easy.

Then, on Wednesday night our longstanding book/discussion group engaged once again in a completely improvised discussion that began with "why do bad things happen to good people?" and concluded with a discussion of the sacrament of reconciliation, after having covered sin, gluttony, biblical anthropology, and the skeptical approach to Biblical interpretation called "the hermeneutic of suspicion!" It was a vibrant and energizing discussion, and my conversation partners shared with me that, after years of trying a variety of formats, what we had just done was exactly what they needed to feel spiritually fed during the week. A slam dunk.

I also continued my ministry of presence this week at the Starbucks on Lagrange Road in Countryside, where I've been keeping office hours three afternoons a week. The number of people who have stopped for the "free prayer" on my table sign, and have shared with me their deepest concerns--for refugee children divided from their parents at the border, for their own children unable to find jobs after college, for their personal desire to follow Jesus faithfully--has been awe-inspiring. The good energy is building and I am so amped for what the future holds for us. Again, nobody said change was easy, and there will continue to be challenges and disagreements, anxieties and uncertainties. But I ask you to keep your hearts open and TRUST that God is leading us somewhere very, very good.

Abundant blessings,
Fr. Ethan+

Open Wide Your Hearts

On Wednesday of this week, I walked into the Starbucks on the corner of Lagrange and Joliet Roads in Countryside to do some work on my laptop and just be visible to the community. This was only my second visit, but the barrista had remembered my order from two weeks before, because she said she remembered the large cross I wore around my neck. After about an hour, a man came and sat next to me. "José!" I shouted. This was the same man with whom I had spoken two weeks ago on that first visit. I asked him how his preparation for his mechanics certification exam was going, and then he opened up about his concern about our current political and social climate.

In the midst of our conversation, a mom with two kids, probably about 6 and 8 years old, named José and Antonio, came up to me. The mom said she and her boys would like one of my free prayers. "What should we pray for?" I asked. "We'd like to pray for all of those children being taken away from their families at the border." My heart was crushed. So, we stood in the middle of Starbucks, our hands on each others' shoulders, and prayed for those children being imprisoned in an abandoned Wal-mart, heartlessly ripped away from the comfort and safety of their families. Even through the sadness, I felt joy that we could share our anxiety and prayers together.

Our reading from 2 Corinthians this week ends with the words, "We have spoken frankly to you Corinthians; our heart is wide open to you. There is no restriction in our affections, but only in yours. In return--I speak to you as children--open wide your hearts also." There is so much Christ can do, if we only open our hearts wide to the anxieties, experiences, and needs of others. José's and Antonio's request for a prayer is a sign of a need for comfort in a time of crisis and despair. In a similar way, our celebration of Gay Pride is a recogntion of the adversities that LGBTQ persons have suffered and an affirmation of the truth God has led them to embrace. As the Lord says in 2 Corinthians, "at an acceptable time I have listented to you, and on a day of salvation, I have helped you." May we open our hearts to receive the salvation that God is offering us through each other.

Blessings,
Fr. Ethan+