Parish Life

Parish life at the Cathedral of Saint Matthew the Apostle often moves at the pulse of the avenue in front of this handsome place of worship; I believe this; I have observed it on many different occasions. There is a wonderful pulse about the place, a spiritual pulse nurturing and inviting. There are moments when I have felt insignificant but something within the Cathedral reminds me to be quiet, to look not with my eyes, to hear not with my ears, to touch not with my fingers. Here is a place of prayer. Here is a place to reflect upon the many facets of life.

Parish life has its own unique pulse. Last night I stayed for a talk that I had heard the day before. I stayed in part because I wanted a photograph of the committee members who had worked hard to plan this event. I stayed because someone asked me to stay.

Saint Matthew’s Cathedral is a great place to attend Mass; Saint Matthew’s Cathedral is a great place to cultivate and nurture your relationship with God; Saint Matthew’s Cathedral is a great place for gentle fellowship.

I was glad that I stayed and listened to the talk again. I was there with friends. I was there learning about the history of Church tradition. The Passover and the Eucharist were linked. Aramaic, Greek, Hebrew, Latin were mentioned as being part of the history and tradition of the Church. Being a product of the Twentieth century it is easy to believe that the cinematic American English brogue dominated the ancient world. It is refreshing and beneficial to be exposed to the truth and then realize how beautiful and majestic and enduring the Church is.

And so I was listening to the talk and learning something new. The talk was not the same talk that I had heard before. There were minor changes.

So it was enjoyable for me to attend this talk, treat it as something new, see familiar faces from the parish. The Cathedral parish is a great place of Beginning, a great place of Hope. With a little patience our thoughts can be attuned to the rhythm of charity, humility, compassion, mercy, and obedience, attuned to the rhythm of love. Here Hope is lithe. Here Faith is lithe. We each have the opportunity, the obligation to share Hope, to share Faith.

There were a few sentences which made me think, made me want to read the Bible more. The Liturgy of the Word is sunlight for the soul. A gift of joy to provoke discernment and prayer. Within the Bible I can discover something new, something beneficial if I allow myself to be open, to take the time to prepare.

The movement of God in our lives is not mysterious; our acceptance of God and his influence is mysterious controlled by our own capriciousness, our own selfishness. God is always present in our lives, always asking us to be obedient.