Community

I had to accompany my mom to get some medical tests this morning, so am running a little late.  This week, I want to write about community.  I am an introvert and though I value and even require time alone, I know that no woman is an island.  With the new job, my whole life changed in terms of the activities that I used to participate outside of my employment.  Usually, I get home daily at 7PM and have to address a puppy who is still in training so I had to put my religious activities on hold. Though my parents keep an eye on him during the day at night I need to be home to make sure he stays out of trouble because Francis is still in the destructive phase.  Fortunately, this last week I was able to go to some of the events that I used to attend (because of an early Spring Break) and I must admit that though praying alone has its merits – the power of doing so in community is immeasurable.

It took a few months of going without my community to realize that people who say that they can do Christianity alone or without a church are terribly wrong.  This past week of daily being in the presence of holy friends and my community filled me up so much.  I was able to ask people to intercede for my mom, have conversations with depths of meaning and just worship God with others.  Last Sunday, I went to a Maronite Gala and though it was a fundraising event, I got to learn so much from a group of people who have experienced first-hand persecution.  This particular day, they were celebrating the parish’s twenty-fifth anniversary and I got to hear about the many migrants who left Antioch because of religious persecution.  Many of the people present only spoke Lebanese, but I got to see how much they treasure their faith.  One girl was sharing how she tattooed the name of Jesus on her wrist, so that if she got taken she wouldn’t be able to deny her faith.  The testimonies I heard that day, along with the celebration of Christianity began a week of community in Christ.

On Tuesday, I went to my first Taize service.  Though I have been going to the Christ Cathedral regularly I had never been up to the Cathedral in the Sky because one can only go up through special invitation.  On Tuesday, a group of young adults were inviting people to come and worship.  The service began at seven-thirty at night, and we were fourteen floors above ground in a room surrounded by glass walls giving us such an amazing view of the lighted city.  The setting was perfect for the musical prayer night.  With only the help of candle light to illuminate our prayers, I felt so connected not just to the people in that room, but the whole City of Orange.  There, I thought how important it is to be part of the Church and to be able to gather together to pray and worship our God- to thank him and to beg for His assistance.  I felt so fortunate to be able to partake in this activity that fed my spirit that fed my faith.

On Friday, I went to the first Stations of the Cross Service then went to a different parish for a night of immersion into God’s Word accompanied by music.  The parish was packed and again I though how fortunate I am to have these opportunities to join community.  To see and hear people I respect motivate us to continue or journey of Lent and to leave behind those things that weigh us down.  I thought to myself, I am actually in a pretty peaceful place in my life right now- but what I want to take on my journey this Lent is community.  I know that my work schedule makes it almost impossible to participate in these faith building activities, but I am no island I need nights with others worshiping God and knowing that I am not alone in my faith journey.  Though I probably won’t have the time or energy to do as many things as I did before, this week I realized how much I missed community and am hoping that in the coming weeks of Lent I will work on finding how to incorporate these moments of communion outside Sunday Mass.