So I got in my car and drove some miles up the road to a smaller town. My friend, through a text, invited me to come up there. So I drive up to the new building location – it looks like any older church. I park the car and make my way into the service, which had just started. The place is packed, and the vibe is warm, real, and a sort of anticipation of compassionate action just birthed afresh. There seems to be an electric feel on the air, as if a heartbeat of something bigger than just the human bodies present, pulses out. The place felt spiritual. Right away I see some old friends I used to work at summer camp with. Hugs follow. I sit in the back row, but, even though I am a lone stranger, I feel a warmth that is unexplainable. I feel as if I am a kindred spirit among other sojourners…here, all stopping for a pit stop – a breath before the next leg of our journey. It feels real. There’s nothing fancy about the building, but the body of persons pulsates with something greater than themselves, and I can feel it. I enjoy the service, (it was here that I hear the quote I put in an earlier blog post: “Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.” -Catherine of Siena), meet up with my friend afterward, see some other people I hadn’t seen in a few years, and as I got in the car, I left feeling revived and rejuved. Interesting how this weekend was shaping up to be…
Later that afternoon, I wanted to do some writing, so I drove around looking for a quiet spot to do some contemplation and journaling. I hear about this cool old Catholic Cathedral, and think, “what a great place to write!” (the cool thing about Catholic Churches is they are usually open during the day, where one can come in and pray or sit, (or if you watch too much tv or movies, a place to get shot or killed). So I finally get to the place, with the help of my trusty gps. I pull into the parking lot, and wonder why I see other people parking and walking into the same building. As I enter the large double solid-wooden doors, I realize I’ve arrived just in time for Mass. “Great,” I think to myself…I really wanted the place to myself. But instead of turning around and leaving, I decide to trust the timing and see what I can discover. I pull out my journal, sit in the pack pew, and begin to be actively present…
Awakenings 