“Pay Attention”

Well, Judy and I broke away for a brief getaway in the Poconos. We’re in Hawley, PA. We went to mass this morning at Queen of Peace parish in Hawley; the priest was great, filled with zeal, … he reminded me of Msgr. John Demkovich of happy memory. 

But while we are in a bit of a relaxed mode, the church is not. Nine months from today is December 25^th… Christmas, the birth of Jesus. Today is the feast of the Annunciation. Talk about a momentous day in the life of humanity. It’s hard to rate these greatest of days… we think of Christmas and Easter at the top, but on this today 2000 years ago, Mary conceived Jesus in her womb by the power of the Holy Spirit…. how magnificent is this!

It happened in the quiet of a small town in Israel. Of all the people on the earth, only Mary knew what was happening and even she was surprised and stunned. While there were no celebrations happening on earth, what about in the heavenlies ? It would seem that heaven was exploding with expectation and joy and wonder. What were Satan and his cohorts experiencing this day ? Did they know what was happening …did they realize that their rebellion was coming to an end…..  that their days were now numbered. If so, the gloom must have been stifling. 

It’s amazing how we often don’t realize the significance of events happening all around us. I can be focused on my little world, my time away…where are we going to hike or eat lunch…when is the rain going to stop, and in God’s great universe and kingdom, mega events are going on. So often we can be like Mr. MaGoo the cartoon character from the late 1940’s who went thru life oblivious of the realities, making messes for others to clean up, lost in his own world. 

Lord help us to “pay attention” to “your realities” which are the “true realities”…. the ones that matter today and will matter 100 years from now and into eternity. 

Christ has died, Christ has risen, and Christ will come again.