That which inspires
When I see people at Mass so intense in their faith and devotions, I get inspired. Although very often they thank me and so on for being with them, I see it that we are here to help each other. For me to say Mass, I need them as much as they need me. Sometimes there might be a week when I am feeling down and when I see them I get inspired. The next week they might be feeling down and when they see me they get inspired. I think that’s what we do, we help each other.
In my prayer practice I find that each season of the liturgical year has its own impact, its own message for us. Take, for example, the powerful message of the readings of the first Sunday of Lent where the Lord cares for us more than a mother even cares for her own daughter or son. How do we apply that to our lives? Sometimes we think of ordinary Sundays as being just ordinary. But if we ponder the Gospels in relation to the events of our lives, we find they are never that ordinary. These different seasons of the liturgical year inspire us to make certain resolutions. They invite us to get back to meditation as we try to do the will of God as best we can.
What do I mean by meditation? Meditation is something we all have difficulty with at some point in our lives. I look at it this way. If, after the first time we try it and after about two minutes we think we have spent hours, we will just give up and move on to doing something different. But if we are earnestly persevering in it, time will fly by. First times are always difficult; it gets better as you meditate more. What do you do when you meditate? Pick up a piece of Scripture and find five minutes to set aside for quiet and peace as you apply it to your daily life. Think about how it relates to you in your personal life, in all the activities, people and work interactions that will be presented to you that day.
I am working on another canonization, Cora Evans. She was born, raised and married as a Mormon, but dismayed with the church, she left it. For 10 years she searched, and eventually in her prayer she discovered the Catholic Church. One of the important things considered when we try to canonize someone, is their relevance for the people today. Cora was a mystic, but many of us are not mystics. She bore the crown of thorns; most of us won’t have it. She had the stigmata, which most of us won’t have either. But the one thing that we can relate to is that she was a woman of prayer. In her busy schedule as a wife, mother and housekeeper, she always spent time in prayer. That prayer time eventually spread to touch and inspire other lives. It is her devotedness to her prayer life and relation to the Lord that basically makes her a saint that other people can imitate.
Father Joseph Grimaldi is a priest of the Diocese of Honolulu. He arrived in Hawaii 40 years ago to become the principal of Damien High School. He has served as judicial vicar and vicar general in the diocese, as well as being involved with the investigative cases of St. Damien de Veuster and St. Marianne Cope. He has been appointed postulator for the cause of Cora Evans by the bishop of Monterey. He will be leaving Hawaii to retire in Michigan to be closer to his roots and family in New York. He cherishes all the memories and beautiful events of his life here.
