These are lively days, a mixed bag you can say, and speaking in moral terms, good and bad intentions and expressions not only within us, but in society and the "world" as in people. If you think about it, animals (nonhuman) do not have a conscience, do not have this unique human capacity to choose...even to choose "between the lesser of two evils." As "moral beings" we are "blessed" to be able to choose for ourselves, with natural limitations of course, in small matters and in large matters.
The World Religions and specifically Christianity "fits like a glove" in our moral world and not only in the moral world. Christianity offers guidance to help us make the best possible decisions based on Judeo-Christian values; it helps us when we fail by offering forgiveness; it appeals to our natural wonder about where we will go after this world, after this life - it offers the hope of paradise or at least the road to paradise. And it offers meaning and purpose in a world that can use some wisdom and not just a "what you see is what you get" mentality.
A religion for the ages, more than two millennia to be exact, not counting another two millennia plus in our mother religion: Judaism. Christianity has inspired some of the greatest minds and saints and their biographies remind us that no one is perfect; they all had some flaw or another but were otherwise brilliant or saintly.
But to hone in for a moment on "man's" moral aspect (I write "man" intentionally here since it is we who seem to be the main culprits when it comes to starting wars), we return to the "mixed bag," a complex mixture of angel and animal; the high road and the low road. Put individual mixtures of good and bad together into groups or societies then you are bound to have not only tremendous good, but also the opposite, bad or evil. This is labeled as "structural sin" in Catholic parlance; when individual sins come together to form the former. The good news is that the opposite is true too, that the individual good that we each have mixes with the group or societal good and creates wonderful life-giving good.
These thoughts come to mind as we remember the death of
Mr. George Floyd. Such evil we know and saw but how much good is coming from this. It is too bad it took a life given up (reminds me of someone else who gave up their life and many countless innocents) in order for us to, hopefully, work toward and pray toward racial justice.
This Tuesday, June 9th, is his funeral service in Texas. As you will see in our bulletin and email blast (most of you reading this receive these messages) you are invited to follow a Mass on Tuesday by clicking on or going to lacatholic.org. Also if you click on the link at the bottom of this webpage, "Archdiocese of Los Angeles," you can find Masses streaming for Tuesday, June 9th. All Masses in California for this Tuesday are directed (by the California Catholic Bishops) to be offered "In Memory of George Floyd and for the Healing of the Sin of Racism and Its Effects." May his soul and the soul of all the Faithful Departed, Rest In Peace, Amen.
We are planning our reopening, so thank you for your patience. A couple of thoughts on this: the amount of guidelines and directives we have to follow are mind-boggling, but good since it is for our safety. Second, this 100 person maximum with numerous health protocols will, in the next couple of weeks, more or less, become less strict and more open. The longer we wait the more people we can let in and the fewer protocols and the more time it gives the virus to go away! Otherwise, if you think about it now, we have sixty pews in our church. Since we have to count ten people as staff and volunteers, that means really only ninety parishioners can come to a Mass. We have 60 pews, so that would average out to 3 persons per pew since we would block off every other pew for social distancing. So hang in there - we are working on the plan. Please join us in prayer for the correct, safe, and appropriate time to open. More updates during the week. Stay safe.