Dear friends,
This week the archdiocese issued many new directives for worship. We only just received new information about Confirmation and have been receiving many instructions about the celebration of public Mass. I have been working with staff to process these and will have updates for you as soon as possible.
But I wanted to take a moment to offer a reflection on the present recent events that have impacted us all. We’ve witnessed the swift destruction of buildings, community, and most tragically a human life. What took decades to build and grow was undone in a few days or minutes.
It is easy to be consumed by fear when we are confronted by the power of evil and the fragility of creation -structures, relationships and human life. But God offers us a word.
Jesus said, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” I think Jesus was talking for us during times like these. The same spirit of destruction that we see in the gleeful rioting and cold indifference of a police officer was there two thousand years ago shouting “Crucify him!” By his resurrection, Jesus showed us that destruction does not get the last word.
I recall something Winston Churchill wrote about how certain moments, like the battle of Gettysburg or the entrance of the United States into World War II, turned the “hinge of fate.” After those moments the outcome was certain though the costliest battles had yet to be fought.
Borrowing his expression and applying it in a spiritual way to our present struggles, the “hinge of fate” turned when Jesus said “It is accomplished.” There are more difficult struggles ahead of us but the victory is certain. It takes God’s grace to sustain faith, hope, and love especially in times like these.
Please join me in prayer that we can be his instruments.
Fr. Dan Haugan
Parochial Administrator, of St. Stan’s
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