Fr Nate's Letter - July 21, 2024

Something that I have certainly come to realize over the course of the last year is that many people come from near and far to visit the basilica. They come because it’s a beautiful place to pray, and as some have told me, it’s also the only church that they could find open during the day. So while they might not be from our parish, we are happy to provide an oasis in the midst of the day where they can come and spend a few quiet moments with the Lord present in the Holy Eucharist.

Recently some have expressed their regret that right now it is not possible to stop in during the day for prayer. Simply stated, the summer months don’t provide the regular level of presence required to keep the church fully open in order to deter mischief and maintain a respectful and prayerful decorum for all. As a result we found it appropriate to take some precautionary measures to lock the basilica after the morning Masses, hopefully only temporarily. Wanting to be good financial stewards, our resources just don’t allow us
to bring in another individual to monitor the premises and, while our maintenance staff routinely cover the grounds, they are at their busiest during the summer months with a wide variety of other projects that don’t allow them to do this. Again, this is just done in order to maintain the sacred decorum of our basilica and hopefully once again, these measures can be revisited in the future. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

The invitation that the Lord gives this week to the disciples to come away and rest awhile you might say is an appropriate image for the summer season. But I sometimes wonder if the disciples actually did what the Lord invited them to…or if even while they were away, they weren’t. They were already looking at the other shore, noticing the crowd and what was waiting, and perhaps missing what the Lord wanted to give them in that moment. I know for myself the image always seems to serve as a reflection on where my mind might be when
I pray. What a grace to have that precious time with the Lord, but sadly so often isn’t it true, the focus can be on so much else, so many things we have to get done, and maybe even some of the distractions that surround us. It always leaves me wondering if when those apostles reached the other shore, they regretted not taking advantage of the moments they had with Jesus.

Let’s encourage each other to avoid making the same mistake. But the invitation of Jesus also invites us in these summer days to consider a rest from the busyness of daily life. I remember my first pastor always insisting that after the 4th of July Summer was pretty much over. He said this because so much of the focus would already have to be directed toward preparing for the next school year, and while for many I’m sure the preparations are already underway, I hope you are still able to enjoy the time left in summer. St. Bonaventure,
whose feast we celebrated this past week reminds us, so much of creation wants to speak to us of God, carrying with it a shadow or a trace of the Creator, in hopes of leading us back to the same. But so often we fail to even notice.

Summer is a beautiful time to take notice, and hopefully we can rest from some of the events in our busy lives, and we might even specifically focus on resting with the Lord. To spend some time in prayer with Jesus, maybe doing something that will help us grow in that relationship with him. He invites us to come away, apart from the crowd, and to rest awhile.

Hopefully you are having a restful summer!

Wishing you all God’s blessing this week – Keeping you in prayer! And say one for me!