May You Walk With Christ

Please be sure to support Mrs. Terry Ianora and all of the loving and dedicated people who work at 1st Way. They inspire me every day and their care for others motivates me to be a better disciple of the Lord.

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One the best books I have ever read is called The Sea and the Jungle. The English writer H.M. Tomlinson wrote the book in 1912. A good friend once gave me an original edition, first-printing, as a gift and I have since handed it on to other good friends as a gift. Tomlinson was a clerk and office worker who became a novelist and a reporter. The Sea and the Jungle is a somewhat autobiographical account of a 2,000 mile journey up the Amazon River. The part of the book that has always touched my heart, however, is that there are two detailed descriptions of his daily commute through London. The first is prior to sailing across the Atlantic and, obviously, prior to the Amazon voyage. Tomlinson’s daily commute is first described as monotonous, tedious, and boring. In today’s terms, one might say it was a commute that would drain the life out of the commuter. The second description of the commute is offered after the Amazon voyage has been completed. It is marked by awe, surprise at every turn, and a genuine humility in the face of all the heretofore unseen moments of grace along the way. It is the adventure, the intrigue, the breakthroughs of God-kissed moments that give the author a brand new appreciation for the uniqueness and the beauty of all that he had formerly taken for granted. The journey he had participated in had a transformative and lasting effect. In a sense, he would never be the same and he realized his world would never be the same either. I am hard-pressed to find a better summary of the past 28 days on the Oregon Coast Pilgrimage.

As you have read here before and perhaps experienced in your life, God is with us all the time, only we don’t notice. In fact, there is so much that we don’t see. Early on, I quoted from Fr. William McNamara and his words bear repeating: “Contemplation is taking a long, loving look at the real.” I thank God that this “contemplative” journey down the Oregon Coast has been a journey into real seeing. I am, indeed, grateful for this grace, but I want to be clear, here at the closing of the posts, that one need not travel 2,000 miles up the Amazon or 300 and some miles along the coast to enter into this grace. May God’s peace be with you, His grace be upon you, and His Spirit be there to guide every step of your journey . . . short or long, with purpose or rambling, at the beginning of the day or the end of it or any time in between. “May God always help us see the beauty of creation and to comprehend the wonder of His truth in all things.” Amen.

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At the Church of St. Mary, which I will miss a lot, we used to accompany the Catechumens and Candidates with music as they left the church for their Sunday gathering after the Liturgy of the Word. When they were dismissed to further reflect on God's Word, we would sing "May you walk with Christ beside you, saints and angels share your way. May the Holy Spirit Guide you to the dawn of endless day." Again, Amen.

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This final photo is not meant to be me walking off into the sunset. Instead, I'm just following the path in front of me. It is a path that will now lead me to Holy Cross Parish in Portland and I am excited about the opportunities that await me there. May God bless us all . . . as we walk the path before us.