Two weeks. This is the second week we have done this, and already I am amazed. Much to my shock and bemusement, when I got up Sunday morning to get ready for church, one of my roommates, Mae, told me that she had been invited (by Frank or Brianne) and that she was coming with us today. There is a reason I didn't ask her, I was pretty sure I knew the answer to that question was going to be a "no", perhaps something stronger. I think I hid my shock fairly well, and when I was ready to go, so was she.
I like to believe that in the end, God will bring us all to Himself. It's not really for me to say whether God does this or not, only God has the final word ... but there are many words that I can speak in the intervening time ... those words are called prayers. I want everyone there, in Heaven, this life is so fast paced and worrisome, I hardly get to know even my closest friends like I want, I need more time, an eternity worth of it. My best chance to get to spend all the time I want with all the people I want, is for everyone to go to Heaven, this is my prayer.
Here is the group who came with us this week: Frank, Mae, Nonnie, Brianne, Marla, Paul, me, and Joe. You can see all my pictures from this week here.
Location and History:
Saint Philip Neri. 8200 North 30th Street in Omaha (Florence). The parish was founded in 1904 to serve Catholics in the Florence area who previously had to travel to Blair or to Sacred Heart to attend Mass. The website has a wonderful history section, I read it twice, I recommend it.
Architecture:
St Philip Neri parish has wonderful grounds and facilites. The inside of the church was filled with beautiful details. All of us who went remarked on the simple beauty of the church, the Easter season decorations had us looking around.
The details on the church were amazing.
Pork Dinner
After Mass we walked up to the parish activity center and enjoyed the Czech style pork dinner to benefit the Notre Dame Sisters retirement fund. We're not shy, whenever we can we are going to try plan our visits around parish festivals and feeds. Dinner was pork and gravy served over dumplings and sauerkraut with applesauce and green beans. I had cherry pie for desert. Despite the presence of old friend Denny spinning the raffle ticket wheel, we won nothing. On the plus side was accordion music played by five nuns. When I think about the years I wasted in my youth trying to be cool ... I should have been learning to polka and have fun.
The Gospel:
...then He said to him a third time, 'Simon son of John, do you love me?' Peter was hurt that he asked him a third time, 'Do you love me?' and said, 'Lord, you know everything; you know I love you.' Jesus said to him, 'Feed my sheep. John 21:17
Of all the stories in the Bible, nothing can bring me to tears like the story of Peter denying Jesus. I feel for Peter, standing in the courtyard, denying he knows Jesus a third time and hearing the rooster crow. The bitterness of the tears he wept are beyond description. Most of us have wept alone, in the darkness, and thus we can relate. We, like Peter, have had to eventually get up by ourselves, and face the next day too.
I remember my moment of denying the Lord quite clearly. I was at a trade show, and at the time, I wore a large, gaudy cross around my neck. It fell out of my shirt while I was looking at some literature, and the person who was manning the booth asked me "Why do you wear that?" My faith was in the process of being reformed at the time, and I was unsure what to say, instead I turned beet red, and stammered some sort of non-explanation ... epic witnessing fail. Shortly thereafter, I heard a radio skit (I can't find it sorry) that featured a cop and a guy who was standing next to a traffic accident, the funny part of the skit was that the cop couldn't get the guy to give him any information because he didn't want to say anything about it because he didn't know what the driver was doing, or why it happened. Finally the cop says "Look, just tell me what you saw." and it sums up with the words "A witness just says what they have seen."
After denying Jesus three times, Peter is no doubt feeling the weight of the guilt of his (in)action. Jesus comes to Peter and asks him three times if he loves Him. Here is Peter's chance at redemption, and probably unwittingly, he takes it, "Lord you know all, you know that I love you". Since the time of my failure, I've learned, I don't have to save the person in front of me, God already has taken care of that part, I just have to share what I've seen.
Peace, Eric
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