Assumption Catholic Church
323 West Illinois Street - Chicago IL 60654
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Pastor's Messages Fr. Joseph Chamblain, O.S.M. Pastor
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2/9/2025 | Fr. Joseph Chamblain, OSM |
MEANDERING THROUGH FEBRUARY | |
During the last week of January, I made a very brief three-day trip to Southern California “on business.” As one of my duties as Assistant Provincial, I’m expected to join our Servite Provincial, Fr. Eugene Smith, when he visits the other Servite communities. We have two parishes and a high school south of the city of Los Angeles. When I left Chicago a week ago Monday, the news was still filled with reports about the fires. I expected to see, if not burned out communities, at least a heavy pall of smoke. But this was not the case. Except for a slight haze in the air the first day, everything seemed normal. The fire damage was north of Los Angeles. There was nothing to suggest that daily life had been altered in the least for people south of Los Angeles. The Lost Angeles area and most of Southern California was still an endless suburban sprawl, almost entirely dependent on the private automobile. I could close my eyes and see the same congested freeways cutting through this megalopolis that I saw on my first visit forty years ago. The number of Servites in the area are fewer and, on average, older; but otherwise life seems about the same for most people after the fires. What was of more immediate concern was the talk about deportation, especially at one of our parishes that is heavily Latino. In Southern California, deportations could happen quickly, since Mexico is just a bus ride away. One parish couple had already been arrested while shopping at a grocery store. Still, at some point, there is likely to be a natural disaster so great, that we will be stopped in our tracks and we will be forced to alter our lifestyle. I am not a great fan of Stephen King’s writings, but one book that I did thoroughly enjoy is 11/22/63. If that date does not ring a bell, it is the date of President Kennedy’s assassination. The novel is about a young man who is shown a portal to the past and is charged with going back in history and stopping the assassination. The theory was that Kennedy would not have allowed us to become so deeply involved in the Vietnam Conflict, and that would have changed history for the better. Part of the humor of the book is that while Stephen King (and I) have clear memories of what life was like in 1963, the hero was born decades later. He has to figure out everything from the vertical hold knob on the television set to rotary phones. Although he ultimately succeeds in his mission, he sets off a series of natural disasters and worse errors of judgment by the government, so that present day life in these United States (and elsewhere) is reduced to a very primitive level. If the fires and the floods and the hurricanes continue to increase in magnitude, that could be our reality one day—and that without anybody traveling to the past and twisting the cords of history. We can be grateful that the tragedy was not as great as it could have been, but I think we have been warned. Meanwhile back at the ranch, Lent is taking a long time arriving this year. Typically I hear people remark that Lent “snook up on me.’ Well, we won’t be able to use that excuse this year. Lent does not begin until March 5. We have this big long stretch of “Ordinary Time” between the end of the Christmas season and the beginning of Lent. In the old liturgical calendar (back when Kennedy was President), there was a Pre-Lenten season. Lent had not officially begun yet, but the priest wore purple vestments on the three Sundays prior to Ash Wednesday. These Sundays had really great names: Septuagesima Sunday, Sexagesima Sunday, and Quinquagesima Sunday (literally the 70th, 60th, and 50th) The countdown to Easter had begun. Pre-Lent as a concept may not make much sense, but it certainly makes more sense than what the airlines call “pre-boarding.” (How exactly does one pre-board?). Some church historians think that what came to be known as Pre-Lent may have started as part of a longer Lenten Season observed in some places and evolved into an opportunity to prepare for the season ahead.. The Lenten Season itself originated as a time of final purification for those who were to be baptized at Easter. It was the final stage of their “conversion” to Christ. Catechumens were challenged to answer the questions: What is still in my life that does not belong in my life if I am going to be a follower of Christ? What steps do I need to take to bring my life into conformity with Christ? The Lenten Season was later extended to the whole church, because all of us are in constant need of conversion to Christ. So, a meaningful project for us during these weeks leading up to March 5 is to reflect on those two questions. That will help us identify what would be the most productive use of the disciplines of prayer, fasting, and charity that we undertake each Lent. Of course, we only reach perfection when we arrive at the heavenly gates; but we can at least make sure that the Lenten practices that we undertake are actually moving us in the right direction, and not just something we undertake out of habit or something that we think might look good on our heavenly resume. Fr. Joe
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