Holy Thursday!!!

Up at 5:30 so that I could be on the road at 6:30. That was how my morning began. I started out in St. Paul after seeing an absolutely morally reprehensible play last night and spending the night in the home of a good priest friend. I drove for my priestly support group meeting in a small town named Grundy Center, Iowa. We supported one another and then I went home to Marshalltown for supper, something that would never have happened a couple of months ago (can you believe I've been in Ames for over a month now?). Mom's string beans are the greatest in the world and it's always good to see my Dad and brother, Dave. I got back in my truck and headed back to Ames for what will probably be my favorite experience in this assignment. I had an earlier posting about Wednesday Night Liturgy during this summer. Now that the students, we do it on Thursdays and do it later on in the evening, 10:00. What an awesome experience! The students just gave me so much energy. They are the church...discovering what that means.

Now I'm trying to wind down a little so that I can sleep and get ready for a lot of work tomorrow. That's what I get for screwing around two days in a row.

The images of the pope

This past weekend, I found myself reflecting on the images that go along with the pope. I talked about the chair, the catedra, and how the bishop's chair is a visible symbol of his authority. I talked about how every catholic church has a chair in the front for the priest that connects him back to that chair that the bishop sat in when he was ordained. That chair should remind the priest that he is nothing without his bishop...humility.

I also talked about the keys. The keys were mentioned in the readings this weekend. Peter was given them. I talked about how, in modern times, we tend to see in this a hand over of power to Peter, as though it's his job to determine what the church believes. However, the first reading warned that the keys could get taken away and given to someone else. The Pope's job is not to tell God what he believes but to do what God wants and proclaim that truth to the world. He is to protect the truth that has been handed on to us and keep out anything that is evil.