Happy Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ!
"Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him." (John 6:53-56)
The priest gave a great homily today, but this excerpt from a 1955 letter by Flannery O'Connor to "A" (her best friend Betty Hester) I think says it all:
I was once, five or six years ago, taken by some friends to have dinner with Mary McCarthy and her husband, Mr. Broadwater. (She just wrote that book, "A Charmed Life.") She departed the Church at the age of 15 and is a Big Intellectual. We went at eight and at one, I hadn't opened my mouth once, there being nothing for me in such company to say. . . . Having me there was like having a dog present who had been trained to say a few words but overcome with inadequacy had forgotten them.
Well, toward morning the conversation turned on the Eucharist, which I, being the Catholic, was obviously supposed to defend. Mrs. Broadwater said when she was a child and received the host, she thought of it as the Holy Ghost, He being the most portable person of the Trinity; now she thought of it as a symbol and implied that it was a pretty good one. I then said, in a very shaky voice, Well, if it's a symbol, to hell with it.
That was all the defense I was capable of but I realize now that this is all I will ever be able to say about it, outside of a story, except that it is the center of existence for me; all the rest of life is expendable.
Today was Sunday, so it started with mass. I've been going to daily mass at St. Joseph's Cathedral downtown, so that's where I went today. Today is my first Sunday spent entirely in Columbus. Afterwards I took a walk around the neighborhood to see the sights while saying the rosary. I found another church, St. Mary's, so I'll have to check it out too.
This next year, for me, is purely discernment. I'm enjoying Columbus, really like my new apartment and have already had so many opportunities present themselves, so I know this is going to be a busy year. Maybe it will turn into two years, but I can't think that far in advance. I can't remember if I wrote about it on the blog or not, but I turned down a fellowship in Washington, D.C. in April, even though that is where I thought, before getting it, that I wanted to go. Before that, there was an opportunity in Chicago and before that Boston and before that Ireland; and now I'm in Columbus, where I am certainly happy to be for the time being, but no longer than that. That's the sense I'm getting at this point; perhaps His will shall change, but that remains to be seen.
Today was my first day of actually cooking. I forced myself to do so because I was hungry after two yogurts and I knew that meant I was going to have to bring out the meat. I browned meat, cooked peas and pasta and put it all together as a meal for the next week. It's rather delicious and I am glad I caved and cooked. I also made a few hard boiled eggs. Based on my attitude towards the morning, I know I will not be getting up to make scrambled eggs (and my lack of toaster for toast dissuades that as well), so I look forward to having eggs for breakfast. :)
Besides wearing the apron my cousin gave me around all day while I cooked and cleaned and danced to music, I went to see a showing of "Rear Window" down at the Ohio Theater, which is probably one of the coolest places I've been to in Columbus. It is an old restored theater that is gold and ornate, with red carpet and plush seats. The ticket prices are $4 too, which is such a deal. I went with Laura, the other reporter in the news bureau, and we had a great time.
This week will be a lot of work, but I'll only have three days of it since Laura and I are going to Chicago for training on Thursday. I'm having dinner with a friend from high school tomorrow and have a to-do list a mile long, but I'd be busy than wonder what to do with myself. Actually, that would never happen. I have too many books to read, letters to write and essay ideas forming-- what a blessing!
No comments:
Post a Comment