Enough of the help already!  A week ago this past Friday, I dedicated the whole day to Gala setup.  Because of my schedule, I rarely have much time to do any advance planning with my technology needs for an event.  I may have an idea or two floating around in my head, but putting it all together and gathering the supplies to accomplish what I want to get done is another story.  I think our staff just rolls their eyes when they hear of my last minute grandiose technology ideas because they know THEY have to help piece it all together.
 
Last year was our first year using the Roostertail as a venue for the Gala.  When I walked into the Roostertail this year, I already had some pre-determined ideas of what I could do to improve the overall Gala experience from a technology standpoint.  My main goal was that I wanted a big screen put up in the main hall so I could show a picture collage of our school students and a video honoring our many donors.  Of course, this was now the Friday night before the Gala and neither video was done.  Putting the videos together would be easy; I just had to get all the tech stuff in place at the Roostertail.  By the time I arrived at the Roostertail late Friday afternoon, the Gala team had the whole place set up.  It looked great!  But of course, I had to mess things up because where they left room for my equipment wasn’t going to work.  I had to dismantle the main stage area as well as a few tables displaying ads for our live auction items.  Of course, I ended up dropping some of their poster displays and then I had difficulty moving the stage around.  I felt bad for the instant chaos I created, but it wouldn’t be normal if I didn’t create chaos before an event.  Eventually, we got it all straightened out and set up.  It was now time to go home and work on the videos.
 
After getting something to eat and before actually working on the videos, I decided I would check out the table assignments for the evening.  The program we use for the Gala is pretty slick.  I opened the app on my phone and just started scrolling around.  When I finally got to the table assignment area, I decided I would scroll around to see what I could see.  As I scrolled through the table lists, I noted right away I removed a couple from a table. My heart started to race because I couldn’t figure out if I had just deleted these guests or if I had swiped them off to some other table.  As I was trying to figure out what I had done and if there was a “go back” key, I ended up wiping out another set of guests from this table and I had absolutely no clue where I “sent” them.  Now, I was in trouble; I should have just stuck to the videos.  Once I realized I couldn’t erase what I just messed up, I made a quick call to Kathy Kalich, our principal, and explained the whole thing like a school student who just got in trouble.  I was sweating it out at this point.  “You did what,” Kathy tried to say in that principal tone of voice but with a hint of laughter knowing it was ME who just swiped off four guests to God only knows where.  The situation was quickly corrected but I’m sure our Gala chairs, Pam and Matt, along with Kathy, Mary Pat and Emily who had to deal with me at the Roostertail a few hours earlier were probably all saying to each other: “What did Monsignor do NOW?  Enough of the help already!”
 
Led into the Desert:  In looking at this weekend’s gospel, I was struck by one line: “Jesus … was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days.”  Just as the Spirit led Jesus into the desert, we too find ourselves being led into our own deserts.  It is in the desert where we are called to face our temptations and strive to turn our lives and hearts more completely to God.  And, just as much as Jesus emerged from the 40 days in the desert and went and proclaimed the Gospel in Galilee, we too are called to emerge from the desert as Easter people ready and willing to proclaim the Gospel to all we meet on our journeys.
 
While many of us have never been in a real desert and can’t comprehend the harsh environment it entails, we do know that if you remain still in the desert your chances of survival are slim.  In order to survive you have to traverse the desert.
 
During this Lenten season we enter our own deserts.  Sometimes the deserts we face are frightening and overwhelming like dealing with a terminal illness or helping a spouse or parent with Alzheimer’s.  Some deserts this year might be the fear of losing a job or health care.  Some deserts might be the same as those in years past like dealing with an addiction or sinful behavior.  Whatever the desert, we are called to traverse this desert with God’s help and emerge from it as risen people!
 
Too often we lose sight of the “promised land” or the oasis we seek.  Sometimes, we forget that God never leaves us orphaned or abandoned.  We have to realize that God is present in the midst of our desert experiences and that it is only with his help that we get the courage and strength to keep moving toward the “promised land.”
 
Yes, you may have been driven into a desert you didn’t expect.  You may even wonder why you were led down this road.  Yet, Lent is about facing the deserts of our lives!  It is not about asking the question WHY but rather HOW this desert experience might be calling you to conversion and repentance.  Lent is about doing something to traverse the desert in order to emerge as a changed person.
 
The question remains: What helps you traverse the desert?  First, you have to realize that the Spirit is present, and much like with Jesus, angels are present to minister to you.  Second, you need to orient your heart and mind toward God.  You need to keep focused.  You need to know where you are going.  If you want to go someplace, if you truly want to emerge from your desert, you need the proper tools.  For Christians, the ultimate tool is a relationship with God.  Without that relationship, without that prayer, without that compass you may never find your promised land.  Prayer then becomes THE TOOL you need to get out of the deserts of your life.
 
Enjoy the week.  Know of my prayers.  Happy Lent.
 
In Christ,
 
gmb
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