A Major Distraction:  People often comment to me how they get distracted at mass.  It could be the person sitting next to them that causes the distraction or something as simple as the sun coming in through the windows.  Some even mentioned they prefer sitting upfront in our church, especially before the break aisle, so they don’t get distracted by the number of people who walk through the “break aisle” during mass.  Someone once shared that during a homily they heard the very familiar sound of a nail clipper nearby.  They really wanted to believe someone wouldn’t be clipping their nails during mass, so they turned around to scope things out.  When this parishioner turned around, she saw a mom with a teenager’s foot resting on the mom’s lap, and yes, the mom was clipping away … during a homily!  For priests celebrating mass, the distractions can come from a little kid waving in the front pews, to people reading the bulletin during the homily, to an obnoxious fly that won’t leave the altar.  Yes, a fly!
 
Now you may be wondering how a simple little fly could cause a distraction for a priest.  Let me explain.  I was prayerfully celebrating mass recently.  I was in my zone and truly focused on the things of heaven.  All of a sudden, this huge fly started buzzing around the chalice.  I waited patiently to see what the fly was going to do and then decided to cover the chalice with a purificator.  The fly then took aim at the patens filled with hosts.  I tried “shooing” it away, but it was out to prove he was going to be a thorn in my up to this point perfect prayer experience.  While I tried to focus on the Eucharistic Prayer, my attention was being drawn to this obnoxious fly.  It then landed on the Roman Missal.  At this point, I was growing more and more irritated.  Here I was trying to celebrate the great sacrifice of the mass and my attention was being drawn to how I could annihilate this fly.  This was quickly becoming an all-out war.  I thought about slamming my hand on the Roman Missal with the hopes of doing the fly in.  But then I thought this display of anger wasn’t necessarily the best thing for people to see … especially as I celebrated mass.  Then I was trying to figure out how I could do this fly in without making it so obvious.  The fly continued to buzz around and land on just about everything that was within my immediate space at the altar.  Then I thought to myself, “Could I get my hand underneath the Roman Missal and pretend to close it (okay, really SLAM it shut), with the hopes of ceasing this little game.  By this time, I was at the end of the Eucharistic Prayer and I was sure people could tell something was up at the altar.  But I didn’t think slamming my hand on the altar or slamming the book shut was going to look good either!  So much for the perfect prayer experience!  The fly was lucky it survived!
 
The Solemnity of All Saints:  While there are many wonderful feasts and solemnities in the Church’s calendar, the celebration of all the saints is one of my favorites.  We will have a vigil mass on Thursday, October 31, at 7:00 p.m. and then masses on Friday, November 1, at 7:00 a.m., 8:30 a.m., 12:00 p.m., and 7:00 p.m.  Yes, folks, it is a holy day of obligation.
 
The Solemnity of All Saints celebrates all the saints, the known and unknown ones now in heaven.  Through this great communion of saints, we help one another achieve sanctity.  Whether you recognize it or not, each of us is on a journey toward holiness, and these saints stand as role models for us.  They, like us, were often pretty ordinary people who answered God’s call to serve in some capacity.  They had struggles.  They had ups and downs.  They doubted.  They had dark nights of the soul.  But they persevered in their commitment to Christ.  They were sinners, like you and me, who had fallen but then had the courage, with the grace of God, to stand back up.
 
Pope Francis in his Angelus message on the Solemnity of All Saints last year said, “[We are united with all the saints: not only the most well-known, from the calendar, but also those ‘next door,’ our family members and acquaintances who are now part of that great multitude. Therefore, today is a family celebration. The saints are close to us, indeed they are our truest brothers and sisters. They understand us, love us, know what is truly good for us, help us and await us. They are happy and want us to be happy with them in paradise.
 
“Thus they invite us on the path of happiness, indicated by today’s beautiful and well-known Gospel passage: ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit.... Blessed are the meek.... Blessed are the pure in heart... (cf. Mt 5:3-8).’ But how?  The Gospel says blessed are the poor, while the world says blessed are the rich. The Gospel says blessed are the meek, while the world says blessed are the overbearing. The Gospel says blessed are the pure, while the world says blessed are the cunning and the pleasure-seekers. This way of the Beatitudes of holiness, seems to always lead to defeat. Yet — the first reading also reminds us — the Saints hold ‘palm branches in their hands (Rev 7:9),’ which is a symbol of victory. They have prevailed, not the world. And they exhort us to choose their side, that of God who is Holy.
 
“Let us ask ourselves which side we are on: that of heaven or that of earth? Do we live for the Lord or for ourselves, for eternal happiness or for some immediate gratification? Let us ask ourselves: do we truly want holiness? Or are we content with being Christians without infamy and without praise, who believe in God and esteem their neighbor, but without overemphasizing…. Thus, [it’s] either holiness or nothing! It is good for us to let ourselves be spurred by the saints, who did not use half-measures here, and are ‘cheering us on’ from there, so that we may choose God, humility, meekness, mercy, purity, so that we may be impassioned by heaven rather than earth.
 
“May the Holy Mother of God, Queen of Saints, help us to decisively follow the road to holiness; may she, who is the Gate of Heaven, introduce our departed loved ones into the heavenly family.”
 
Happy Feast Day!  Enjoy the week.  Know of my prayers.
 
In Christ,
 
gmb
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