Changes
Someone many years ago said to me “The only constant in life
is change.” I’m certain they were quoting someone else, and if I were inclined
to look it up on the internet I’m equally certain it would give me an incorrect
answer. It sounds an awful lot like something anybody could say and take credit
for being the first to think it up. It doesn’t really matter. Life is not
static. It is always in a state of flux. The sooner you accept that, the
happier you will be.
March 20 is the first day of spring. It seems
only right to talk about change and its effect on my life. Aside from the
obvious changes in weather and the blossoming flora, so much seems to be
changing right now I can hardly keep up with it. My classes at Rockhurst are
challenging, as is my class at Johnson
County
During one
of our evenings together this last week, Bren asked me if my attending
Rockhurst was the reason I decided to start going back to church. For those who
don’t know, Rockhurst is a Jesuit University in Kansas
City . I answered her as honestly as I could but the
truth is I don’t think so, but maybe. Rather non-committal I admit, but I sincerely
don’t know. There is nothing very spiritual about the classes or their content.
The students are asked to reflect of the university’s mission statement and reflect
on how its core values “seeks to make God’s good world better through learning,
leadership, service, and the pursuit of justice.” The entire mission can be
found at http://www.rockhurst.edu/about/points-distinction/jesuit-mission/
if you are so inclined to read it in its entirety rather than my paraphrasing.
Truth be told, I don’t have a lot of time to think about such things. I’m busy
enough trying to learn the content. But it is in the back of my mind. So who can say?
I believe
it has more to do with the new pope. Popes change fairly rapidly. At least they
do most of the time. My generation was spoiled. Pope John Paul II came to the
papacy when he was young by church standards. He was only 58 years old and served
for nearly twenty-seven years. When he died in 2005, my children had never
known anyone else to hold that position. I had seen four different men serve as
pope by the time I finished high school. The Blessed John Paul was something of
a superstar to my generation. He was a
hard act to follow. On top of that poor Pope Benedict XVI inherited the sexual
abuse scandals that came to light in the first decade of this century when he
took up the mantle. When he stepped down in 2013 those problems had been dealt
with. Our current pope, Francis, has had a much easier time of it. But he also
appears to honestly be the humble servant of God that we have come to expect a
pope to be. His words as well as his actions have been an inspiration to me. So
maybe that is the reason.
It could
also be because I recently lost my mother. She and I were very close and not a
day goes by that I don’t miss her terribly. She was the rock I clung to in
times of trouble and now that she is no longer with us I miss her wisdom and
guidance. It’s funny to write that now, knowing how much I complained about it
growing up. I was lucky to have her as long as I did. She was only 35 when her
father died and 39 when her mother passed away. My children spent much of their
youth with her and even my grandchildren had the opportunity to meet her. She
touched so many lives it’s hard for me to imagine a world without her in it.
I’m not a
big fan of change as you may have guessed. I like things that last. When I put
something somewhere, I expect it to be there each and every time I need it.
When I find something that works, I seldom vary from using that thing to
achieve my goals. I have stated several times that I have not gone to mass in a
very long time so it should come as no surprise that I am somewhat taken aback
by the recent changes in the liturgy. The Catholic mass was something I fully
expected to be a constant I could rely on. I know the changes made to the mass are
nothing new to those who have been going for awhile. Apparently all these
changes took place a few years ago. Those people have been regularly attending
mass have had the opportunity to be warned of their existence, hear them, gripe
about them, get used to them, and finally accept them. I, on the other hand,
went directly to hearing them without any warning. I realize I don’t have much
of a choice but to conform. I only ask that you put up with my complaining for
a little while longer. I don’t suppose I’m feeling much different than those
folks did back in 1965 following Vatican II when the church decided it no
longer needed to recite the entire mass in Latin. I did do some Google
searching and found a few .pdf files that will help me to get through these
changes with a minimum of discomfort. Meanwhile I’ll continue to mumble during
the difficult parts.
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