Taking One Day at a Time
The fire at the Cathedral has a long tail. It has disrupted patterns and made simple things complex.
As one Cathedral parishioner said to me last Saturday morning, when arriving at Our Lady of Lourdes for Mass, “It’s great that we can just move our masses from the Cathedral to Lourdes”.
Later that day, a Lourdes parishioner texted that she was “so saddened by the damage to our beautiful Cathedral.”
Support Each Other
Now more than ever, we need to support each other and work as a team of believers – Kotahi Ano, “ourselves together”.
This is a good time for parishioners to make contact with each other, to see how others are doing. A phone call is the easiest way to stay in touch. This is the work of a community of people who care about and for each other.
I would encourage people to use the Gathering Area at Our Lady of Lourdes and meet for a coffee after each Mass, to chat and spend time with each other. It’s time to break out the baking and the good coffee!
Grief
The support from most parishioners has been gratifying, nevertheless, each day without the Cathedral reminds us of our shared loss. The Cathedra has been an empty seat for too long, now.
The aftermath of the fire is an emotionally challenging time and many simple routines have been disrupted.
In grief, we experience a layering of feelings and thoughts. Because grief is an experience, people react uniquely and each with their own timeframe.
Some fear the loss of losing touch with friends, with the building, with their prayer life and with their regular routine. Other people move on and accept the change and adapt very quickly.
A few practical ideas of self and other care are:
- Take care of yourself—in ways that bring you life.
- Know that you are not alone—reach out to others and connect.
- Take the experience to prayer—seek God’s wisdom in silence.
- Life changes—and everyone must change along with it.
- Remember our Kaupapa/Heritage—we are people of hope!
Going Forward
The People of Israel were called out of Egypt to live in a covenant relationship with God.
The experience of the Exodus is one of loss and of being nurtured by God with Manna in the Desert and Water from the Rock.
Life has not ended, but it has changed.
We are still in the Easter Celebration. Let us all draw strength from the memory of our shared Easter Triduum.
Please stay in touch through the mailing list and please share information with others and call people when you can.
Blessings on all
Fr Joe