A Privilege

As I said two masses on this Good Friday for the Roman Catholic Church, I realized what a privilege and honor I had in being able to offer the masses for the worldwide church. It is not Good Friday in Amman and I am expected to preside at liturgy. We are celebrating the Second Sunday in Lent. I told the congregations that it is our task to pray for the church on a day when they cannot celebrate Eucharist. This is the first time I felt aligned with the Eastern churches who are our brothers and sisters in the faith.

Mass this morning was overflowing, which means to me that people thought they were coming for Good Friday services. I keep getting calls about mass times for Easter Sunday.

I feel like I am doing necessary work with the two spirituality groups. We are learning ways to interact with each other that communicates our boundaries while respecting others. A default position that some of them take is that they cannot change the system. Rightly so, I say, but we can build a healthy dynamic around us personally. We can communicate our needs, boundaries, and parameters clearly. If someone doesn't respect them, then we have a choice to make about whether we want to invest in an unhealthy relationship. We at least have to ask ourselves the question about why we want to stay in it. We can't change others, but we can exert some authority over our own needs and feelings.

On a lighter note, I went out to a pub with my choir colleagues the other day. It was refreshing to have a couple of beers, but I did not touch the hookah tobacco.

Lastly, what I am doing is catching on in some ways. I've had a number of people come up to me and say, "next time you go to ....., take me with you. You are having fun." Happiness is attractive. Good times are exciting and it is fun to see the desire increase within people who seldom let themselves have fun. I like what is happening.