Three Candles

The third candle of Advent was lit in a parish church. We went to Harwinton today. Plain evergreen trees are up in front, and a tree overwhelmed with gifts for the needy is off to one side. A friendly, family parish with a small, nice choir. There were a few hundred of us. Two young parishioners were commissioned to be altar servers today. They stood before the assembly and accepted their new roles, were given albs, and were blessed.

The second candle of Advent was lit in a cathedral. Last Saturday, we took our youth group for a field trip to Manhattan. After a lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe and some sightseeing, we ended up at St. Patrick's for the 5:30 vigil mass. It was fantastic. A visual feast of art and stone and vast space. There were large LCD monitors on the pillars so everyone could see the sanctuary. Skilled lectors, a cantor with a pure clear voice, good hymns. There were numberless thousands of us. Several minutes before mass began, an usher walked down the central aisle and recruited likely-looking assistants to help with the collection. Kevin, one of our teen leaders, must have looked trustworthy, because he was chosen to serve and handed a basket. We think perhaps at the Cathedral, they have to handle such chores creatively.

The first candle of Advent was lit in a barn. That is to say, the Lodge. Floor and ceiling, windows, a fireplace... but the place is still very obviously a made-over barn. We had mass there to end a special celebration of the Missionary Cenacle Family. There were about forty of us. After the homily, six of our friends stood before the assembly and declared their desire to become candidates in the lay branch of the Family, the MCA. They received their copies of the Apostolic Rule of Life as a sign of their commitment.

A simple New England parish church, a cathedral, and a barn. What strikes me about this sequence of locations is not the extreme differences, but what they had in common. A sense of community does not necessarily depend on ever having met the people you're sharing Eucharist with on any given Sunday. A call to service must be answered, or there is no Church.... well, not our Church, anyway. And when you stand up, when you say yes, when you answer the call... you get something! Something you need, like an alb, or a basket, or a book. Maybe even a blessing. But you don't go forth unequipped.

Where will I be for the fourth candle?