Novena to Saint Ann - Day 3, Thursday, July 20, 2006

Tonight our novena continued led by our pastor. During Evening Prayer, he shared a most down-to-earth but powerfully moving reflection on Church, what it means to be Church, what we are called to be as Church, what it means to belong to the Church/be of the Church. There was so many rich thoughts contained in his reflection that it is impossible to do them justice in a summary here. One line that struck me is "We are together for life in the Church." Yes, we can get upset, we can even get angry, but beyond all that, there is something that binds us to Christ and to one another.

I know that I will be thinking about this reflection for many days to come. It really was an extraordinarily accessible, simultaneously theological and practical, reflection on the complexities of being Church and belonging to a Church and staing as members of Christ's Church. A real inspiration and source of encouragement! And very healing on many planes.

The experience of this parish retreat continues to be grace-filled...