Submitted by tony on Sat, 12/17/2011 - 15:10
By: Tony Miller
Last Saturday, December 10, was a bittersweet day for me. My church building was closed. I'm being very careful with the wording because it was the building that was closed, not the faith community, and though the Bishop was the one who made the final decision, it was smoothed over by the cooperation of the parishioners of the former Blessed Sacrament faith community.
Fr. Zandy presided at a beautiful benediction service where our former parish's namesake , the Blessed Sacrament, was on display for one last time in the building. We then brought the Blessed Sacrament, in procession, to our new home at the former St. Vincent De Paul building, now the St. Vincent De Paul / Blessed Sacrament Parish. Fr. Zandy asked us to take an item that meant something to us as we moved into our new home. I chose a statue from the Nativity Scene we bought to replace the first set that we lost in the first flood. And I chose the camel. It's an odd choice, I know. I was asked: "Did you get stuck with the camel?" and I answered: "No, I actually picked him because I have had a certain affinity for him since the first time I saw him on the Epiphany after the first flood. I really didn't know why when I was asked, but I've had a week to think about it and I believe I've figured it out.
The camel is a beast of burden. He is led around to places he really doesn't want to go, carrying loads that are many times heavy and difficult. This camel has a happy look on his face. He appears to be smiling. He is one who carries his burdens with joy in his heart which is something that I know I need to learn.
A couple of years ago, when our former parishes were linked instead of merged, our choir director decided to combine the choirs, and we traveled between the two buildings on a week by week basis. I have considered myself a member of both parishes for the past couple of years, so my transition to the new building was much easier for me than for others who had exclusively attended Blessed Sacrament parish possibly their whole lives. For me, I don't so much feel like I've lost a building. I've gained a whole bunch of new family members that I haven't met yet.
So a new leg of my journey begins. And my job will be to be like the camel... to be led by God, carrying the burdens He assigns with a big smile on my face and joy in my heart.