We made it

Happy and smooth re-entry.  

This Sunday, we happily moved back into the cathedral after over six months of lockdown. It was a happy and smooth re-entry which all can enjoy together, whether through physical presence or live-streaming, thanks to communio.  Yes, we never left each other.  We have remained together in deeeper ways, and I pray our bonds grow even deeper though these extraordinary timnes.  

As we came together at the cathedral, we thanked young Matthew, for being our symbol, our reminder of who we are in these shared, tough times.  For six months, little Matthew joined us for mass with his family at home through live-streaming.  His mum told me how he would sit there each Sunday and wai to me at the beginning of mass.  How cute!  So I would greet Matthew and Junior, another young member of our faith community, at the beginning of each mass.  It became our welcome ritual for mass for, as I greeted the two young boys, I greeted all of you.  

Hence they became a symbol for us.  This was truly about much more than being cute.  In their own way, they shared a message with us that helped sustain us as a community, and it was all so simple, for it was about offering a greeting and acknowledging each other.  This is hospitality, which is at the centre of eucharist.   

What si a symbol?  A symbol is the outward sign of a meaning in life that is so much more and much deeper.  Truth is that this is not about Matthew. It is about us, for each of us is a symbol for each other.  Like a national flag, we are a symbol to others, but we are much more than a flag.  An amazing gift from the God with us..  

We are living symbols to each other, living symbols of hope.  Let us know how, through faith, we are living signs of hope to the other.  We are so important to and for each other, sustaining and nourishing each other through our ongoing presence and commitment to each other, and so we are church.  

These extraordinary times highlight this, and so much more.  Alleluia!