A Different Morning

“Mary of Magdala went and announced to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord.’” John 20:18

My plan was to go to St. Augustine. God’s plan today coincided with mine. We made it to St. Augustine by 6:20 am, and there was plenty of parking. 

Why did I choose to go to St. Augustine today? It’s one of the few churches that offers a Sunrise Easter Mass. There is something absolutely beautiful to celebrating a mass outside, under the moon and stars, and seeing the day turn from dark to light. We didn’t actually get to see the sunrise because we were not by the bay, but listening to the birds sing as they welcome the new morning is truly inspiring. And seeing the sky turn from a very dark blue, almost black, to a light blue is like watching an artist turn a blank canvas into a colorful masterpiece.

I love the sunrise mass too because the Easter story begins early in the morning. Many people will start their day with the Easter rabbit, egg hunts and Easter baskets. There was a time I put more effort into that than in waking up early to get to Mass. When my children were little, I hid eggs around the house and backyard, I prepared their Easter baskets and I talked to them about the Easter bunny. Beautiful stories, but Easter is so much more than that.

The Easter story begins when Mary of Magdala discovers the empty tomb. Where is Jesus? I like to think, like St. Ignatius of Loyola, that Jesus had gone to visit His Mother, our Blessed Virgin Mary, but that’s a story I have shared in the past so I won’t repeat it today. 

Today, I will focus on the other Mary. I have been watching the series “The Chosen” during Lent. Mary is the first “chosen” one that appears on the very first episode of “The Chosen.” She’s possessed by demons. It’s a very intense and dramatic episode. I almost got discouraged from watching the rest of the series, but I’m so glad I didn’t because it’s truly an amazing recount of Jesus’ life and the people He chose. 

At one point in the first episode, Mary (who was called Lilith, the name of one of the evil spirit that possessed her), even considers ending her life because she was so badly tormented by these demons. But then she looks up and sees a white dove, and she follows it. Afterwards, she encounters Jesus and He calls her Mary. She turns around because Mary is her birth name, and she remembers her father’s teaching from the book of Isaiah which says: “I have called you by name, you are mine.” Jesus casts out her evil spirits, and she begins to follow Him.

In the Bible, Mary is the first person to encounter the Risen Jesus. As Father Vigoa told us in his homily: “She becomes the apostle sent by Jesus to take the Good News to the other apostles.” What an honor she was granted. She went to the tomb expecting to find her dead Master, and instead, she encounters Him very much alive.

Easter is an invitation to all of us to be like Mary. We are invited to share the Good News. 

Today is a different morning because we have received the Good News that we will live forever. There is life beyond the cross. Whatever pain we are carrying, we must take courage because it will pass.

Today is a different morning because Jesus has conquered death. He is Risen. Alleluia!!! 

Copyright © 2024 Christy Romero. All rights reserved.

A Different Night

“If I, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.” John 13:14-15

My plan was to go to St. Augustine. God’s plan was that I went to Little Flower. 

Why did I choose to go to St. Augustine instead of Little Flower which is my parish? It was just a matter of timing. The services on Holy Thursday last about two hours. St. Augustine was starting at 7 pm. Little Flower was starting at 8 pm. I wake up very early, so by 9 pm I’m wiped out. Therefore, it was just a matter of timing.

I arrived to St. Augustine at 6:40 pm, twenty minutes before the services began, and their parking lot was already full. My hubby drove around the church, and there was not even a tiny space where to squeeze in our car. I was actually so happy to see this. The Church was packed, long before the services even started. St. Augustine is next to the University of Miami. I could imagine that many young people would be there as well.

We drove one block away, and saw a small space between two cars on the opposite side of the road. My husband drove to the corner to be able to do a u-turn and return to grab that spot. A car was coming in the opposite direction so he rushed to beat him. But by the time we returned, another car had stopped and had his left signal blinking, indicating that he had every intention to grab that spot we had seen first. But we were on our way to mass so we were not going to behave like most people would in a shopping center fighting for the last available spot. We drove on and allowed that man to take that space.

At that point we decided it was best to head to Little Flower. And what a blessing that was. We arrived a whole hour early, thus giving us the opportunity to get ready for the services. We were not the first ones, but there was plenty of seats available so we got to sit towards the front. At St. Augustine most likely we would not have found space not even at the back of the church. We would have had to stand for the entire service or sit on the sides. This would not have been good for my ADD.

I have been doing a Holy Week retreat with Matthew Kelly. On the Holy Thursday meditation, he said: “Arrive a little early so you can put yourself in the state of mind necessary to experience mass as if it were your first, last, and only mass.” I arrived not a little early but a huge early. It was God’s plan for me. I was able to pray before mass. I was even able to read the “Florida Catholic” which has great stories and I hardly ever take the time to read it.

One of the things that happened on the first Holy Thursday when Jesus celebrated the Last Supper with his disciples was the institution of the priesthood. I read about a celebration that took place in our Archdiocese recently, where fourteen priests were honored for their combined 625 years of service to our Church, and six religious women and one Jesuit priest celebrated a combined 340 years of religious life. The services at Little Flower were presided by about ten priests. One by one they said how many years they had been serving as priests, and we had almost 200 years of combined service in our midst.

I am sure the services at St. Augustine were just as great, but I was meant to be at Little Flower. I witnessed the washing of the feet of 12 parishioners, 6 men and 6 women, ranging in age from about 5 years old to over 90. The little girl was simply adorable. She sat on the stool waiting patiently for the priest to get to her. She put out her little foot for Father Manny Alvarez to wash it. At the end, I saw Father Manny give her an affectionate peck on the cheek. I would not have been able to witness this if I had been at the back of the church.

The washing of the feet made me reflect on the one that took place 2,000 years ago when Jesus washed his disciples feet. As Matthew Kelly points out on his meditation: “These men, they didn't wear shoes like you and I wear. They didn't bathe like you and I do. They wore open sandals and wandered along dusty roads. Their feet would have been filthy and sweaty and smelly.” But as the Scriptures read, "The Son of Man came to serve, not to be served."

My plan was to go to St. Augustine, but I’m so glad that God had a different plan, and that as a pilgrim, I allowed Him to lead me. As Father Manny said in his homily, this night was different than all other nights. I didn’t get home until past 10, but it did not matter. I got to spend three hours with Jesus. I shared the Last Supper with Him when I received the Eucharist which contains His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. He instituted the Eucharist on this day when He said "Take this, all of you, and eat. This is my body." 

I also got to spend time with Him in the Garden of Gethsemane. After the services ended, Father Manny took the Holy Hosts that had been consecrated for Good Friday, to the altar of repose that had been prepared next door at Comber Hall. We followed him in procession around the church. The altar of repose was in the middle surrounded by plants which reminded me of the Garden of Gethsemane which I was blessed to visit in the Holy Land six years ago. I knelt with Jesus at the Garden where His anguish was so overwhelming that He begins to sweat blood. 

There were a lot of people at this garden, keeping Him company, just like the disciples kept Him company all those years ago at that other Garden. And just like them, I was tired and falling asleep, but I knew that God had brought me here on this different night to teach me a lesson. I learned on this different night, that God loves me unconditionally, He serves me without expecting me to pay Him back, and He washes my feet willingly. And I must do to others what He has done for me.

Copyright © 2024 Christy Romero. All rights reserved.

Am I a Pilgrim or a Tourist?

 “Tourists want everything to go exactly as they have planned. Tourists get upset if there are delays. They demand prompt attention to their every need. They focus on themselves… Pilgrims look for signs. If delayed, they ask, “What is God trying to say to me?” Pilgrims are aware of the needs of others. Pilgrims count their blessings.” Matthew Kelly

I am doing a Journey to Eucharistic Consecration during this Lent. It is based on Matthew Kelly’s book “33 Days to Eucharistic Glory.” On one of the meditations, I was asked: “Are you a pilgrim or a tourist?” This question really got me thinking. How do I approach life? Do I live my life as a tourist or a pilgrim?

I think the answer lies in between. Sometimes I’m a tourist and other times I’m a pilgrim. And there is a huge difference between the two. When I’m a tourist, I get annoyed easily when my carefully planned life doesn’t go the way I want it. I place more attention to the things of the world than I do to my spiritual life. I become more superficial, focusing on how people see me rather than how God sees me. 

When I’m a pilgrim, on the other hand, I see changes in plans as an opportunity from God to try something different. I ask myself: “Is God trying to tell me something here?” Is this delay God’s way of keeping me out of trouble? As a pilgrim, I pay more attention to my spiritual life and I try to see God’s message to me in everything I do. When I’m a pilgrim, I live my life as if everything is a miracle. 

I had the opportunity last weekend to put this concept into action. On Sunday, the only day I’m giving myself permission to drink wine during Lent, the hubby and I decided to go to an Italian wine bar near our son’s house in New York. As we were leaving, my son said: “That wine bar you are going to is not that great, but there’s another one on the other side of Central Park that is really good.” We took his word for it, and decided to walk the mile across the park, even though it was extremely cold. He had sent us the link to the place, so we just opened it up in Google Maps and headed to our destination.

When we finally arrived, the wine bar was no where to be found. I checked the address, saw that we were at the right avenue but the wrong number. We started walking north trying to find the right number, but the addresses in New York are not like in Miami. They don’t follow the same numbering system. In Miami, if the house number is 4763, you know that the location is between 47th and 48th. In New York, the numbers don’t match the streets. We were at number 1300 on 79th St and 3rd Ave, and we had to get to number 1614. In Miami, that would have been three blocks. In New York, we had to walk all the way to 92nd St. Thirteen blocks in 30 degree temperatures. 

By this time, I was getting pretty hangry. I was hungry, I was cold, and I was tired. I had mentally prepared myself to walk one mile, not two. But then, I remembered. I could treat this as a tourist or a pilgrim. I decided for the latter. Maybe God had sent us on a longer route for a reason. I began to pay attention to the people around me, to the signs, but nothing really stood out to me.

Finally, we arrived at the wine bar. I was expecting an Italian wine bar, but instead, when we sat down, we realized that we were at a South African wine bar. At this point, I was ready to kill my son. The entire wine list was wines from South Africa, which we knew nothing about. And the menu… I couldn’t recognize a single dish: “Kombuis… what in the world is kombuis?” I was very close to getting up and walking out, but once again, I told myself: “I can take the attitude of a tourist and be upset, or I can be a pilgrim and make the best of this experience.” And what a wonderful experience it turned out to be. 

The young man that took care of us was a sweetheart. He moved from South Africa to New York at the end of 2019, right before the pandemic hit. He gave us a lesson on South African wines, which turned out to be delicious. He talked about his country with such pride, it was contagious. I was ready to book a trip to Zimbabwe. And he recommended some items from the menu which were amazing: Lam Sosaties (lamb skewers), Roasted oesters (oysters), Viskoekie sliders (crusted fishcake) and a few others. In the end, we told him how we had ended up at his place, and were ready to bolt out of there, but we were so happy to have stayed. He was so grateful that even though we didn’t want dessert, he treated us to one of the most delicious bread puddings I have ever tasted. And the best treat came at the end, when we went to pay and he told us that Benedict and Dominic (our grandsons) had paid for our food.

Sometimes, life is full of surprises. We could have left the place as upset tourists because it was not what we were expecting, and we would have missed out on a great experience. But because we chose to remain as pilgrims, we ended up meeting a wonderful young man, and we tried some delicious South African dishes, which we would have never discovered on our own. 

Definitely, it’s much better to live life as a pilgrim than a tourist. I can’t wait to see what next surprise God has in store for me.

Copyright © 2024 Christy Romero. All rights reserved.