By Fr. Glenn Jones

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…”

Good ol’ Charles Dickens … a favorite author, but likely neglected nowadays. The attention span of today’s reader doesn’t often lend itself well to the patience needed to follow the involved characters and plots of the old classics. Too bad, too. Those novels of former times carry with them much life’s wisdom and enjoyment and—especially for our young people—a great opportunity to hone communication skills. Wordcraft is very often neglected in the age of texting, email, Facebook posts, etc., and yet authors such as Dickens, Poe, Austen, Donne, Shakespeare and so many others of times gone by nonetheless remain immortal professors … for English, at least. Perhaps Hugo for French, Cervantes for Spanish, Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky for Russian, Dante for Italian, etc. So many treasures; so little time.

I couldn’t help but remember that above quote from the opening of “A Tale of Two Cities” this weekend, recalling how this terminating week began with much rejoicing: an ordination to priesthood at the Monastery of Christ in the Desert, then traveling south to attend the installation of the new bishop in Las Cruces, for whom the Catholics there have been awaiting for almost a year. Joyful times of thanksgiving for us in the Catholic Church of New Mexico.

But then … the worst: having to deal with issues of the Santa Fe Archdiocese’s bankruptcy proceedings, the tragedies which led to it, the attendant sorrows of those who suffered criminality, and the trepidations of those much concerned about the Church’s future. So much good destroyed, so much carnage wrought by those who sabotaged the faith and trust of so many.

The cancer has been excised, vigilance in place to detect metastasization … yet the pain of healing will last for a long time. Will the Church survive, we are often asked? Have no doubt of it, for Jesus assures Peter: “…upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it,” (Matthew 16:18), and, after His resurrection, to the apostles: “…lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.” (Matthew 28:20) Yet our constant prayer remains for the healing of all who have been harmed so grievously. 

Then, later in the week … again joy: the uniting in marriage of two young people beginning their life together … a handsome lad, and a beautiful bride who evokes remembrance of scripture: “She was radiant with perfect beauty…” (Esther 15:5) Martina McBride is right in her country song:  “…the sweetest thing that you’ll ever see in the whole wide world is a happy girl.” Smiles and laughter … hopes, dreams and copious rejoicing all around. 

Beholding the happy scene and yet remembering the last days gone by, I could not but reflect on how the week imitated our lives in general: times of joy and happiness, times of sorrow and difficulty … the human condition. Uninterrupted ease of life simply cannot be realistically expected; in fact, is it not the contrast of difficulty and rejoicing that which makes rejoicing so much more fulfilling? Much like a spoiled child constantly pampered and yet never satisfied, we, too, must be wary of expecting life to be an uninterrupted rose garden path, becoming unreasonably upset when misfortune or sorrow do make their inevitable appearance. 

Ironically, is it not in the sharing of the difficulties and sorrows of others that we often find a greater rejoicing in our own lives? To come to the aid of those in need—physical or spiritual need—elicits fulfillment and security in both supporter and supported with a burden partially lifted in mutual charity and concern. Is there a greater joy than by our efforts transforming a frown into a smile … despair and desperation into delight? We might recall Senator Charles Sumner: “There is beauty in art in literature, in science and in every triumph of intelligence…but there is a higher beauty still in relieving the poor, in elevating the downtrodden, and being a succor to the oppressed” (“Equality Before the Law”, 1872) … itself reminding us of St. Paul’s exhortation: “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep,” (Romans 12:15), and the unity of true community: “If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.” (1 Corinthians 12:26)

“Am I my brother’s keeper?!” Cain asks God in his lame attempt to dodge responsibility for his brother Abel’s murder (Genesis 4). “Most definitely”, Jesus might say … as He essentially does in Matthew 25: “Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me…Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.” (Mathew 25:34-40)

As is often remarked, we all share this one ship called “Earth”, and there is more strength in a cooperative bundle than in isolated effort. That means, then, that the strength of each adds to the strength of all—support in sorrow and difficulty, mutual reinvigoration in shared joys. We may not have the fortitude or influence of Mother Teresa, but even in our daily lives there are those who hurt, for whom even a kind word or unsolicited charitable gesture can bring new hope … helping to buoy one another up through the storms of life. Opportunities abound; look for them…

…and “God bless us, every one!”

Rev. Glenn Jones is the Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe and former pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Los Alamos.