October 5, 2022

Reflection

MECHANICAL  VS.  PERSONAL

Somewhere along the line, the thought it me: "Don't become mechanical."

I remember those early moment here in Annapolis as a parish priest - while driving to the hospital.

The phone call came in: "____ is dying,  They are in Room 336."  Or they were n the emergency room and their family has gathered.

I remember 4 years later  - the call - the driving - the thinking, "I'm going to someone who is dying."

I remember thinking, "I've done this before."  I remember  talking to myself, "I've done this before." 

Then I would add, "Don't become mechanical,  Don't become impersonal."

I remember thinking, "Good! The funeral won't be at St. Mary's" - when someone said, "The person who was dying was a member of Our Lady of the Field's Parish."

We were just covering the local hospital.

When going through a toll booth I try to be personal to the toll collector. "Hi. How's it going? How long before you finish your shift."

That's been lost with E-ZPass.

The toll collector has to face 1000 people.  The gal who does my teeth might  have 9 customers per day. The doctor might see 15 people per day.

Hearing confessions .... Giving out communion .... Answering the phone .... At what point do we slip into being mechanical?  When does the other become an object and stop being a subject?

Teeth - gall bladders - hearts - are parts of the body - but the realization that this person is a person is something I don't want to forget.

This couple I'm with is not just one more marriage. This baby is not just one more baptism.  This dead body is not just one more funeral.  This group of people here for a Mass and communion and a sermon and prayers are not just like a group at a movie.

To be personal - is much more difficult - than to be mechanical.

God - when I pray - when I am with You - help me to be with You - and vice versa.  Amen.