There are many images of the Church. The most beautiful and consoling image of the Church is the Church as our loving Mother. This image, of course, makes us think of the Blessed Mother. Scripture and the Tradition of the Church emphasize the connection between Mary and the Church. The Second Vatican Council teaches that Mary is the Image of the Church.

The time has come to wish Fr. Michael farewell as he begins his new assignment at St. Joseph in Madison. An English Catholic poet came up with a new word that I like even better than farewell. It is "fare forward!" It is a shame that we are not able to celebrate Fr. Michael's time with us in a large group gathering as we would ordinarily have done in other circumstances, but this in no way diminishes our fondness for him and our gratitude for his service here at Saint Rose. I would still encourage you to write to Fr. Michael if you have not already done so. He is a great letter writer, and he loves to receive them as well. Speaking of writing here is his new address at St. Joseph:

Fr. Michael Baltrus
St. Joseph Catholic Church
1225 Gallatin Pike South
Madison, Tennessee 37115 

There is certainly a lot of noise and confusion on the surface of the world right now. We see a lot of anger and division in the news. Down deep, however, we need to find unity. It is always there. Despite our differences, we are more brothers and sisters than anything else. And now can be a time to discover our unity in a very visible way.

Can you think of any external thing that has affected the whole world the way the coronavirus has? Literally, everyone in the world is having to deal with this same thing. Everyone's life has been changed by this. We are together in this experience. Why isn't it bringing us together in compassion and understanding for one another?

I think that the Fourth of July weekend is a good time to think about the gift of being together as family. I certainly have some happy memories of being together with my family during this holiday when I was growing up. We really need more time and experiences together as family. One good thing that I can say about the pandemic and quarantine is that we have had more time to be together. Perhaps we have had the opportunity to share family meals together more often. I have been happy to see families playing together. I also hope that our families have been praying together more often as well.

The Domestic Church of the family is the ordinary way that we come to faith and grow in it. Faith takes time and attention on the part of families. We should look for ways to experience our faith and to share it with one another at home. Family prayer is one of the best ways to do this. Family prayer is simply a family conversation that includes God! We bring God into the conversation in just the same way we would draw one another into conversation. We can thank God for blessings. We can tell God and one another that we are sorry for offenses. We can ask God for needs that are on our hearts, for ourselves and others. And just like in family life, we can communicate the most important thing, which is that we love God! Maybe Dad could start the conversation, and then everyone joins in. We come to recognize God in our lives, our homes, and our families in this very natural way.