What I Didn't Know I'd Feel
I went dark last week.
Suzanne and I flew to San Antonio for Matthew's graduation from Air Force Basic Training, and we ended up spending 100% of our time focused on each other and on him. No blog post. No newsletter. Just us.
It was the right call.
The pride I felt watching him march across the parade ground with eight hundred other graduates was overwhelming. He looks right at home in his uniform. He talked about his flight, the men he went through it with, the ones who struggled and the ones who stepped up.
But what I didn't expect was what the other families taught me.
I saw parents who hadn't hugged their child in two months. Spouses holding everything together back home. And I saw the goodbyes - families who, after two days together, had to send their Airman on to several more months of tech school. More separation. More waiting.
Matthew came home the same day as us. He's National Guard, waiting for his tech school date. But most families didn't get that. They hugged and got back into their cars, holding it together until they were out of sight.
That's when I understood: the families serve too. They sacrifice too. And nobody gives them a uniform for it.
Read the full reflection: What I Didn't Know I'd Feel
This Sunday: Where Two or Three Are Gathered
23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
The readings this week are about responsibility and relationship.
Ezekiel is appointed watchman - if you warn the wicked and they don't listen, you've done your part. If you don't warn them, their blood is on your hands.
Romans 13: "Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another."
And the Gospel - Matthew 18:15-20 - is about fraternal correction. If your brother sins against you, go to him alone. If he doesn't listen, take two or three witnesses. If he still refuses, tell the Church.
Then Jesus says: "Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."
We often quote that line at small prayer groups. But in context, it's about the hard work of reconciliation - the willingness to go TO someone, to speak the right words in truth, to stay in relationship even when it's costly. Christ is present not just when we pray together, but when we do the uncomfortable work of staying in communion.
Re-Learn the Mass
Saturday, September 26 · 5:30-7:30 PM · Harmony Room
You've been to Mass your whole life - but have you ever been surprised by it?
I'm giving a talk at St. Elizabeth this month: Re-Learn the Mass. Dinner, talk, and Q&A. I'll uncover the meaning behind the movements, words, and silence - and share some surprising notes on what the Second Vatican Council actually intended.
All are welcome. Dinner is included; a free will offering of $5-10 is appreciated.
RSVP: stelizabethgc.org/mass
Domus This Month
September is dense in the Church's calendar, and Domus is walking through all of it.
The Exaltation of the Holy Cross - September 14 Our Lady of Sorrows - September 15 The Autumn Ember Days - September 16, 18, 19
The Ember Days are worth knowing about. Three days of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving that the Church has kept since the fifth century - and never abolished. They just stopped being required, and a practice nobody has to keep tends to quietly disappear.
We published a guide: The Ember Days: What They Are and How to Keep Them
Every prayer path in Domus walks through them this month.
WeAreDomus.com/start - 7-day free trial.
What I'm Reading
Why the Magic Matters: Discovering Disney as a Laboratory for Learning - Jeff Barnes
I'm 49 days out from the runDisney Wine & Dine race weekend - Thomas and I fly down together. I'm behind on training but just getting rolling again. This book is helping me think about why Disney keeps pulling me back - not just as entertainment, but as a place where formation happens.
Two Lamps
Short fiction braiding the lives of two saints across centuries. Every Friday at 6 AM Central.
This Friday: Issue 18: Saint Gregory the Great and Saint Augustine of Canterbury, the small chapel at the monastery of Saint Andrew on the Caelian Hill in Rome, the evening before Augustine’s departure for the mission to the Angles, in the summer of 596. Gregory is Pope, Augustine is terrified. This is a sending scene - one of the great ones in Christian history. The mission Gregory is sending Augustine on will found the English Church
Lux Perpetua
A serial novel in two tracks - mystery, memory, and the weight of what we inherit.
The Living Thread - Chapter 24 is live. The Lost Crown - Chapter 21 drops tomorrow.
Final Word
The families serve too. They sacrifice too. And nobody gives them a uniform for it.
I'm grateful for every military family I've ever walked past without really seeing. They're carrying something. They deserve more than a "thank you for your service" on Veterans Day.
They deserve to be seen.