Sep62026
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At the Easter Vigil Mass, everyone gets to hold candles in the night, and everyone really likes that until the next day when I have to clean up the mess. You cannot just scrape up the wax that dripped on the floor; you have to use an iron and a paper bag. So while everyone is eating Easter eggs on Easter morning, I am on my hands and knees ironing the church floor. So, when the Cardinal’s office asked to have a candlelight Mass to bring in the New Year with the Cardinal, and that they wanted the Mass in candlelight, I wanted to say “no, no, no” until my lips bled. I didn’t. I said, “Okay.” When it was time for the Mass, I pulled the candles, and the group from the Archdiocese said, “We have our own candles. They are dripless.” I said, “There is no such thing as dripless candles. I know I tried everything, including plastic cups.” They said, “Are you sure about that.” They gave me a very thin tapered candle. They lit it, and I could not get it to drip any wax. It was the top happiest five moments of my priesthood. Now I do not have to campaign to be the next Pope to eliminate candlelight masses at midnight. Think about that. What if I had said, “no.” I would never have known about dripless candles. My life would not have vastly improved.  

A philosopher claimed that each person has a horizon. That is a worldview. It is true. Let’s say my worldview is “Me first.” I would see people as sources of personal gain.  Let’s say I met Moses, and he told me to love my neighbor as myself. Yes, that is a good suggestion. My life would improve if I saw people as equals. I would have lasting friends. Now my worldview has changed for the better. Then I met Jesus, who told me to make sacrifices for others. Such a teaching, I would think, would give my life so much more meaning and purpose. Again, my worldview would change. The more I listen to Christ and the prophets in my life, the more my worldview would transform into a beautiful horizon.

There are times in our lives when we are challenged, and our first instinct is to say no. But maybe if we listen and say yes, we will have a beautiful horizon. 

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