For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart, I will let you find me, says the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, says the LORD, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile. -Jeremiah 29:11-14

Years ago, during a particularly difficult period of transition, I found myself praying the rosary a bit more than usual. In the midst of it one day, I realized why it was such a comfort to me. I prayed the rosary while trying to adjust to a new assignment because the rosary brought me back home. It brought me back to the place I felt most stable and secure: my childhood. My memories of praying the rosary with my family are almost palpable. I remember all of us kneeling on the wooden floor of the living room of our small wood-frame house on West Keller Street. I remember the tiny candlelight and the darkness surrounding it. I remember the feel of the rosary beads between my fingers and the sound of the cadences of Hail Marys, Our Fathers and Glory Be to the Fathers. I returned to the rosary during that time of transition because the rosary, and all those other Catholic rituals, were an important link between my past and present.

There is a quiet little gesture that the priest performs in the middle of the Mass that many Catholics probably don’t always notice. Just after the Lamb of God, the priest breaks a tiny piece of the host and drops it into the chalice. Legend has it that this ritual goes all the way back to the early church. Before there were priests, only bishops could consecrate the bread and wine. But before long there were so many Christians in the city that they could not handle all the crowds, so the new office of the priesthood was established. In the beginning the people were afraid of change-they did not believe that a priest had the authority to consecrate. So young men stood by during the bishop’s Mass, and just after the consecration, the bishop handed each of them a small piece of the host. They ran all through the city dropping the small pieces into the chalices of the priests’ Masses. This symbolic gesture taught the people that there is only one Sacrifice of the Mass in which we all participate. We still do this liturgical gesture today to remind us of the same lesson. It reminds us that the Mass I celebrate in Houston is the same Mass my family is celebrating in my hometown in Louisiana. It’s the same Mass my Jesuit friend is celebrating in Siberia, the same Mass as is celebrated in every place I’ve ever had to say good-bye to. It’s the same Mass as the pope’s in Rome, and it’s the same Eternal Banquet that is celebrated by all my loved ones and ancestors who have gone ahead of me to heaven.

When I am going through a difficult period of change in my life, I seek the consolation of those ancient rituals that remind me of my God and Savior, who is beyond all change. On the foundation of that rock, all earthly change is manageable.

SUGGESTED SCRIPTURE PASSAGES

GENESIS 12:1-9: The call of Abraham

ISAIAH 42:1-16: Sing a new song

ISAIAH 43:16-21: Look, I am doing something new

ISAIAH 65:17-25: A new heaven and a new earth

JEREMIAH 18: The potter

JEREMIAH 29:11-14: I know the plans I have for you

MATTHEW 1:18-25: Joseph’s dream

MATTHEW 7:24-27: Build your house on rock

LUKE 1:26-56: Mary’s “yes”

LUKE 5:36-38: Old wine, new wineskins

LUKE 19:1-10: Come down, Zacchaeus

JOHN 20:19-20: The apostles in the upper room, hiding

ACTS 10:9-33: Peter accepts “unclean” food for the first time

PRAYER POINTERS

I reflect on Cardinal Newman’s words below. I ponder the fact that I must allow change in my life if I am to continue to grow. I reflect on the ways that this particular change might help me to grow. I ask God to show me the many graces God can give me only if I say “yes” to this change.

I prayerfully look back at my past and see that the times I have accepted changes in my life have been some of the most enriching and maturing moments of my life. I trust that God will make this change a grace-filled one as well.

In prayer I try to get to the root of my fear. What is the worst-case scenario here? In the light of prayer I realize that most of my fears are unfounded. I allow my objective mind to console my frightened and irrational heart. Even for those fears that may become a reality, I prayerfully recognize that God will always be there to protect me and keep me from harm. I place that trust in God.

During periods of transition, I rely on the ancient prayers and rituals of the church to remind me that, while my life is changing, I can put my trust in the Unchanging One. God is the rock my house is built on, and that foundation will keep me strong.

Afraid, Despair, Lost, Procrastinator, Worried

WORDS TO TAKE WITH YOU

To grow is to change; to be perfect is to change often.

-Cardinal Newman

Life is a bridge. Cross over it, but build no house on it.

-Indian Proverb

Unless you do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Do one thing every day that scares you.

-Baz Lermin

Custom without truth is just old error.

-Cyprian