Ezekiel 47, the first reading for this weekend's liturgy, provides the prophet's vision of a future temple to be built in Jerusalem on the ruins of the one that was destroyed by the Babylonians. He envisions a temple from which water flows through the Arabah into the salt waters (Dead Sea). Wherever the water flows, life springs forth. In the desert (Arabah) every sort of living creature can live and trees spring up providing fruit for food and leaves for medicine. The salt waters are made fresh so that there will be abundant fish.
What Ezekiel envisions for the future temple, provides the perfect vision for any temple, church, and house of God. Would it not be wonderful if every one of our parish churches, including St. Gerard, were places from which life flowed? Having been nourished by the Lord during worship, what if the people streaming out the doors, like the living waters described in Ezekiel 47, brought life to whomever and wherever they went?
Does the vision of Ezekiel describe St. Gerard? Are people being nourished and healed through our efforts and is life affirmed? On November 8 more than 100 parishioners came forward to donate blood; in the past year more than 1400 households received personal visits from our St. Vincent de Paul workers and more than 7,300 persons received food; more than 65 parishioners bring the Eucharist to the homebound providing both the precious gift of the Lord in the Eucharist and a personal visit from a fellow believer; twice a year our parish teens bring relief to devastated areas of the US through their Mission Trips; every week parish mentors tutor children at a local elementary school. The recipients of this compassion and service would surely say that life is flowing from St. Gerard Church.
Are you a life-giving presence in your home, at your school, where you work, or in your neighborhood? How does the life source you encounter at Mass impact you? What a beautiful church St. Gerard would be if Ezekiel's vision was being made real here!
Carry the vision of Ezekiel with you this week and commit yourself being part of the life-giving stream flowing from our church into our community. With all the people who are part of St. Gerard, could we not make a tremendous impact on the deserts of hopelessness and salt waters of discouragement and despair that abound in the world around us? Let's make the vision of Ezekiel a reality in our time and place.