February 24, 2021 I don’t talk to him nearly as often as I’d like, but when we chat, it always seems effortless. This friend and I typically go months without talking. We’re not like best friends, but we are close friends. We can share very personal and private parts of our lives with one another with the knowledge that we will find support and love in every conversation. We also know we’re remembering and lifting one another up in prayer. This friend exudes a peace and calm that draws me to him. It draws others to him, too. I’ve witnessed it. He’s self-aware, self-reflective and self-critical, but in a healthy and honest way. This friend loves our Lord, and he loves the Lord in other people. He makes me want to be a better person. He makes me want that peace he has in Christ, the seeming ease with which he surrenders his will to his God. He makes me want his calm. And he helps me with his wisdom, counsel and prayers. I sometimes worry that our relationship is imbalanced. I’m not sure he gets as much out of it as I do. But I’m exceedingly grateful I have his friendship and have him in my life. After a particularly moving conversation with this friend recently, I was reflecting on how important it is to have a faith family – to have people who love you and will the best for you, including a close relationship with our Lord and eternal life. Faith is not an individual activity. It grows best in community, with people supporting one another and sharing with one another. That’s why the North Country Catholic is inviting you this year to “Experience our family of faith.” It’s been a rough year. We’ve been separated in unprecedented ways from each other and, at times, from the Mass and Eucharist. It seems more important than ever that we experience family and connectedness. We hope to help you, our readers, do just that. With the pandemic largely shutting down events and gatherings, we’ve been more focused than ever on sharing the stories of the beautiful people who make up this diocese and how they’re living out their faith and sharing it with others. We hope you’ll identify with their stories. We hope you’ll learn from their stories. We hope you’ll feel connected to these people by knowing their stories. We also need your story ideas. While we have contributing writers spread around the diocese, we don't hit every area. We don't hear every story worth sharing. We count on you, our readers, to let us know when you hear a great story that should be shared. And we thank you for your continued support of the North Country Catholic. We thank you for being part of our family of faith. |
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