January 8, 2025 If I had been standing a foot to my right or a foot to my left, I wouldn’t have seen it. I was at St. Mary’s Cathedral taking photos of the Mass that opened the 2025 Jubilee in our diocese. The Jubilee Cross had been placed in the sanctuary, and the lector was reading. As I put the camera to my eye and pressed the button part way to get the camera to focus, I almost laughed out loud. From where I was standing, it looked like Jesus was on the cross, but he had his hand on the lector’s back. “That looks weird,” I thought. “Time to move.” The angle was blocked during the proclamation of the Gospel, but when I returned to that spot during Bishop LaValley’s homily, Jesus had his hand on Bishop LaValley’s back, too. I found myself distracted by Jesus’ hand placement. I frequently talk about the fact that I attend lots of events at the cathedral and in other churches, but I don’t often get to prayerfully enter into those Masses. I’m usually too busy thinking about where I should be standing, what’s coming next, what adjustments I need to make on the camera… While I don’t get to prayerfully experience the Masses, I get to see little moments, little details that others don’t see. This was one of those moments. I don’t think anyone else had even close to the right angle to see it. As I stood there, camera around my neck, thinking about how weird the little detail was, it occurred to me: It wasn’t weird. It was “on brand,” as I like to say. It was perfect. Jesus loves us always. Jesus was on the cross because of his love for us – both “us” in the collective sense and for each of us as individuals. It was personal and a sign of affection, just like placing a hand on someone’s back is personal and a sign of affection. I spent the rest of the Mass thinking about Jesus loving us from the cross. Maybe I didn’t get to enter into the Mass, but it was still a prayerful experience. I’m pretty sure our Lord wanted me to have that experience. He put me exactly where I needed to be. |
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