Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

When our Blessed Lord became Incarnate by the power of the Holy Spirit and the conceived of the Virgin Mary He entered into the world of sensory perception.  In other words He assumed the use of the senses of sight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste.  These senses are the means by which human beings relate to the world around them.  These senses may be acute or dull or, sadly for some, non-existent (I am reminded of my blind grandfather). 

    Our Lord through His own senses would often teach using references to those things that would be familiar to His listeners.  People would then be able to relate to parables and stories with great attention and affirmation, nodding their heads and perhaps saying to himself: “how true, how true”.  Those parables and stories always evoked a truth even though they may have been the construct of the Divine Mind.  The people certainly got the message and as we know only too well many were not happy with it.

     Nonetheless, the message was grounded in reality.  Can we say the same for today?  Our senses have been and are bombarded with input much of which is fantasy.  Are we able to perceive the truths that the Lord wants us to understand and cherish?  Has our screen-time sapped us of really perceiving the beauty, the mystery, the depth of the real world?   In our Lord’s Day there were not the distractions that we have today.  The constant struggle is to stay focused on what really matters and that of course is not an easy task.  It takes a lot of effort.  One of the ways to do that is read the Mass readings BEFORE coming to Mass.  Take time to familiarize yourself with what Jesus is saying and to whom.  At the end of Mass, spend some moments in quiet contemplation before leaving church.  Let it all sink in.  Screen fatigue may then become less a strain on our well-being and our senses will flourish because they have been nurtured by what really matters– the Word of God among us.

With Blessings,

Father Langan