What a Life! for June 13-17, 2007

Pro golfers look to cash in at Capital One Classic
June 12, 2007
Beverly Boudreaux
June 14, 2007
Pro golfers look to cash in at Capital One Classic
June 12, 2007
Beverly Boudreaux
June 14, 2007

Two common expressions come to mind when we think about people going away from us. One is “Out of sight and out of mind.” The other is “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.” These two expressions suggest different approaches in dealing with someone’s absence.


“Out of sight, out of mind” can happen in many ways. Sometimes we do not spend the mental or emotional energy required to keep that person alive in our hearts. We forget about them. If we take this kind of stand, then we are allowing a relationship to weaken and perhaps even die.


This happens frequently. All it takes is a bit of neglect. We get lazy. Days or weeks go by. We do not call or write. We do not know what is going on with them and they do not know what is going on with us. We forget to send that birthday card or make that phone call. Eventually, the times of connection become less and less. Our good intentions of keeping in touch go up in smoke. So does the relationship.

“Absence makes the heart grow fonder” looks forward for an eventual wonderful reunion with our friend. While away from that person, we continue to express ourselves through phone calls and letters. We share not only what is going on in our lives, but also what we are thinking and feeling about things. We are often surprised that our communication is often at a deeper level than if we were physically together. Sharing our inner self with that other person helps us to grow closer precisely through our absence.


These two attitudes toward absence can also reflect our attitude to Jesus. We physically do not see the historical Jesus walking down our streets. We do not get any phone calls or emails from him. It would be easy just to forget him. The truth is that we often do this. Most of us are caught up in doing so many things that we can go for quite a time without really thinking about Jesus and our friendship with him. Terrible as it might sound, “out of sight, out of mind,” can also apply to how we relate to Our Lord.

Perhaps we could learn a simple lesson from those thousands of people who need to cope with the absence of a loved one. We need to do whatever we can to maintain the presence of Christ in our lives although we cannot see him or touch him.

The very first thing we need to do is to remember Jesus. He is still present to us in the Eucharistic bread and wine, in the assembly gathered for worship, in his word that we proclaim, and in the least of his brothers and sisters. We must continue to make Christ present by our words and deeds. People should know we are Christ’s followers by the love we show to others. As the community of his friends, we do what he told us to do.

We also need to remember Jesus when we are not in church. Many ways are available to us: prayer, spiritual and Bible reading, retreats, taking care of others, practicing gratitude, meditation and contemplation, and in small Christian share groups. We have so many ways to keep Jesus alive in our day-to-day lives. Perhaps we need to recommit ourselves to becoming more aware of Jesus in our busy lives.

I hope that we will find that as we become more conscious of Jesus in our lives, we will experience his presence frequently. Then, we can continue the work he gave us to do: to spread the Good News of God’s love to everyone we meet.