In East Africa, Michael Rossmann, SJ, watched on his laptop in the middle of the night as Notre Dame beat USC and completed an undefeated season. The experience led him to think about the Kingdom of God–here but not here.
It was like I was right there watching with my fellow Domer friends and family. Except I wasn’t. I was alone in my bedroom as the world around me slept. As much as it made me feel connected to the people that I love, it was also a – yet another – painful reminder that I am far, far away from them.
I shared this experience many years ago, having moved across the country with a job transfer. I’d phone friends and co-workers back home, chat and catch up with news, then hang up and feel so very, very far away from it all, so lonely. The one comfort during that period of adjustment was attending Mass here, same words, same prayers, gestures and posture, even though I knew not one member of the congregation.
So, too, is our experience of the communion of Saints, they surround us, pray for us, as we try to make our new life in the Kingdom of God here on earth.