Good News

The friend for whom I have repeatedly requested prayers went to Mass yesterday with his girlfriend at the Toronto Oratory. This was big.

I wish I could give you a glowing progress report, but the results, thus far, are ambiguous. They both liked the Mass, particularly the music. They were both impressed and moved by the silences which punctuated the Mass, and by the ceremony and ritual. They both would like to come back at some point, perhaps as early as within a month or so.

I knew it was a risk taking them there, that they could be more drawn to the music than to the Mass. I believe it would be best for them to look to the miracle of the Mass, rather than its trappings, for it is best for Catholics to be faithful rather than critical. Yet I took them there anyway, because I believed it would be for the best.

Here's a question: would it be such a bad thing for them to go there on Sunday mornings, as if to a free concert? Part of me believes yes, it would be bad. Another part believes not so much. For whatever reason they go to the Mass, they are still at Mass, and there is a chance the transformative power of the miracle may work upon them.

I've been wondering what I should do now. I had spent all my effort and concentration on getting my friend to go to a Mass. That's done now, and I am not entirely certain what God wants me to do next. For the moment, my heart tells me to be patient and wait to see what comes from the seeds that are planted.

I have requested your prayers many times in this matter. I thank all of you who have prayed for my friend. Your prayers bore some fruit, and may bear more. Please, if you can, remember him again from time to time in the coming month.