Last Saturday, as we joined hundreds of parents filing into the public high school auditorium where the All-District Band (which included our 17-year-old son on trumpet) was to hold its concert, we were just glad we made it.
It had been one of those weeks where every event and obligation seemed to merge with the next one, offering little chance to just pause and make sense of it all. The tragic loss of so many lives at nearby Washington Reagan National Airport just a couple of days previous was weighing heavily on the whole community.
That sense of loss, the recent bitter cold, parental pride, fatigue, and Punxsutawney Phil predicting six more weeks of winter…it was all in that room as the lights dimmed.
Then we looked down at the program and saw a little ray of light. There would be a piece by J.S. Bach, our favorite composer. No matter that it was called “Come, Sweet Death, Come, Blessed Rest.”
The guest conductor walked over to the microphone and said, “Bach was writing for the Church and he truly believed that God had given him every note, that he was only the vessel. And he believed it so much that he wrote S.D.G. on every one of his scores, ‘Solo Deo Gloria,’ ‘To God alone be the glory.’”
Already you could hear a pin drop in the auditorium for this public school event, but the guest conductor wasn’t finished.
He continued, “In this particular piece, Bach envisions himself taking that painful death away from whom he believed was his Savior, and he believes that if he can take that on, then it will meet with his life’s mission for being a vessel; to relieve whom he thought died for him, of the pain that he was suffering.”
Then came the music itself. And the tears. (Here is the orchestral version we heard, played by another orchestra).
The concert was “next level” as our kids would say. The whole experience brought us back to a homily we heard in the past week on avoiding the “Februarization of the Mind.” The gist of it was this: January and February often give us long, dark, cold, and tiring days… Draw near to God in this. Give your heart to Him even more. Don’t surrender the hope you have in Him. Don’t make any drastic decisions based on the troubling emotions you’re feeling. Hold on.
Just when a kind of “Februarization” of our minds was setting in, the witness of JS Bach, a guest conductor, and this homily jolted us back. Tears and gratitude—a much bigger perspective—penetrated the “grind” and fatigue. “Solo Deo Gloria” and “Draw near to God” reminded us of our heavenwards pilgrimage, just when we were starting to lose the way.
As you take stock of where your heart is—already a month from New Year’s, and one month from the start of Lent—consider one of the following ideas:
- Pause and reflect on the past month. Thank God for the blessings He has shown you. If possible, write them down and share some of them with your family or friends. Try to envision your burdens as opportunities for a closer union with Jesus on the cross.
- If you’re married, take turns “sponsoring” a 2-3-hr. “mini-retreat” for your spouse in order to have this time to check in with your heart and ask God for His guidance and inspiration. If an organized retreat isn’t available, schedule a few hours for Eucharistic Adoration, or a hike, or other way for you to find the solitude and quiet you need.
- If things have slipped, get back to more regular family prayer and family dinners. So many blessings cascade into the family when parents are intentional and put these two non-negotiables on the map. Many slips into “Februarization” can be averted by simply showing up for family dinner and prayer, day after day. This gives God more room to work in your family’s daily life.
As we joined the river of families leaving the concert on that first day of February, we held hands and smiled at one another. Never in a million years had we thought that a public school event would prompt us to reflect anew on Christ’s suffering—and our call as Christians to unite our burdens to our Savior’s cross, and even ask Him if we can lessen the pain He experienced.
God once again used his vessels—a composer, a conductor, a priest—to lift our minds from “Februarization” and back to giving him glory in all things. Solo Deo Gloria.
> Those familiar with the Heaven in Your Home Flowchart know that the 3 Keys for Level 1 are the Holy Sabbath (key practice), the Home Altar (key place), and Surrender (key principle). Here’s a reflection published recently by Columbia on the key principle: “Surrendering Together.”
> Check out “Holy Hygge: A Catholic Approach to Easing the Winter Blues” at Holy Cross Family Ministries.
> “Need a Spiritual Boost? 4 Ways to Cultivate Light in Winter Darkness” at National Catholic Register.
> Looking for some new tools and inspiration for your family? Join our free upcoming Heaven in Your Home Workshop (webinar) tonight Tues., Feb. 4th, at 7 pm, sponsored by the Diocese of Metuchen! We’ll share a whirlwind tour of the 5 levels of your Trinity House and enjoy a conversation and Q & A with participants. Register here.
> Congratulations to Michael Ortner and co-author Kimberly Begg on the release of their The Catholic School Playbook by Word on Fire Publishing! The entire Trinity House team is honored that Trinity House Community is included in chapter 4 (“Families: The Primary Educators of Children”) as a recommended resource for cultivating faith formation in the home.
> 34 parishes. 14 states. The Trinity House model for family life is blessing more and more families. Our Trinity House team will host an exhibitor table on Feb. 12th at the Archdiocesan Pastoral Staff Day in Ellicott City, MD, for the Archdiocese of Baltimore; and the upcoming Diocese of Arlington’s Men’s and Women’s Conferences. We’re scheduling webinars, mini-workshops, and Lenten talks for parish and diocesan groups (Zoom or in-person) for this Spring. Interested? Share your idea or question at our book a talk link here.
> Mark your calendars and bring your entire family to enjoy one of the upcoming Trinity House Community Gatherings, including:
- Sat. Feb. 8th at St. Joseph in Herndon, VA
- Sat. Feb. 8th at St. Theresa in Ashburn, VA
- Sat. Feb. 8th at St. Philip in Falls Church, VA
- Sat. Feb. 15th at Our Lady of Mercy in Manchester, NH
- Sat. Feb. 15th at St. Veronica in Chantilly, VA
- Sat. Feb. 22nd at St. Bridget of Ireland in Berryville, VA
Would you like to take your family to one of these upcoming Gatherings? Just check the parish website to learn more, or drop us a line and we’ll be happy to put you in touch!
> Plan now to launch your own parish’s Trinity House Community Group this year! Learn more here and schedule a 15-minute call/zoom with our team here. For $499, your parish can access all the tools needed to host 5 transformative “Heaven in Your Home Gatherings” for families, including videos, discussion questions, marketing templates, catechetical resources, ongoing support, and more. Dioceses can also take advantage of three subscriptions for just $999. Ready to subscribe and launch a Group at your parish? Here’s where you can take the first step.
“It’s the peace and joy that I feel when I step through the door, this is what brings me back again and again. Our faith is truly alive and present throughout Trinity House Cafe and it’s such a blessing to have it here in our community.”
– Guy deLadurantaye, Leesburg, VA
