Faith Still Stands
The past 48 hours have been a bit of a whirlwind. The church I was baptized in, the church that my mom attends daily for morning mass, the church that I was supposed to be married in this coming September, is no longer. In a matter of hours it was intentionally set on fire and burned to the ground. All that remains are memories and all that stands is the community of parishioners coming together in faith and reverence.
When I first heard the news, I didn’t quite know what to make of it. It wasn’t yet clear if it was an accident or intentional. As the day went on, we learned the magnitude of the situation. We learned there was a person behind the horrific act. It began to sink in as our hearts began to sink into our stomachs. How could this be?
The church. A place of worship. A house of God. A place to welcome new members into a faith filled community and a place to say farewell to loved ones past. So many memories were made inside that building and you never fully process how big of a part of your life it really is, like most things, until it’s gone.
Yes, the building itself can be rebuilt. More memories will be made. But we will never forget the wooden beams that crossed the ceiling. The stained glass windows that adorned the chapel. The glossy wooden pews that we crammed into every Christmas Eve to celebrate as one parish family together. We will never forget the parts of that church that made it feel like home.
I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. Even the hard stuff. But what reason can you put behind this? I have yet to find one, yet all I can find is faith. The parishioners along with the community that has come together, our faith is stronger than any building. MBS church may be gone, but our faith must carry on.
In the coming days, the rubble and the ashes will be swept away. But the memories we’ve all experienced there over the years will never fade. They will live deep in the silence of our hearts, they will hold a place with our faith that will never die.
The church for many people, for many of us, is our safe space. It’s where we can go and bring all our problems, our worries, our fears and it’s where we can leave them with God and trust He will help us get through. It’s where we’ve prayed for loved ones to heal, for relationships to recover, for all people who could use a prayer.
Among all of this and as hard as it may be, we must continue to pray. And pray for the ones who need it most. Pray for forgiveness. Pray for peace. Pray for the ones who have lost their faith and who need God the most right now.
We will rebuild, we will prevail. But not without faith and not without forgiveness. And not without God, with whom all things are possible.
The church of Most Blessed Sacrament, Franklin Lakes, NJ.
