Have you ever wondered how a “thing” became a thing?
When you stop to think about it, we do a lot of things without really wondering where they came from, how they evolved, how they became embedded into culture.
Quite often, they “always were there,” likely as hand-me-downs from parents and grandparents before them.
And because those “things” always were there, we may not have delved into their origins.
Guilty.
This morning, our chapel had only a handful of empty seats for morning Mass. True: It’s Lent, and people are doing their best to pray, fast and give alms. But today also was First Friday, with Eucharistic adoration and coffee and bagels.
Starting in first grade back in 19(mumble-mumble), I and my classmates and all the rest of the uniformed pupils at St. Leo the Great parochial grammar school were marched into
Of course! First Friday!
Of course!
Confession time: Until an hour before I wrote this, I never bothered to look up what the big deal about First Friday was.
Not once in 55 years.
On First Fridays, Catholics recognize the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and through it offer reparations for sins.
In the visions of Christ reported by Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque in the 17th century, several promises were made to those people who observed First Fridays, one of which included sanctifying grace.
Originally the Fridays numbered nine, a la a traditional novena. Pope Leo XIII in 1869 expanded the practice to all First Fridays.
This literally and figuratively was a case of “when in Rome….”
Because, of course, First Friday. Everybody knew about First Friday.
Throughout those grammar school years, I never asked because I figured it was something I should already know (from where? from whom? by instinct??), and if I asked Sister St. Pius what the First Friday hubbub was all about, I might have to visit the corner of the room. Again.
When the morning Masses no longer were mandatory, I stopped thinking about First Friday, until I resumed the practice as an adult. But even then, even until just now, I didn’t dig deeper. I just participated.
Now, not everything we do in life needs to be questioned, though everything could be. In general, a lot more should be.
Some “things” are harmless, or mostly.
The cliché about men never stopping to ask directions … that’s a prime example.
Some “things” are dangerous.
Just count the number of measles cases the anti-vaxxers have caused.
Some “things” are hurtful, and worse, far worse.
We were taught to lock the car doors as the family car rolled into certain neighborhoods. It was years before we asked why.
By then, the racist fears and stereotypes had set the pot of hatred on a hotter flame.
Seemingly innocuous “things” fester.
Young children go through a couple of phases.
The Terrible Twos are punctuated by “No!”
Toddling Threes and Fours ask “Why?” as their response to almost any instruction or statement by adults.
Instead of shutting
And the hurtful things will wither and die.
