By Father Timothy Gollob
Special to The Texas Catholic
Praise God during these Easter days for giving us an opportunity to get into the rhythm which was created for us to enjoy. This song of creation annually plays out in the seasons. We have the warmth of summer and the growth of our gardens.
Then the sad advent of autumn announces that all things come to an end. The leaves fall and the sun retreats to the south. Winter can be cold and bitter, like death, but then comes spring and the Resurrection of life with the joy of flowers and new leaves.
This spring joy was mine once again as I left the hustle of Dallas to fly away on Easter Sunday night to my sister’s home in St. Charles, MO. After all the razzle and dazzle of Holy Week, it was a blessing to be able to sleep in, undisturbed by the rumble of trains passing outside her house. It was a blessing to be able to hear the cardinals singing and to observe the robins hopping around on the lawn searching for tasty worms.
It was a blessing to visit with the families of my nephew and my niece who had grown into fine, respectable workers and heads of their families.
But the greatest of my blessings was to observe and to learn from my great-nephews and my great-niece. They are in their 20s and definitely citizens of a new world.
I wondered at their skill in communications with each other and their friends via their smart phones. While we were in the middle of a friendly argument during a discussion, George announced to his brother Ben that the real facts were, e.g., that the Forest Park in St. Louis was twice the size of Central Park in New York.
And it was amusing for me to be with them as they quoted comedians from late-night talk shows that I had never heard of. Also as we visited the famous St. Louis Zoo, Anna took a “selfie” with every bear and lion and snake and alligator in the park.
I am proud to be a great-uncle of these up-and-coming young ones. They taught me one important fact (for them); the difference between a Chicago Cub ballpark hot dog and a St. Louis Cardinal hot dog…They don’t sell any ballpark hot dogs in Chicago in October!”
Father Timothy Gollob is the pastor of Holy Cross Catholic Church in Oak Cliff.
