Of lilacs and parishes

Last week our family visited my brother's new home.

Out in the backyard, there is a beautiful lilac bush.

When my sister-in-law noted how she felt bad cutting flowers off the bush, Mo - who's like a second mother to us all - said: "You have to cut it back to keep it healthy. The more you prune it, the more beautiful it will be in the future."

That's all I could think of when I opened my diocese's newspaper this morning and saw the front-page story on parish closings. The diocese has been studying this for years now and, like so many others, is closing several parishes.

The thought of closing a beautiful parish, with all the history it holds for its parishoners, breaks my heart. But, in thinking about it, it would be more painful seeing a parish continue to struggle.

Parish closings and mergers are not easy. They are complex and emotional, understandably so. If my childhood parish closed, I'd be incredibly sad, even though I live 50 miles away and the only time I visit now is for funerals. But it was where my brother and I were baptized, where my parents were married, where I was married, and where we said our final good-byes to too many family members too soon.

So I get where those affected by closings are devastated. Just reading the story in the paper today made my heart break.

However, I think right back to that lilac example from last week. I looked it up online, just to make sure I didn't mishear, and found this quote:

"Without regular attention to pruning, lilacs can lose their shape and become overly bushy, inviting disease. So, for healthy lilacs, regular pruning is essential."

And an unrelated note: Sorry I've been so long between posts. Life's been very hectic as of late. Everything's fine, just not leaving me much time to post. Hoping to rectify that now!