From the Editor

By: Kierstin Richter

“The beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves, and not to twist them to fit our own image. Otherwise, we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them.” Thomas Merton, No Man is an Island.

Thanksgiving is generally a joyful occasion. It’s football in the front yard while the turkey is still in the oven. It’s sitting around the living room with your cousins, all grown now with children of their own. But for others, it’s a heartbreaking silence when everyone gathers to say grace and the one who used to lead the prayer is no longer there. It’s an emptiness of seeing the party get smaller and smaller every year. It’s an ache for home. But it’s also an ache for home in a person. It’s an ache for a time when we could go somewhere as we are and not be questioned.

It’s been a tough year for everyone. Pride has driven wedges between family members and friends and hurt relationships with the need to be right. But you don’t have to agree with someone to love them. We don’t nourish our relationships by competing or comparing. We tend to expect the ones we love to already be a finished product of themselves while we give ourselves the benefit of the doubt and the grace to grow. We hold other people to higher standards than we hold ourselves. And if we wait for them to be agreeable and pleasant for us to love them, we will never love them. If we wait until we decide if they are worthy of our love, we’ve missed the point of love altogether.

Mother Teresa once said, “If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” The very fibers of our being are dependant on relationship. We are built for love, joy, and connection. When we let pride get in the way, we’ve lost that peace. Be gentle with people. Be gentle with yourself - because we’re all just walking each other home.

So I ask that even among the disagreement and the snide comments this year, among the animosity and the rolling eyes when your opinionated cousin says something you think is ignorant... remember we are all one - that we’re here to love and serve, not to debate and hate. Let people be themselves and meet them where they are. Let us foster a spirit of home where we can all come back and be embraced without hesitation.

I hope everyone has a safe and happy Thanksgiving, and may it be filled with love, cozy sweaters, chilly weather, joyful moments, and juicy turkey. May God bless you all and enjoy the November edition of The Catholic Connection. Hopefully by the time this gets to you, the weather will actually feel like fall, and we can enjoy our pumpkin spice lattes rightfully in peace.

MISSION STATEMENT The Catholic Connection is a monthly publication funded by your Diocesan Stewardship Appeal; mailed to every known Catholic household in the Diocese of Shreveport. Our mission is to advance knowledge and understanding of our Catholic faith among the faithful. We seek to foster the application of Christ’s teachings and our Church’s mission in our daily lives and to encourage our sense of Catholic identity within our family, parish, and faith community.