There Be Dragons

02-11-2024Pastor's LetterFr. John Bonavitacola

Dear Friends,

Happy Lunar New Year! I must admit I never gave much thought to the Lunar or Chinese New Year except to participate in some of the celebrations of Asian parishioners. But then in December of 2019, a very well educated Chinese- American lady, who works as a scientific researcher said that 2020 was going to be a very, very, bad year. The reason she gave was that 2020 was the Year of the Iron or Metal Rat according to the Chinese zodiac. In the Chinese zodiac there are several zodiac cycles that converge each year and the convergence for 2020 was the worst possible. That indicated the year would be a difficult one, filled with great challenges, natural disasters, economic chaos, diseases, sickness, and death. My first thoughts were that she was being overly dramatic and superstitious. Then came March of 2020…

Eerily accurate. I suppose there is something to it. Maybe it is the collective wisdom of the ages that comes from observing human behaviors and the cycles of nature that give insight. Or maybe it is as St. Paul said to the Athenians in Acts: that even in the pagan philosophies of this world elements of the truth begin to surface. But still, as Christians we do not believe that we are left to fate or the randomness of circumstances. Rather, every event is infused with meaning that can propel us towards God. And that grace can enable us to perceive the hand of divine providence working through our lives and any historical period, no matter what the circumstances. Rather than resigning ourselves to fate or as Shakespeare put it, “the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,” we can trust God to bring us through the storms of life. In other words, we can use the tools of faith to prepare for the good times and the bad times. Either one could spell our demise or our flourishing. What makes the difference? The gift of Wisdom that imparts an understanding heart.

With all that in mind, welcome to the Year of the Wooden Dragon (last observed in 1964). The Dragon is the only mythical creature in the Chinese zodiac. And unlike our Western mythology where dragons breath fire and are dangerous, in Chinese lore, dragons represent strength, good luck and power. They don’t breathe fire, they breath clouds and control the weather and water. Dragons are powerful and have serious egos and can be impulsive. They are competitive and prefer decisive victories. They tend to be more individualistic than community minded. Wood is connected to morality and ethics. All in all, the Year of the Wooden Dragon portends authority, prosperity, and good fortune.

I’ll take that! I realize we are a country on the verge of a nervous breakdown. So, let’s find hope wherever we can find it. Still, our Christian hope is more than optimism. Our hope is that death turns into life, darkness becomes light and fear yields to confidence. We see the future, not through some zodiac but through the lens of the Cross of Christ. Which means, no matter what the circumstance, we can still thrive.

The late Pope Benedict XVI, in his Encyclical Letter, Spes Salvi, wrote: “Redemption is offered to us in the sense that we have been given hope, trustworthy hope, by virtue of which we can face our present, even if it is arduous, can be lived and accepted if it leads towards a goal, and if this goal is great enough to justify the effort of the journey.”

We have ‘trustworthy hope” which is why we do not depend to the fickle finger of fate to guide our decisions and choices. But rather rely on grace to bring the future to bear on the present and therefore, no matter what the circumstance, Year of the Metal Rat or Wooden Dragon, we know that “all things work together for the good of those in Christ Jesus.”

Love,

Fr. John B.