Blues and Good News

During an evening of recollection a few weeks ago, I received a call asking if I would be willing to move to Houston, Texas to help with pastoral activities there. I said sure, but after 13 years in the Pittsburgh area, and my whole life “in the North”, I realized it might not be as easy as I first thought. Availability is a charism for Opus Dei numerary men and women, and sometimes numerary priests are asked if they can move, and that’s a good thing, among other reasons so that we do not get too attached to any one place or group of people. It was difficult moving from Pittsburgh, but a good friend of mine encouraged me to drive from Pittsburgh to Houston because “one needs to ease into the South” (according to him). So I packed up and drove, and stayed overnight in Memphis, TN, where I had never been before, but which contains such cultural icons like Graceland and Sun Studios, as well as a beautiful cathedral. Another good friend of mine insisted that I visit the Blues Hall of Fame, so I did. It’s a very interesting place.

On my way out of the museum, I turned right in front of the Lorraine Motel, where Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot and killed on April 4, 1968. The white wreath to the left of the flag poles marks this tragic spot. It put me in a blue mood that had been initiated by the Blues Foundation visit, but art reflects reality, and music like the blues is precisely there to help us cope with those darker moments. So, I decided to say a quick prayer, and just keep moving on, all the way through Arkansas to the Texas border, where I eventually stopped for gas at a small town called Carthage. The gas attendant insisted I see the local Catholic church called St. William’s, and I was happy to visit Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, as well as with the parish Deacon and his wife. This last stop picked up my spirit greatly as I eventually rolled into Houston that evening. It led me to realize the blues are always, and always will be healed by the Good News.