St. Joseph of the Lakes

He cannot help himself….As he looks over his territory he sees a rival sitting in a branch challenging his stake on his turf. There is only one thing to do: attack! He rushes madly at the intruder as he watches it streak right towards him. They collide with a thump and he recovers from the hit halfway through his fall. He flies back to his branch with the hope that he has chased the interloper away. As he surveys his turf once again he is amazed to see that the rival has once again climbed to his perch and continues to challenge his right to this area. There is only one thing to do: attack once again! This goes on throughout the morning until he is bruised and worn down from all the effort. Still the interloper looks directly at him, no more or less disheveled than his opponent, still perched in his branch casting a challenging glance at him. 

There is at least one, but perhaps three different cardinals caught up in these battles against their reflections in the windows of the office this year. I am not sure if they have had any time to find a mate, given the amount of time they have put into fighting their reflections in the windows. They are persistent in their claim to their territory but as the season advances I find myself wondering if they will ever get around to building nests to raise this year’s brood of cardinals.

At one point, if they are to be successful, they have to move past the struggle for territory and get down to the business of raising some chicks. The struggle for territory is the beginning of the mating season, but these three seem to have gotten “stuck”, The reflection in the window never seems to diminish, they are always being challenged by that gorgeous bird that is staring back at them. 

As new beginnings arise with the Spring I find myself receiving a lesson from my brothers, the cardinals. There is a movement I  (and we) are invited into where there will emerge new life; new energy; a new creation. To achieve it we cannot get “stuck” in one part or the other of the journey. Each part; the goodbyes, the hello’s, and everything in-between, all call for our fullest participation. The cardinals’ battle is all about the future even as he struggles mightily in the present. So too, we the Easter people are always reaching towards our future as we struggle mightily with our present challenges.