wamegomom
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Joined: Feb 07 2005
Location: Kansas
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| Posted: Nov 06 2008 at 9:37pm | IP Logged
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I read this from a link on Mark Shea's (fabulous!) blog. It was so beautiful it made me cry.
Mary Alice in Kansas
http://www.americancatholic.org/Messenger/Jun2004/Feature1.a sp
Comradeship and Communion With Christ
Just over a week into the mission, one of us realized it was Sunday again, two weeks after Easter. Our shifts overlapped for a few hours, so during one orbital night Sid, Kevin and I gathered on the flight deck for a short Communion service.
Kevin, a eucharistic minister, carried the Blessed Sacrament with him, contained within a simple golden pyx. The three of us shared our amazement at experiencing the beauty of creation, and thanked God for good companions and the success achieved so far. Then Kevin shared the Body of Christ with Sid and me, and we floated weightless on the flight deck, grateful for this moment of comradeship and communion with Christ.
Our silent reflection was interrupted by a sudden burst of dazzling white light. The sun had risen (as it did 16 times each day) just as we finished Communion, and now its pure radiance streamed through Endeavour’s cockpit windows and bathed us in its warmth. To me, this was a beautiful sign, God’s gentle touch confirming our union with him.
I rolled away from my crewmates, unable to stem the tears evoked by that singular sunrise. My gaze turned to the overhead windows and the Pacific Ocean, the dawn lighting its surface in a rich, limitless blue.
I called out to Kevin and Sid, “Look at that ocean—what an incredible color!” They both turned and drank in hues unmatched by the palette of any human artist. After a moment, Kevin said simply, “It’s the blue of the Virgin’s veil, Tom.” He was right. There were no other words for that vision out the window.
Glimpsing God's Universe
In the course of three more shuttle flights, I again experienced the beauty of our planet and the spiritual satisfaction of receiving Holy Communion in orbit. In my mission notebook, I carried the readings for each Sunday’s liturgy, as well as Bible passages suggested by a few of my friends in the clergy. A rosary was always a part of my personal gear on board, and I found prayer came easily, whether I was floating weightless in my sleeping bag or gazing quietly at the Earth.
The idea that spaceflight is a gift from God was brought home to me again on my last flight in February 2001. We had raced through the first week of an incredibly busy flight plan: a rendezvous with the International Space Station, our delivery of Destiny, its new science lab, and three seven-hour space walks aimed at equipping and activating the lab’s power, cooling and data systems.
On the last of the trips outside the shuttle, my partner, Bob Curbeam, and I had wrapped up nearly all our work. Crewmate Mark Polansky asked if I was ready to head back down to shuttle Atlantis’s cargo bay.
“Give me a minute,” I answered. Perched near the front of the Space Station onDestiny’s hull, I wanted to remember this place, this moment.
Even after the experiences of three other spaceflights, the view from the “bow” of the Space Station was incomparable. Pivoting around my grip on Destiny’sforward handrail, I let the unfolding panorama wash over me. My spacesuit and I were weightless, my movements effortless. Silence prevailed, save for the soft whir of the suit fan at the back of my helmet.
Directly in front of me, 20 feet away, the tail of Atlantis split the distant horizon. Straight up, the glittering solar panels of the Space Station spread golden wings across the black nothingness of space. Beneath my boots, I watched the royal blue of the ocean and its swirling white clouds 240 empty miles below.
Behind me, the bulk of the Station plowed forward like a vast sailing ship, heading smoothly toward the horizon a thousand miles off.
Never have I felt so insignificant, yet so privileged to be a part of a scene so obviously set by God. Emotions welled up inside: gratitude for the chance to experience this vista, wonder that our minds can appreciate God’s glories, humility at my minuscule place in God’s limitless universe.
Riding the prow of the Space Station, I thought of how much God had done for me. If God can show such generosity to one unimportant astronaut, I thought, how limitless must be God’s gifts to those truly in need.
My five minutes were up. Soon Bob and I were clambering back inside Atlantis, but I will never forget being granted that brief glimpse of God’s universe and my humble role in it.
The True Beauty of Space Exploration
You might think that, to an astronaut, reaching for the heavens is all about the excitement of a blastoff or the exhilaration of a space walk. To any human, yes, spaceflight is an incomparable experience.
But for humanity as a whole, our exploration of space can bring us a deeper understanding of God’s love for us. Anticipating our efforts at discovery, God has given us a special ability to appreciate the wonders of the vast and beautiful universe, a “sweet spot” in our minds receptive to the Creator’s skill and power.
We are designed to be awed in space. If our imperfect species has found such glimmers of delight in our first tentative encounter with the cosmos, then we truly have found a most caring and generous God.
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4Real Forums : Exploring God's Creation in Nature and Science
Topic: Holy Communion up in space--so beautiful!
