A personal reflection from the pastor: In the early 1990’s, a First Communion Mass was on the calendar at St. Mary’s parish in Eugene. The homily was to include a story about a king who invited his subjects from the four corners of the kingdom to a grand banquet. They were told to bring their choice harvest of wine and the king would combine the various wines during the great feast he had planned. Each group of subjects thought “if everybody else brings their choice wines and we bring water, the king will never know.” Lo and behold, everybody brought water, there was no wine at all, and the king was deeply saddened and disappointed. The message for the First Communion children was to approach the Mass, every Sunday, as if the King of the Universe had invited them personally and He had asked that they bring their “choice harvest” (prayers, needs, gifts, gratitude, etc.). Well, to help tell the story, I asked a member of the 2nd-grade class to join me in the front of the church and be our “king for the day.” I even went to Burger King before the Mass and secured a golden crown for “our” king to wear. From that day, the young man, Nick MacKinnon, became “King Nick.” I always greeted him that way when we saw each other at church or school, I sent birthday cards to him under his “title,” and his parents grew proud to have a king in the family!
“King Nick” eventually graduated from Marist High, came to Portland as an Air Force ROTC student at the University of Portland, and is now the pilot and commander of a C-130 plane in the Air Force. He was recently deployed to Afghanistan (for the second time). He texted me from the air field with several photos of himself and his C-130. In an act of kindness and friendship, Captain (King) Nick MacKinnon flew his mission on a particular day with an American flag aboard – in my honor.
Today, our school community shared in the raising of that flag on our own flagpole here at Holy Cross! Who would have thought that a First Communion encounter many years ago would have led to a moment of great patriotic pride and gratitude … on a school playground a hundred miles from Eugene and thousands of miles from Afghanistan?
Please join us in praying for Captain MacKinnon, his crew, and all of our men and women in the armed forces: for their safety, for their protection, that they will know how grateful we are for their service, and for their families. Psalm 24,10: “Who is He, this King of glory? The Lord Almighty—He is the King of glory.” Psalm 84,12: “A sun and shield is the Lord God, bestowing all grace and glory. The Lord withholds no good thing from those who walk in His way.”
