Connection to the Apostles

One year, I went on behalf of my parish to pick up the chrism oil from the Bishop. My seminarian friend, now priest, was also present and he commented how cool and important it was to receive the oil from the bishops because it emphasizes our connection to the apostles. This is correct, but I didn't really appreciate just how true this was until recently when I went to go see a talk by Edward Feser. 

My ex girlfriend used to see Professor Feser often at her work location, and she would send me cute letters from her office if she ever got anything with his handwriting or something. "I hope this brightened your day a fraction of how much you brighten mine" she would write. Any of my 3 regular readers would know this. I've written about this before. Any of my 3 regular readers know that particular breakup has taken a recent toll on me. 

So, when I was having dinner with the professor, there was a sense in which my mind would take me to the thought that, "Wow, you often interacted with Teresa. And now you interact with me. I feel connected to her." I suppose there is something akin to this going on when my friend was like, "Wow, I am getting this oil from my bishop, who was ordained by the apostles, who personally knew our Lord" and there is a connection there which is powerful. Perhaps we may also understand the sacredness of relics in the same way. 

Now, of course, this instance is troublesome. I should be more enthused about receiving oil from the power of Christ rather than having dinner with someone who was merely in proximity to my ex. It indicates that my priorities are disordered. I am fundamentally disordered. I need fixing. God please fix me. 

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