Stepping up to Lent

The thing about Mardi Gras in New Orleans is the scale of what happens here.

Two weekends ago, I went to eight parades. I saw 277 floats from four different artistic design and construction companies, carrying nearly 10,000 thousand riders, throwing tens of thousands of trinkets to the crowds, flanked by dozens of marching bands and other costumed groups who dance, roller-skate or ride bicycles, motorcycles and even motorized recliners (I kid you not!) down the nearly 5-mile route.

Now add police, EMTs, power workers, media and street cleaners to the mix — and crowds north of a couple hundred thousand. It’s practically impossible to imagine if you’ve never seen it for yourself. And that wasn’t even the weekend before Mardi Gras!

The amount of time, effort, money and creativity required to put together a parade that lasts only three or four hours is breathtaking. Even more amazing is the fact that Mardi Gras is produced voluntarily by private citizens, organizations and clubs. There is no overarching steering committee coordinating everything that goes on here, nor are there any corporate or government sponsors footing the bill. Each one of the almost 60 parades is a unique and extravagant gift between neighbors in this vibrant community. And that’s why more than a million visitors come to see it.

There are a lot of life lessons to be learned from what happens here, but chief among them is this: The most wonderful things in the world don’t just happen on their own.

Everything we love, cherish and enjoy — the best and most meaningful experiences we remember all our lives — require people who are willing to spend their resources, share their talents and work their tails off to make them happen.

That principle applies to everything, whether we’re talking about preparing a delicious meal, celebrating a birthday, decorating for Christmas, updating a bathroom, planting flowers or planning a vacation. It also applies to the Church.

Beautiful liturgies don’t happen by accident or luck. Neither does parish hospitality, adult formation, catechesis, adoration or access to the sacraments. Somebody has to book the Lenten mission speaker and sing in the choir. Somebody has to make sure there’s enough coffee and get to the hall early to wipe down the tables and set up the urn. Somebody has to teach fourth grade religious ed, repose the Most Blessed Sacrament, lead the Bible study, the rosary or the book club.

In most parishes, the same handful of people do everything. That is not how the Church is supposed to work. Maybe that’s why it sometimes doesn’t. For every aspect of parish life we have — or wish we did — somebody must be willing to step up and do what’s necessary. The problem is that for too many Catholics that “somebody” is always somebody else.

When we’re kids, good things simply appear like magic and out of thin air. There’s always a turkey dinner on Thanksgiving, presents from Santa under the tree and jellybeans hidden around the house in pastel plastic eggs. Part of growing up is realizing that someone else has been orchestrating the special events in our lives all along. Grown-ups know that genuine gratitude means handing it all on — stepping up to give others what they themselves received, and even things they did not receive but wish they had.

And that’s what I think Lent is for. This penitential season gives us a chance to consider whether we’re people who show up and watch, or people who do what it takes to make things happen. It gives us an opportunity to consider how we might move from consumers to creators, from spectators to participants, from beneficiaries to benefactors.

The streets of New Orleans fill with crowds of people ready to watch a Mardi Gras parade only because an enormous number of other people have taken it upon themselves to produce the spectacle they come out for. Without them, there would be nothing to see. The culture that animates this city would quickly become a thing of the past.

If everyday Catholics continue to sit back and wait for someone else to step up to the plate, to bear the burden, to spend themselves for the sake of others, I worry about what will remain in a generation or two. The truth is we ought to stop waiting for Father, Deacon, Sister and the parish “church lady” to do everything for us. It’s time for us to step up and do everything for each other.

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