Courtesy

On this Feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, Corpus Christi, it is important to remember that we are many parts in the Body of Christ and we should treat everyone with the love that Christ gave to us.  One way we can follow Christ’s example is in the way we act behind the wheel of a vehicle. 

Whenever we drive, wherever we drive, we are called to virtue.  Most of us think of “road-rage” as something only done on the open road.  But road-rage happens even in our parking lot.  We become impatient as others are parking their cars; we become frustrated when others don’t drive as well as we think we do.

As many of us learned growing up, the opposite of love is not hate; the opposite of love is selfishness.  And selfishness is the underlying problem in our parking lot.  Our parish has always seen itself as a welcoming community – that welcome begins as our friends and neighbors drive into the parking lot.  Give each other a moment to park safely, be conscious that people are walking to and from the buildings and give pedestrians the right-of-way. Never park in a fire lane.  It is illegal and we need to keep these areas clear in case we have an emergency.

Defensive driving techniques indicate that backing up is one of the most dangerous things we do in our cars.  If you must back up, do so slower than you can walk and back up only as far as you absolutely must before pulling forward.  If possible, pull forward into the stall in front of you so you won’t need to back up at all. 

Crossing Wyoming Boulevard is a dangerous challenge.  There have been traffic accidents in front of the church, some of them quite serious.  Some parishioners are using the entrances as exits by doing little “s” maneuvers to cross the median to go north.  Others are pulling into the inside lane of traffic and then stopping while they wait to make a U-turn at Scotts Place.  This is not only against the law, but also highly dangerous.  Please respect that the “DO NOT ENTER” signs are there for our safety and apply to all of us.   Don’t make a U-turn at San Francisco.  Don’t turn left onto Wyoming from Scotts Place.  Even though these are legal, for everyone’s safety, all traffic should turn South, or right, onto Wyoming.  Those desiring to go north can turn left or right onto San Francisco and go to either Barstow or Louisiana.   

Many parishioners are concerned that even though we are being given more time between Masses we won’t solve the underlying cause of the problem in our parking lot.  However, if we truly live as Christians and use Jesus as our example, we will pay attention to the rules of the road, use common sense, and be courteous; not only as we travel to and from Risen Savior; but also, wherever we travel.