Most Reverend Jerome E. Listecki
Archbishop of Milwaukee
 

Throughout life, there are various moments that represent rites of passage: the first day that mom or dad did not have to take you to school, there was a real sense of independence; or the first time your parents allowed you to stay at home without a babysitter, there was a new found trust; or your first job that yielded a paycheck, you felt you actually earned something. We remember rites of passage. They differ in everyone’s life. It’s a time that marks a movement from childhood to adolescent to adulthood.
 
Every time I travel on I-294 while passing Gurnee, Ill., and view the rides of the Six Flags Great America Amusement Park, I am taken back to a time in my senior year in high school when six of us decided to celebrate the closing of a well-known amusement park in Chicago named Riverview, located on Western and Belmont. Riverview was a part of our childhood experience, with year-round roller coasters, fun houses and exotic rides. It was more than a carnival. The variety of rides and attractions made Riverview a favorite place for altar boy outings and grade school celebrations.
 
When it was announced that Riverview would close at the end of the summer season, my friends and I decided that we should pay one last tribute to this place of our youthful enjoyment. So, on a Saturday night toward the end of summer, six of us piled into a car and headed to Riverview to ride every roller coaster and experience a few of the special rides for one last time.
 
We rode every roller coaster: the “Silver and Blue Streak,” “The Bobs” and my favorite, the “Flying Turns.” On the “Flying Turns,” you were placed in a sled-like vehicle surrounded by a tube-like structure that had the speed of a roller coaster, but would swing from side to side as it descended to the ultimate finish. Another popular ride was “Shoot the Shoots.” You were placed in a large, toboggan-like structure with about 30 others, and elevated to what seemed to be at least five stories high, then allowed to slide down into a pool of water, in the end getting a bit wet. The last ride we went on was the popular “Parachute” ride. You were placed in a swing structure, which then elevated you to what seemed to be hundreds upon hundreds of feet in the air. It was a ride where you could view the entire park and various sections of the city. I was coupled with my friend “Moose,” a fellow classmate, but his nickname did not accurately depict his stature. In fact, Moose was on the smaller side, but his fierce demeanor was big, and made him someone you wanted on your side if confronted with a difficult situation. He was fearless, or so I thought. When the ride came to the top, there was a stop, and then a jerk, and the parachute opened up as it screamed its way down to the end. Well, the parachute was not the only one screaming. Moose yelled so loudly that my hearing did not return for fifteen minutes.
 
As we made our way to the parking lot, we said goodbye to our old friend “Riverview,” and to a childhood memory that embraced the excitement and thrills of our younger days.
 
Within our faith life, there are also moments of passage: baptism, reconciliation, Eucharist, confirmation, weddings, ordination and anointing of the sick. Sacraments are not dependent upon age. Whenever they are received, their effectiveness is immediate and complete. Many are performed at certain ages in our lives and all create moments that build memories of God’s presence in our lives and prepare us to face a future that, with the touch of God, strengthens our response to witness to our world the need to LOVE ONE ANOTHER.
 

Note: This blog originally appeared as the August 30, 2016 "Love One Another" email sent to Catholics throughout the Archdiocese of Milwaukee by Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki. If you are interested in signing up for these email messages, please click here.