More Similar Than Not

One of the “bucket list” dreams that my wife and I had was to take a Viking River cruise down the Danube River sometime in our lifetime.

Well, after months of planning and saving, we booked that trip and have just returned from a cruise from Nuremburg Germany, through Regensburg and Passau Germany, then onward to Vienna Austria, finally ending in Budapest Hungary.

The Danube River is suffering the effects of the drought in Europe, and, in some places, we had to take buses instead of docking the ship where we had planned to due to low water levels. However, we still had a wonderful time. The food was great, our accommodations exceeded our expectations, the churches and other destinations we visited were breathtaking, and the people we met very friendly. We found no anti-American sentiment anywhere we visited.

What I thought about often was how similar the countries were to our country. I saw babies crying, as babies do. I heard dogs barking, and saw people smiling, but sometimes arguing. I heard locals complaining about their political leaders, and I observed everyone everywhere scurrying about, living their lives.

I was so impressed to learn the Catholic Church is by far the most prevalent faith tradition in Germany and Austria, exceeding 90% of church going people. In Hungary, it was still the largest faith tradition, but not as high of a percentage as Germany and Austria.

As I watched the faithful visiting various churches or attending Mass, I saw the devout faithful praying to God for help in their lives.

I often reflected on the fact we are all part of God’s people, wherever we live. We are all loved by God, even despite the political variances that cause countries in the world sometimes to act out in ways that do not seem very Christian.

God loves each of us, no matter where we live. What touched me was how interconnected we are, despite our differences. God does not focus on differences…only on the love He has for us. We should do the same.   



By: Deacon Tom Gryzbek