To answer or send to voicemail, that's the question.

In the unique tapestry of my Catholic Parrothead’s life, where the free-spirited melodies of Jimmy Buffett blend with the solemn echoes of faith, the personal feeling of loss when someone avoids your phone call becomes a poignant metaphor. This experience, familiar yet often understated, can offer deep insights when contrasted with the nature of divine communication. 

Imagine you’re reaching out to someone, and they consistently avoid your calls. Each time it happens, a small thread of disconnect weaves into your relationship. There’s a sense of loss, a feeling of being undervalued or unheard. It’s like sending out a signal that keeps bouncing back, leaving you questioning the bond, or worse, doubting your own worth in the eyes of the other. Are they OK? Did I do something wrong?

Now, flip this scenario to your relationship with God. In the Catholic faith, God’s call isn’t a ringtone or a vibration; it’s a gentle, persistent tug at the heart, a whisper in the quiet moments of life. It’s in the beauty of a sunset, the words of scripture, or the peace found in prayer. But just like the ignored phone calls, there’s a profound sense of loss when this divine communication is overlooked. 

The key difference here lies in the nature of the caller. When a friend avoids your call, it’s a human reaction, bound by human limitations and frailties. There might be a hundred mundane reasons - they’re busy, distracted, or perhaps dealing with their own issues. But when it’s about God, the avoidance often stems from within us. It's our preoccupations, our fears, or sometimes, a simple reluctance to step into the quiet space where such calls are heard. 

For me, as a Catholic Parrothead, this contrast is even more striking. On one side, there's the high-spirited world of Buffett songs, a world that celebrates the here and now, often drowning out quieter, subtler voices. On the other, there's the introspective, reflective path of faith, inviting me to listen, to connect on a level that goes beyond the immediate. 

The personal loss felt when your calls are ignored becomes a mirror, reflecting how you might be inadvertently treating the calls from your faith. It’s a reminder that just as you long to be heard and acknowledged in your human relationships, there's a deeper part of you yearning to connect with something greater, something eternal. Perhaps it's a reflection of the Golden Rule, Matt 7:12 "Do to others what you would have them do to you."

In this light, each missed call, be it from a friend or from your faith, is not just a moment of loss, but also a call to awareness. It’s an invitation to balance the vibrant, joyous life of a Parrothead with the contemplative, soulful journey of a Catholic, to tune into both the laughter of the party and the silence of the prayer, and to respond to all calls with an open heart. Afterall, eventually we'll bump into the caller and have to account for our actions/inactions...