22 Saturday Jul 2017
Posted in Catholic Church, Uncategorized
Tags
Catholic Church, Catholic faith, Catholic priesthood, Christianity, faith, Pastor, Roman Catholic
Artist Unknown. Snapped a picture of this print when I was staying as a guest at St. William Catholic Church in Gardiner, Montana.
Of all the titles that can be weighed upon a priest or bishop, I think “pastor” is the one closest to the heart of our Lord. And the one to which every priest and bishop must give the fullest account of when he stands before the Good Shepherd.
12 Wednesday Jul 2017
Posted in creation, Uncategorized
On Sunday, July 9th I drove to the roadside picnic area in Ice Box Canyon in the northeast corner of Yellowstone National Park. It was the last day of an eight day visit to Yellowstone that consisted of wildlife watching and numerous day hikes. I wanted to make one more drive through Lamar Valley and I wanted to go to this picnic area specifically because it was there in January on the last day of a three day visit that I had spotted the four members of Lamar River wolf pack in the snow. This first visit had whetted my appetite to return to Yellowstone.
During my most recent visit, I had the opportunity to view wolves on three separate occasions. One evening I watched in Hayden Valley as a mother wolf led her five pups (four gray and one black) out from their den in the tree line to explore for a few minutes much to the delight of the crowd of people gathered on Grizzly Overlook with their binoculars and scopes. Another time was at the same location just as the sun was going down when a gray yearling wolf came out of the same spot in the tree line to explore a bit before disappearing into the tall sage and darkness. The highlight of my visit was being able to follow the Junction Butte pack for four hours as they made their way along Lamar Valley.
Wolves (for which I have always had an interest in since I was a child) were my main interest in visiting Yellowstone but during these days I was also thrilled to view numerous black bears (a few with cubs), bison, elk, mule deer, bighorn sheep, pronghorn, an osprey nest inhabited by mother, father and two chicks, foxes, coyotes, badgers, a bald eagle flying and numerous smaller animals and birds.
All in all, I went on seven day hikes throughout the northern region of the park. These hikes allowed me grand vistas to stare out at as well as meadows of flowers to walk through. I sat before a towering waterfall as well as by a small quiet stream.
![IMG_5641[3392]](https://mcummins2172.files.wordpress.com/2017/07/img_56413392.jpg?w=290&h=193)
For a week, I was “unplugged” – to some degree. Other than sharing some pictures on Facebook and Instagram and talking with the people I met or was around during the day I had no idea what was going on in the world. I would rise early to get into the park before the heat of the day became too oppressive, return to Gardner for lunch and a short siesta and then return into the park not to leave until late in the evening.
I am not “Mr. Outdoors” – I don’t feel the need to hike cross country or scale cliffs with my bare hands. If I were ever on a survivor show I am sure that I would be among the first eliminated. I don’t own a tent and I don’t seek out camping because (some truth in jest) I like air-conditioning. But I am more me when I allow some room for nature.
Pope Francis is correct in “Laudato Si” as has been Pope Benedict XVI in his writings and St. John Paul II. We find and know ourselves within the context of creation and when we lose creation we lose ourselves. On my day hikes I found myself naturally drawn to sing hymns as I walked along – partly because I was walking through bear country and needed to make noise – but mostly because my heart wanted to. I wanted to (had to – really) give praise to the Creator for all that I was seeing and for being reminded of my place within it.
Although I have an interest in wolves and have now spotted three packs during my two visits to Yellowstone I do not think I have some “mystical” connection with them because the wolves are unconcerned about me and that is the way it should be. The wolves are just out there being wolves and if something were to happen and all of sudden humanity disappeared from the face of the earth the wolves, bears, bison, elk and all animals would just continue continuing on. But the wolves and other animals are of concern to me and that is what makes me human.
This concern, I believe, is part of our “Imago Dei” – our being made in the Image of God. Scriptures tells us that God looked upon his creation and said it was good. Jesus tells us that not one single bird falls to the ground without the Father being aware of it. Creation is of concern to God and for us to share in this concern is to live within a reflection of the Image of God in which we are all made and, conversely, to believe there is no connection, to live withdrawn and cut off from creation nor concerned when creation is wounded is to be reduced, to lose part of who we are and to forget in whose image we are ultimately made.
Even though I went to Ice Box Canyon and I drove through Lamar Valley I did not see any wolves on my last day in Yellowstone. I will be honest and say there was some disappointment in this but then the better angel in my nature said it was okay. The wolves are not beholding to me nor anyone else. It is enough to know that they are out there being wolves and that there is a place where these animals can just be and by that give glory to their Creator. And it is good that I have concern because that also gives glory to the Creator … and makes me more human.
(Pictures from top are view of Ice Box Canyon roadside picnic area in summer, two photos of wolves of the Lamar River pack at picnic area in winter and wolves of the Junction Butte pack in Lamar Valley.)
02 Sunday Apr 2017
Posted in homily, Uncategorized
There is almost an ordinariness to the way our Lord goes about his mission of proclaiming and living God’s Kingdom. Even his miracles and the raising of his friend Lazarus are not exceptions. Our Lord takes his time in getting to the scene of Lazarus’ illness and death. He takes time in speaking with both Martha and Mary. Arriving at the tomb he asks that the stone be rolled back. He addresses the Father and then, with a loud voice, cries, “Lazarus, come out!” The once-dead man walks out.
There are no flashes of light or rolling thunder. Our Lord does not need to make strange incantations or weave any sort of spell. He does not even seem to have to fast in preparation for such an extraordinary thing. There is no burning of incense or sacrifices offered. Jesus simply gives honor to the Father, calls Lazarus forth and his friend is restored to life.
This is not a feat of our Lord’s own will at work. Jesus is not a comic book superhero saving the world through his own strength and determination nor is he a wizard overcoming by his own intellect and perseverance (a.k.a., “will to power”). Scripture tells us that Christ let go of his own glory and power and took on the form of a slave. The salvation won through Christ is through the “letting-go” of the divinity which allows the humanity to live in full relationship of love and trust with the Father. Jesus tells us that he can do nothing apart from the Father. Jesus does not heal, or feed the multitude, or cast out demons or walk on water or raise the dead through his own, independent and isolated exercise of will but through his relationship with the Father. Therefore he does not need the trappings of the superhero or of esoteric magic. It is all through relationship and relationship is often one of the most ordinary of things.
St. Paul in his letter to the Romans reminds us that we also have been invited into this relationship. “But you are not in the flesh; on the contrary, you are in the spirit, if only the Spirit of God dwells in you. Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is alive because of righteousness. If the Spirit of the One who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the One who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit dwelling in you.” (Rom. 8:8-11)
How often and how easily we overlook the grace we have been given, that is indeed active within us! We easily we get lost in the noise and distractions of our world. The Spirit of the One who raised Christ from the dead has been given us and dwells within us – giving life and transforming us. God does not need the trappings of the extraordinary to accomplish his purpose. The sacraments are a prime example of this. Water, bread, wine, oil, the words of the priest, the love of a couple – yet underneath the ordinary divine grace, relationship and life is found and given.
We should not disdain the ordinary and the grace and new life found there. Just as Christ emptied himself of glory and held to his relationship with the Father so should we. Life is not found in our control, our ego, our own little “wills to power”, living within our own little bubbles. Life, salvation, healing, grace is found through relationship – recognizing God’s presence given and within and seeking to live always in the amazing ordinariness of that relationship.
“Father, I thank you for hearing me. I know that you always hear me; but because of the crowd here I have said this, that they may believe that you sent me.”
28 Wednesday Dec 2016
Posted in Pope Francis, Uncategorized
Tags
Bible, Catholic Church, Catholic faith, Christianity, Misericordia et Misera, Pope Francis, Sacred Scripture
Both of my parents were converts. My father grew up in the Presbyterian Church and my mother grew up as a Southern Baptist. There is a story told in my family that once, not long after my father’s conversion, my two great aunts from Mississippi (both spinsters and staunch Presbyterians to boot) visited my grandfather. Noticing some dust on the cover of the family bible, one great aunt is said to have remarked, “I guess if this Bible cover was not so dusty Jack would never have converted.” I am not sure how my grandfather and grandmother replied although I would wager that a bit of a chill went through the room.
I, for one, am very grateful for my parents’ conversions and acknowledging that my views would differ from my great aunt’s in this regard (i.e. seeing my father’s conversion to Catholicism as a fulfilling of his faith journey and not a loss); I do believe her remark about the family Bible carries an intuition of truth. There is a power and a grace to be found in Sacred Scripture. The Bible is God’s holy word and within it we encounter our risen Lord.
In his Apostolic Letter, Misericordia et Misera given at the conclusion of the Jubilee Year of Mercy, Pope Francis brings to summation the Holy Year and puts forward his hope that the work of mercy will continue and be ever-strengthened in the Church.
(The Holy Year) must continue to be celebrated and lived out in our communities. Mercy cannot become a mere parenthesis in the life of the Church; it constitutes her very existence, through which the profound truths of the Gospel are made manifest and tangible. Everything is revealed in mercy; everything is resolved in the merciful love of the Father. (MM, 1)
The Holy Father reflects on how best to continue the work of mercy and he puts forward some specific thoughts for discernment by the Church – mercy should be celebrated and at the heart of every Eucharistic celebration and every homily, every encounter involving the sacrament of anointing should be guided by mercy and certainly mercy should be found in abundance within the sacrament of reconciliation. Here the Holy Father grants the authority for every priest to forgive the sin of a procured abortion. This permission given even gained the attention of the secular media for at least a day or two.
What did not garner as much attention though is an invitation that the Holy Father extended to the Church in his apostolic letter. It is an invitation worthy of consideration and it is why I began this article by sharing the story of my two great aunts. The Holy Father invites the Church to consider a Sunday, “given over entirely to the word of God”.
Why not just mandate such a thing? Certainly the pope has the authority. Here, I believe, Pope Francis is demonstrating a pastor’s wisdom. Some things within the Church – especially those liturgical and devotional – are best established and encouraged from the foundation up rather than the top-down. Pope Francis is inviting the Church into a dialogue regarding this possibility and he is giving his permission as the successor of Peter for this dialogue, this possibility, to occur and to even grow organically from within the life of the Church. He is encouraging an idea to grow.
It is an idea already present within the full life of our faith and specifically rooted and expressed for our time in the document Dei Verbum of the Second Vatican Council. Here are three quotes from the final chapter of that document which demonstrate this. “It follows that all the preaching of the Church, as indeed the entire Christian religion, should be nourished and ruled by sacred Scripture.” (DV, 21) “Access to sacred Scripture ought to be open wide to the Christian faithful.” (DV, 22) “Just as from constant attendance at the Eucharistic mystery the life of the Church draws increase, so a new impulse of spiritual life may be expected from increased veneration of the Word of God, which ‘stands forever’.” (DV, 26)
Below are the two paragraphs of Misericordia et Misera specifically devoted to this invitation. The first paragraph can be viewed as a summation of Vatican II’s Dei Verbum, the second is the invitation given by the Holy Father to the Church universal.
The Bible is the great story of the marvels of God’s mercy. Every one of its pages is steeped in the love of the Father who from the moment of creation wished to impress the signs of his love on the universe. Through the words of the prophets and the wisdom writings, the Holy Spirit shaped the history of Israel as a recognition of God’s tenderness and closeness, despite the people’s infidelity. Jesus’ life and preaching decisively marked the history of the Christian community, which has viewed its mission in terms of Christ’s command to be a permanent instrument of his mercy and forgiveness (cf. Jn 20:23). Through Sacred Scripture, kept alive by the faith of the Church, the Lord continues to speak to his Bride, showing her the path she must take to enable the Gospel of salvation to reach everyone. I greatly desire that God’s word be increasingly celebrated, known and disseminated, so that the mystery of love streaming from this font of mercy may be ever better understood. As the Apostle tells us clearly: “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Tim 3:16).
It would be beneficial if every Christian community, on one Sunday of the liturgical year, could renew its efforts to make the Sacred Scriptures better known and more widely diffused. It would be a Sunday given over entirely to the word of God, so as to appreciate the inexhaustible riches contained in that constant dialogue between the Lord and his people. Creative initiatives can help make this an opportunity for the faithful to become living vessels for the transmission of God’s word. Initiatives of this sort would certainly include the practice of lectio divina , so that the prayerful reading of the sacred text will help support and strengthen the spiritual life. Such a reading, centered on themes relating to mercy, will enable a personal experience of the great fruitfulness of the biblical text – read in the light of the Church’s spiritual tradition – and thus give rise to concrete gestures and works of charity.(MM, #7)
Could this be the beginnings of a liturgical feast for the Bible? What would it look like? I am not sure and I do not know if even the Holy Father knows but he is inviting the Church to the possibility and even encouraging a faith-filled creativity. As both a Christian disciple and a pastor of a parish in the belt buckle of the Bible Belt – where there is such a strong emphasis on Scripture in the surrounding churches – I find this invitation of Pope Francis to creatively dream of such a day to be both exciting and necessary! One of the great gifts of the Second Vatican Council was in reminding us that the Bible belongs to every member of the Church, that it should be picked up and read and that within Sacred Scripture we encounter Christ. The Bible is much more than just proof texts for the sacraments and devotions. A day given over entirely to the Bible would not lessen our sacramental identity as Catholics but would rather root our identity deeper in an awareness that we are a people of both Word and Sacrament!
A day devoted to the Bible would also be a strength and support for the ongoing work of mercy. “I greatly desire that God’s word be increasingly celebrated, known and disseminated, so that the mystery of love streaming from this font of mercy may be ever better understood,” writes the Holy Father. God’s word is a “font of mercy” which opens our minds in greater awareness, our imaginations in new possibilities and our hearts in greater charity. Or, as expressed in Dei Verbum, “This nourishment (of Scripture) enlightens the mind, strengthens the will and fires the hearts of men with the love of God.” (DV, 23)
Pope Francis, through his life as a Jesuit and priest is someone steeped in the Ignatian spiritual tradition of entering Scripture. The Holy Father speaks from experience when he refers to Scripture as a “font of mercy” and he is here inviting the whole church to continually turn to this font.
It is a simple and beautiful invitation that the Holy Father puts forward in his letter – a day given over entirely to the Word of God – and within this invitation is found the possibility of innumerable graces and blessings. I am praying how the parish I serve might answer this invitation of our Holy Father. I would encourage all members of the Church to take to heart this simple and beautiful invitation of our Holy Father.
30 Tuesday Aug 2016
Posted in Uncategorized, young people
Tags
Catholic Church, Catholic faith, Christian life, Christianity, discipleship, faith, Roman Catholic, Young Adult Ministry, younger generation and faith
Why do some young adults wander away from the Church? There are no easy answers to this. At least, I have not found one in my own experience of ministry. I have seen some young people fully immersed in the Church in high school and college who then just stop coming one day. I have seen other young people who had wandered off come back with a great fervor almost bordering on zealotry. A good number of young people I have known wander in and out with some choosing to stay loosely connected on the periphery of the Church.
Certainly each person’s journey of faith is unique. There are movements in the heart that only God can see and everything occurs in God’s time. We all know that there are scandals within the Church that wound hearts and discredit the gospel and the community. There are voices against the Church and Christianity in our world and caricatures of religion too easily tossed about in society. There is a diffused mistrust of all institutions. There are also people not willing to change their view of the Church just as they, themselves, insist the Church must change (usually to their liking). Finally, there are some people who are just lazy spiritually.
With all this in mind, I am firmly convinced that young adults need the Church. No one may be able to adequately answer the big concerns noted above. Still, I want to offer a few thoughts about why young adults need the Church. Here are the thoughts in the form of a letter.
Dear young adults,
Do you know that you need more than just your peers? I never really became a fan of the TV show “Friends”. I do remember watching it and being entertained although I didn’t always agree with the moral choices portrayed in the show. I remember that the whole universe portrayed in that show was that of a group of peers. Every now and then a person from another generation (younger or older) would pop in and out of the show but they seemed to be just a distraction. Everything centered on that particular group of peers and their enclosed world. I have seen this same theme continue in newer generations of shows. I am sorry, but that is not life. Sadly, though, I think society and, surprisingly, the Church have followed suit. There are retreat programs and youth ministry initiatives intentionally and exclusively structured around peer-given talks and peer-led discussions. There are youth only liturgies. I would wager that the same trend can be seen in education, athletics and all forms of engagement with our youth. Is there a certain value and place for this? Yes, but there are unintended consequences. Dear young adults, I apologize. You have been done a disservice. Although no one intended it, you have been taught to only value peer input and peer relationship. The voices of other generations – the insight, knowledge and wisdom of older generations that can help guide in life and help navigate its struggles as well as the hopes and dreams of younger generations – have been blocked from your awareness. With this block there can also be a forgetfulness of how God has been faithful and active in all generations and how God continues to be faithful and active.
In my ministry with young adults I often felt frustrated by this block. Over time, I learned to not get upset or frustrated by this. They were just doing what they had been taught. I was not a peer and therefore my voice and consideration would sometimes just bounce off their perspective somewhere into the ether. But as I shared above, a world comprised only of peers with a particular generational perspective is not real life. One of the things truly wonderful about Sunday worship is seeing generations coming together in Church – young and old and even in-between. Young adults, I have to say that you are noticeably absent from these gatherings. You are missing out. You need more than your peers and the Christian community needs you.
Another thought for you. You need a deeper narrative than just the secular one. There are narratives that people set their lives by but not all narratives are equal nor are all equally true. I learned an important lesson in my seminary training. The gospel narrative is the rule by which all other narratives should be measured and judged. Some might see this as Christian condescension, but I am not convinced that is true. Think about it. Catholicism has a proven track record. Empires, movements, theories of thought have come and gone. Christianity has remained and has grown consistently and organically even through persecution and even despite the sinful actions of some of its adherents. Secularization, at its best, has real value. It has fostered religious freedom, protection from oppression, and respect due the dignity of persons. But the secular world has its own narrative with a down side. A closed-end secularity pushes the sacred to the periphery. And that truly diminishes life. Here, I would caution that certain forms of “generic Christianity” will not suffice because they are neither able to see beyond nor challenge the limits of the secular narrative. Certain popular forms of contemporary Christian expression found often in non-denominational, evangelical and mega-church communities are, in fact, closely linked to the secular narrative and a step away from the Christian sense of the sacred. For example, I would point to the emphasis by some on material concern and comfort as found canonized by the gospel of prosperity preached in many places.
There is a deeper and fuller reality to life, existence and creation itself than just the measure of the secular. There is a transcendent, spiritual and sacramental dimension to life. We can embrace the benefits of secularity, while not letting ourselves be bound by the limits of its narrative. The Catholic Church with its tradition, theology and worship provides for this broader perspective on reality.
Dear young adults, here’s something that you won’t hear about very often, if ever. You need an awareness of redemptive suffering. The Catholic Church is at home with the crucifix not because we believe that the resurrection should be downplayed and that Christ is still on the cross. No, we are convinced that by his suffering on the cross our Lord has brought a redemptive dimension to all suffering. He has brought life out of death. On the cross and in the tomb, God entered into the furthest edges of human suffering and death. The crucifix reminds us of the cost of salvation that has been won through the love and obedience of Christ. This is a great mystery. There is suffering in life and sooner or later for all of us. We see suffering throughout our world. The crucifix and its bold display of redemptive suffering protects us against the temptations of choosing to ignore suffering in our world, getting lost ourselves in the darkness of suffering and giving in to victimhood in the face of suffering. Suffering, in Christ, can be redemptive.
Let me say a word about something that many people are skittish about – commitment. You need commitment and not just new experiences. When I was in campus and vocation ministry my schedule and responsibilities allowed and even required of me quite a bit of travel. Now that I am in a parish my travelling has been greatly reduced due to the commitment of being a pastor. This is not a bad thing. There are seasons to life and there are seasons to ministry. My faith life and my life in general is now being nourished more by the commitment of being a pastor than by a string of new experiences offered through travel and life situation. Commitments in life offer nourishment too! Our world does not emphasize this but it is true. Young adults do not get lost in the siren call of chasing new experience after new experience through life! Sooner or later, you will wear yourself out and, frankly, not have much depth. Commitments in life are what lead to the depth of personhood, awareness and insight. Do not be afraid to commit in faith and in love to Christ, his Church and another person if you are so called. Be willing to go deep!
You also need a real community that will not fit neatly into your box, one that is not perfect, that disagrees and that argues. I have known young people to leave the Church either because it is not “perfect” or because it does not fit into their own framework. Frankly, I think that this is not a sign of good, adult judgment. On college campuses, people are talking about “trigger notices” and “safe zones” around discussions that students might find threatening or challenging. Social media and our current structure of news outlets may allow us to exist and interact in a universe occupied solely by like-minded people (this is one of the dangers of our contemporary information age) but the real world does not. It is okay to argue and it is okay to debate and it is wonderful to be in a Church that has this and the Catholic Church has it in spades! Many social commentators have noted that argument and disagreement are turn offs to young adults who like to avoid such things at all costs (again this is an unintended consequence of how the generation was raised) but life and insight is gained through respectful disagreement, discussion and debate. We believe that the Holy Spirit leads the Church and this is testified especially through moments of disagreement, discussion, prayer and debate.
You need holiness that sanctifies. One of my favorite professors in seminary likened the Catholic understanding of grace to a house that is being renovated from the inside out. Grace, in our Catholic understanding, does not just cover over our sinfulness but rather goes to the heart of who we are in order to heal the wound of sin from within on out. We are fully healed and fully restored through a lifetime of the working of grace and our cooperation with it. The ones who witness this most fully are the saints. Young adults, life can be different! We can know a holiness that heals, restores and is authentic! We are not meant to be defined by our sins, our stumblings and our weaknesses. We are all called to be saints! It is not just a nice thought but an eschatological truth. We are called to sanctification through and through and we should not settle for anything less.
Hopefully, these thoughts will prove to be helpful. Every generation has its blessings and every generation has its struggles.
Dear young adults, you need the Church … and the Church needs you. From a priest who has truly been blessed by his interaction with so many young adults and who cares deeply about you, may God bless you and may God guide you.
20 Saturday Aug 2016
Posted in Catholic Church, Uncategorized
In the parish in which I currently serve there is a husband and wife who work in therapeutic massage and they share how the healing arts influence their view of theology and how faith, in turn, influences their work. I have had some interesting discussions with them and a recent conversation has had me thinking in a new way about parish and even the Body of Christ.
After an injury, the couple notes, part of the healing process is helping the injured person to remember and reconnect with his or her body. On the surface this sounds strange because one would think that if there is a part of the body in pain that it would be a primary focus. Initially it is but if the pain persists then the person begins to compensate and “work around” the injured part. A disconnect then occurs, sets in and can even become deeply ingrained. If the healing process is to be effective, this disconnect must be addressed and overcome. The injured person must be helped, encouraged and even challenged sometimes to reconnect and remember his or her body. Once this occurs, then healing and full functioning can advance in earnest.
There are injuries and pains which occur through life which can lead a person to “forget” or disconnect in differing ways from his or her body. Pains and injuries also occur within the Christian community (sometimes minor and annoying, sometimes large and scandalous). Can these injuries lead us to disconnect maybe even subconsciously (even as we sincerely profess our love of Christ and his Church) and forget what it truly means to be the Body of Christ? Is part of the healing process needed in our day to be found in assisting the Church community to remember and re-connect with what it really means to be the Body of Christ?
Before a parish being a series of activities, projects or meetings, before it being a collection of groups and guilds, before it being good and charitable work done in our world, before it being a collection of Masses and prayer offered in this or that liturgical style – a parish is part of the Body of Christ and a manifestation of that Body. A parish may have a lot of things going on but does that necessarily mean it is fully connected to and remembering its core and essential reality – which is being part of the Body of Christ?
Pope Francis has spoken famously of wanting a Church that is a field hospital. The world can certainly bang up a person. The world can also certainly bang up the Church. Can part of the healing offered through the field hospital be healing needed by the Church herself, assisting her in remembering and re-connecting with her own body which is, in fact, the Body of Christ?
Below are some questions (not exhaustive) that I think might help a community reflect on where it is in its own remembering of being part of the Body of Christ. (I approach this reflection in terms of the parish because that is the context in which I am currently ministering and in which the majority of Catholics exercise their faith. At first blush, I do think these thoughts could be applied to other forms of church community.)
Does the parish have room to breathe? In the United States we live in an activity driven society. There is always someplace to be and something that needs to get done! These may be good and honest realities that need to be addressed but can a different rhythm to life be found and maintained? Can a parish witness to this different rhythm to life or is it so chock-full of activities that a person’s breath is taken away by just looking at a calendar of events! Activities and schedules are certainly good but a body needs room and space to breathe. Can a parish be allowed this room and can parishioners be allowed, first and foremost, to just be and know one another as fellow disciples and friends in Christ before anything else?
Does the church have the ability to welcome? If a person is in pain and disconnected from his or her body it is more difficult for that person to welcome and focus on the needs of another person. Energy cannot be spared even if desired. Welcoming the other person runs deep within our faith tradition (think of Abraham welcoming the three strangers) and welcoming another person in faith is a means to new life and new awareness but if energy cannot be spared then this wellspring is cut off.
Can a church maintain a sense of wonder and be able to abide in mystery? We so often want black and white answers and we want everything figured out and settled but often life is not this way. At least this side of heaven, we will never have the full picture nor full understanding. Church ought to be the place that welcomes wonder and mystery over pat phrases and tidy answers but, once again, when there is pain energy and focus can be lacking and it is all the easier to sidestep mystery in favor of what is seen as tried, true and comfortable.
Physically, the pains and traumas of life can lead us to disconnect from our bodies and even “forget” our bodies even as we live within our own skin. In this scenario, we might be able to get by but this is far from the full experience and joy of life. When pain and trauma lead us to forget who we are and disconnect from the reality of being the Body of Christ, we – as Church – might also be able to “get by” in the world but this also is far from the fullness of life that God intends for his people and through his people (his Body) in witness for the world.
For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body – Jew or Greeks, slaves or free – and all were made to drink of the one Spirit … Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. (1 Cor. 12:12-13, 27)
A tremendous joy is to be found in re-connecting and simply remembering our body. Yes, we are the Body of Christ!
01 Friday Apr 2016
Posted in Community of Sant'Egidio, Uncategorized
A friend of mine in the Community of Sant’Egidio has asked me to reflect upon this past Holy Week and Easter Sunday in the parish and how the community accompanied the parish in its celebration.
“Accompanied,” I believe, is the proper word. Parishes by their very nature are living realities that are grounded in faith and their own particular history, tradition and makeup. St. Dominic Parish is no exception to this. Every parish has a living history that should be honored for what it has achieved yet also continually nourished into future growth. No movement within the Church should seek to replace or even replicate the living reality of the parish. That being said, we all help one another along in the journey of faith and it has been my experience that the Community of Sant’Egidio has many rich gifts to offer that a parish can benefit from both in the celebration of Holy Week and throughout the year. In order to be manageable though the focus of this reflection will be solely on Holy Week.
For full disclosure, I believe it important to also state that my own discipleship and priesthood has been effected by my encounter with and involvement in the Community of Sant’Egidio and, that as pastor of St. Dominic parish, I bring this influence with me into the parish. The pastor of a parish does have a unique role is helping to set the atmosphere of a parish. It is not the sole influence on a parish but it is one that should be acknowledged. For example, one of the things I find truly good and right about the Community of Sant’Egidio is a healthy relationship between priests and laity. These two groups are neither in competition nor are they set apart and, I believe, neither should they be viewed so. I bring this perspective with me into the parish. I am willing to work with the people of a parish as fellow disciples and I believe that people notice this and appreciate it. Yes, priests have specific roles and the pastor does have specific duties and responsibilities but these are best lived within the whole context of a community seeking discipleship together even as it may make things more laborious at times. Frankly, I believe that the priest needs to avoid the common temptation of playing the hero and the people need to avoid the temptation of seeking to make the priest the hero as a way of avoiding their own responsibility. We are disciples together.
As we began Holy Week 2016, I shared with the St. Dominic community the thought that our Lord greatly desires to spend these days with us. In the thirteenth chapter of John’s gospel, we find expressed a great longing and even tender love on our Lord’s part to be with his disciples and prepare them for what is to come even as his own hour approaches. This is a perspective firmly rooted in the gospels and an awareness that the Community of Sant’Egidio maintains. There is a deeper movement to Holy Week than that of us going about our rituals professing our belief, together yet isolated at the same time. Christ himself gathers us in and he gathers each one of us. Christ wants to spend these days with all of his disciples and with each disciple. We are not forgotten and we are not disposable. We are each remembered by Christ in Holy Week and we are each wanted by Christ. He greatly desires to spend these days with each of us.
Within the above mentioned deeper context of Holy Week there were three particular moments that the Community of Sant’Egidio accompanied St. Dominic Parish these days. The moments were not “Sant’Egidio only” but were a joint accompanying between the parish and the community. The three moments were Mercy Palms on Palm Sunday, the Prayer for the Martyrs and the ongoing relationship with our sister parish in Blantyre, Malawi. I would like to reflect a little on each aspect.
In a way to live the Jubilee Year of Mercy, Marco Impagliazzo (the president of the Community of Sant’Egidio) invited all the groupings of Sant’Egidio worldwide to live Palm Sunday as a demonstration of mercy. In the spirit of Pope Francis, we were invited to take the palms outside the walls of our church as a visible sign of God’s love and mercy for the poor and forgotten in our society. At St. Dominic’s we decided to do this by making close to 150 palm crosses and taking them as a gift to our friends at Holston Manor Nursing Home. We gathered on Palm Sunday afternoon with a few of our friends in the day room of Holston Manor. We had a simple ceremony with a reading of the gospel and blessing of the palm crosses. Those present had some social time together and then after a while our group divided up and we took the palm crosses throughout the nursing home, offering them to every resident we met as well as staff members. It was a simple gesture but a gesture that said “you are not forgotten”. The residents were truly grateful. In this simple act, St. Dominic Parish and Sant’ Egidio began Holy Week together by going out to the poor and forgotten in a gesture of mercy.
On Monday night of Holy Week, St. Dominic Parish with the Sant’Egidio Community offered the Prayer for the Martyrs. This prayer is an annual remembering of our Christian brothers and sisters who have offered their lives for the gospel within the past year and in the recent past. This was the second year that this prayer was offered at St. Dominic Church. This prayer is very meaningful and beautiful. The Prayer for the Martyrs fits quite well within the first few days of Holy Week and helps to bring a deeper awareness and connection with our fellow Christians who are experiencing persecution for their faith in Christ. Prayer is powerful and it is a good and important thing for the Church to gather in prayer and to remember that the names of our brothers and sisters are not forgotten and are precious to our Lord.
In the fall of 2015, St. Dominic Parish began a sister parish relationship with St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Blantyre, Malawi – a church staffed by priests of the Community of Sant’Egidio. St. Dominic’s is currently raising funds that will enable to parish and school in Malawi to build housing for teachers that will, in turn, allow the school to attract good teachers and make sure that classes do not have to be cancelled due to transportation difficulties during the rainy season. We believe that the best way we can help to have a long term impact is to strengthen education possibilities in the local community. Our parish youth coordinated a fund drive during the season of Lent for the school at our sister parish. The presence in friendship of our sister parish was expressed during Holy Week through photos from Malawi shared via social media as well as a note from Fr. Ernest, the pastor of St. Vincent de Paul Parish.
We do accompany one another along the journey of faith and this is especially true during Holy Week. I can only speak to my experience with Sant’Egidio and the parish, but I do believe that the movements within our Catholic Church have great gifts to share with our parish communities and vice versa. We all mutually benefit from this sharing and accompanying. We help one another along. Together, St. Dominic Parish and the Community of Sant’Egidio, celebrated a Holy Week where we were both gathered in by our Lord and sent forth to proclaim the truth of the resurrection and God’s love!
I wish this reflection to be a beginning of a dialogue so I encourage friends both within the parish structure and within Sant’Egidio to share your thoughts through comments. I would enjoy hearing from you. Here are a few question for reflection that might help begin the process:
What do you find life-giving about your parish? What do you find life-giving about your experience with a movement within the Church?
How was Holy Week celebrated in the context in which you found yourself? What was profound about the celebration and what might have been limited?
How might movements “accompany” parishes both during such times as Holy Week but also throughout the year? How might parishes benefit from this accompanying? How might movements benefit from this accompanying?
