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December 2020
December 13, 2020
My dear Brothers and Sisters,
May the Grace of Our Lord remain with us always!
Happy Gaudete (Rejoice) Sunday! Today we light the rose candle, the celebrant wears rose vestments, and there is more decoration in the Church than there has been since advent began, the Day of our Salvation is close at hand!
The first words of the Angel Gabriel to Our Lady are, “Rejoice! Full of grace, the Lord is with you!” The Blessed Virgin Mary is the preeminent person in the world capable of rejoicing, for joy is the elation we experience when our will desires something ordered to our true happiness and when we possess that desired good. As a result, Mary can truly rejoice. In fact, her life is an act of rejoicing, for every act of her sinless will stands as the human fulfillment of the will of God: her only desire!
I would like to share a story with you that fills me with hope and a reason to rejoice; I pray it will do the same for you.
Throughout our lives we have known priests who are pastors, and then those who are pastors in bright neon lights; pastors who seem to have an unending resource of energy, ideas, joy, compassion, while also being financial geniuses and plant managers. My story is about a pastor of that later type, and the way he brings joy and hope to his people. His name is Father Bill.
After being a successful Neumann Chaplain, and Vocation Director for his Archdiocese, Father Bill was given his first pastorate. He was appointed to a beautiful Parish, in a wonderful neighborhood, and with a great community spirit. He was succeeding a beloved pastor who, when he was young, had all the ideas in the world and enlivened a parish that had been if not asleep, certainly sleepy. However, after 29 years his energy and ideas had grown dim, and the parish was in maintenance mode. To his credit, he admitted this, and welcomed Father Bill with open arms.
In about 6 months things were changing. The Religious Education doubled; a fledgling Parish School became phenomenally successful and was attracting his caliber faculty and students. And although the pews were never empty, now those pews were crowded, and crowded with young people and young families. At the end of Father Bill’s second year as pastor, there were over 100 weddings, and soon thereafter the subsequent baptisms.
His secret? Father Bill offers four things that serve as the foundation of everything he does:
1.His days begin and end with a holy hour, no matter how early or how late it may be; 2. Be happy and know your people, and in knowing them, love them; 3. See talent and call that talent to service; and, 4. Remember, all of this is to bring your people to encounter Jesus Christ, and for them to come to know, to love, and to serve Him with all their hearts, as married people and parents, or as priests, Brothers and Sisters; or permanent Deacons, and help them discover that this encounter is the source of their joy, their hope, and their freedom.1
Okay, Fr. Bill is a really great pastor, how does this bring us joy? Several weeks ago I received a phone call early on a Tuesday morning, it was Father Bill. He said to me, “Jordan, at 9am today be at your computer and go to the website of the Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts; you will learn about a surprise”, and he hung up the phone. The surprise? Father Bill has been appointed the new Bishop for the Diocese of Springfield; he will be ordained a Bishop tomorrow morning, December 14, at the Cathedral in Springfield.
In his press conference Bishop – elect Bill said:
I am a Parish Priest and a Pastor. As the Pastor of the Church of Springfield I bring you Christ – He is all I have to give you! I hope that as we work together, we our zeal for Christ will grow, and together we will bring Him to all those may already know Him; those whose faith has grown cold or weak, and to those who don’t know Him at all.
When asked about how he intends to “get things back on track after the Pandemic”, he responded:
Oh I hope we don’t simply get things back on track! God invites us to make things BETTER – better than they have ever been because we need embrace Him, hear the Gospel, and rebuild His Kingdom here in Springfield BETTER than we ever have before – He invites us to be better!
A Bishop who brings us only Christ; a Bishop who calls us to be better; and, a Bishop who walks along beside us, as together we discover and live Jesus as the source of his joyful – freedom.
Bishop William Byrne – a reason to hope; a reason to REJOICE!
O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee!
In the Lord,
1 Not only did marriages and baptisms increase, vocations to the priesthood and religious life also began to come from the Parish.
December 6, 2020
My dear Brothers and Sisters,
May the Grace of Our Lord remain with us always!
I am making an online Advent Retreat – it takes about 20 minutes each day. The retreat is entitled, “Unshakeable Joy”. I offer you the following from the first Sunday of the retreat:
The One Thing that Matters this Christmas
For this Unbreakable Joy Advent retreat, I inserted a few written meditations between your 19 videos that are specifically about this holy season. I hope you enjoy them.
From the book: Joy to the World by Chris Stefanick
Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Luke 10:41-42
Searching for happiness and success
You might be familiar with the story of Mary and Martha, in which Mary is sitting at Jesus’ feet while her sister Martha does the cooking and cleaning. When Martha complains about the obvious, Jesus says, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better portion.”
That Gospel always bothered me! If Martha weren’t cooking and cleaning, no one would have eaten!
But if you think about it, Jesus didn’t say, “Martha, Martha, stop cooking.” He said, “Stop being anxious about many things.”
It’s okay to work hard. The Advent and Christmas season are full of hard work. In fact, sometimes we’re so busy we end up snapping at the people we’re working hard to create a beautiful Christmas for! But Jesus is telling us “Don’t be busy. Be occupied.” If there are a hundred things on your plate, make sure only one thing’s on your heart.
“There is need of only one thing.”
And what’s that one thing? It’s love. Receive each task as a gift from God, offer it back to him, and do it all with generosity, in imitation of Jesus.
I know. Easier said than done.
Lord, help me to BE like Mary when I have to WORK like Martha.
In the Lord,
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November 2020
November 15, 2020
My dear Brothers and Sisters,
May the Grace of Our Lord remain with us always!
Today
Today is a day of great grace for our Parish. The freshening of the sanctuary walls; the more prominent placement of the Icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in what Bob Short has called “the Lady Chapel”; the placement of the statues of Our Lady and Saint Joseph in the Sanctuary near her son, and his foster-father; and most especially the central placement of Our Eucharistic-Lord are sacramentals that offer us outward signs of our encounters with God and His desire to walk with us throughout life. Let us be truly thankful and offer God our fullest praise!
Covid
The numbers are frightening! Please be assured that we continue to sanitize the Church after every Mass. Please, stay safe and stay well!
The Presidential Election
Whether your candidate was elected or not, we are called to be a more united country than we were before November 3. I received an email from someone who attended our Rosary Novena from afar that said, “I guess the Novena didn’t work…”. I would urge those who feel this way to try to look at this from the point of view that God had a different answer than this person wanted. When we don’t “get what we pray for” it doesn’t mean that God has turned his back on us, rather God has another reason for allowing what transpires, or we are not ready for what we asked, or from what God allows, notice I didn’t say “wills”, something better that we have not yet imagined will arise from the answer we did not receive. Let us continue to pray for our country and pray for a peaceful transition of power.
The Church
Once again our Church must face the ugly sinfulness of her members as we are confronted with too many details about the debaucheries of Ted McCarrick and his rise to tremendous ecclesiastical power. These realities break my heart; and, they also infuriate and frustrate me! In a conference call with other pastors, one priest said, “we have no credibility in the eyes of the world, let alone our people: we are an embarrassment.” I fear that this statement is painfully accurate.
I continued to think about these words after the call ended. I looked at the crucifix and thought “no one believed you, Lord, and you were pure goodness, mercy, and love…” Just as my brother priest feels embarrassment, I would presume that Our Lady, the Beloved Disciple, and other followers of Jesus felt the same way as they heard the taunting words, “He saved others! Let Him save Himself, if He is God’s Son, as He claimed…..” To say that McCarrick and the other men like him is the Church’s share in the Cross and Passion of Christ, and our constant need for purification is too facile, too little, and extremely short sighted. I believe there are several difficult realities that must be faced.
First, the bureaucracy that is the Church is broken and has failed the Church and will continue to fail the Church until this brokenness and failure is confronted directly. The first step in reshaping this bureaucracy is not sweeping changes in the Roman Curia and Diocesan Chanceries, as tempting as these options are, the first step towards repairing our Church must be rooted in prayer. Every person from the current Pope to the youngest Catholic must pray for the healing, renewal, and restructuring of the Church – not according to MY designs, but according to the desire of Jesus. What does Jesus desire: “Father, may they be one as We are one…”. We must pray that we may healed, renewed and made one according to the mission Jesus gave us, “Go and teach all nations, baptizing in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit…”. After we have prayed for healing, renewal and unity, and only when we have reembraced the Great Commission, then we can reshape curia’s and chanceries, reshaping them according to God’s desire and creating structures that make us one, and that truly serve our mission.
Secondly, we need to be true to who we are, and who we said we would be. In one way or another we have said that we will either be a disciple or a friend of Jesus. What kind of friends are we? Do we use our friendships to manipulate and broker the ends we desire, are we faithful to our fiduciary responsibilities; are we truthful?
While the report lays much of the “blame” for this tragedy at the feet of Pope Saint John Paul II and his Pontificate, two other questions can be asked: did Pope John Paul’s advisors tell him the truth about McCarrick, especially after McCarrick was passed over for Chicago, and twice for New York, and still the Pontiff was inclined to send McCarrick to Washington, DC?1 Were these advisors part of McCarrick’s group; we they true friends to John Paul; did they fulfill their fiduciary responsibilities towards their Saintly boss? Every priest knows what it is to be betrayed, and usually by those who are closest to him, and those who are supposed “to have his back”. Was the choice of McCarrick John Paul’s failure or the self-serving advice of those who advised him? Only God knows.
Lastly, but certainly not finally, to belong to the Church means to belong to Christ, it is in Him we place our trust; our Faith is in Him; and our Faith and trust rest upon no one person and only one person: Christ Himself. The Church is Christ’s divine creation, and the fact that she goes on despite the sinful – broken humanity that act in her name, proves her divinity. Are you tempted to leave the Church or disregard her and her teachings? The words of Saint Peter to Jesus come to mind, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You alone have the words of eternal life!” Let us pray and sacrifice for the renewal of our poor Church!
Please pray for me as I do for you and those you love!
O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee!
In the Lord,
.
1 I always found it very disappointing that someone like McCarrick would be chosen to succeed James Cardinal Hickey: one the last great Churchmen of the 20th Century. His Eminence was holy, humble, kind, and always ready to say he made a mistake. To be followed by the likes of “Uncle Ted”: blasphemous.
November 8, 2020
My dear Brothers and Sisters,
May the Grace of Our Lord remain with us always!
Next Sunday at the 10am Mass we will bless the renovated Parish Hall, and dedicate the Blessed Sacrament Altar. Both of these occasions are great accomplishments and moments of profound thanksgiving.
The new Blessed Sacrament Altar places the Lord exactly where He belongs: in the center of the sanctuary, as a reminder that He is the source, center, and end of our worship. The carpenters have been able to use a great deal of the existing frame, which helps the Altar look like it has always been here. The Palanza Group has done a superb job in their construction, painting, and placement of the statues of Sacred Heart, Our Lady, Saint Joseph, Saint Anthony, as well as the placement of the Icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help.
None of this would be possible without the great generosity of Albert Terrano and Allen Walentukonis who have given this wonderful gift in memory of their late mother, Cornelia Lucia Apuzzo. Cornelia will always be remembered when we look at the entire sanctuary, and Albert and Allen’s generosity never forgotten.
The Parish Hall is a project that I never thought would never end. Beginning in August of 2019, the great search began. The search was to answer the question once and for all why, after all the masonry work has been completed; a new French Drain installed on the south side of the Church; why was there always water in the hall?
The search was finally resolved when, through the assiduous study and unstoppable searching of Armando Ricci and his workers, every drain unclogged; unknown drains were discovered; and, every drain in the floor of the Parish Hall removed (they were all collapsed or broken apart) and replaced with new French Drains around the entire perimeter of the Hall.
Once the drains were repaired, before the new floor could be laid, an asbestos abatement was necessary because the old tile was filled with asbestos.
Before the new floor could be laid the entire Hall, as well as the Kitchen, and Miss Marie’s former office had to be repaired and painted. As I recently mentioned in the Sunday announcements, Mike Sullivan has given an uncountable number of hours spackling and painting the walls in the hall, the bathrooms, and even built a new wall in the kitchen. He has spent days sealing and waxing the floor until it is perfect, and most of the time Mike worked off the clock. We can never repay Mike: Thank you!!
I pray that as many as possible will be with us in person or via live streamed.
When I look at all of these great improvements, the innumerable gifts of time, talent, and treasure, the words of Saint Paul’ Letter to the Philippians come to mind:
I thank my God, on every remembrance of you!
Always in every prayer of mine for you,
with joy;
I have you in my heart!
May God reward all of you in only the way He is able!
In the Lord,
November 1, 2020
My dear Brothers and Sisters,
May the Grace of Our Lord remain with us always!
Growing deeper in Grace and in Peace
Perhaps you will remember that I used this phrase in my column last week, as I quoted the words of one of my Dominican Brothers. This phrase (drawing upon the Letters of Saint Paul) has stayed with me and resounds with increasing urgency every day!
Grace and peace seem so far away whether on the streets of Providence, or Philadelphia, or too many other cities throughout our country, or even the world.
The passionate displays of anger, accusation, scapegoating, and deadly violence boggle the mind and crush the heart. People on “both sides” are wounded and killed. Everyone is brought into an emotional upheaval that will take generations to heal if healing is ever possible.
There have been and will be massive mostly unread tomes about the sociological and psychological causes and effects of this pandemic of hatred in which we find ourselves, I offer you this preacher’s reflection about what has thrust us into this malignant environment.
From the malaise of the millennials, to the entitlement and self - absorption of the nouveau – riche, to the those who bemoan the loss of the “new deal” for which we have striven since the 1940s, we have, either accidentally or unknowingly, lost the sense of God. As we remove God, or God as we understand Him, from our sense of being, essence, action, thinking, and legislation, we lose the sense of ourselves. As we lose, sideline, or misplace God, we lose, sideline, and misplace ourselves.
Whether one believes in God or not, this is reality: we are all made in God’s image and likeness, and therefore we are good. God wants two things in our lives: that we are saved, and that we are happy. We can only be genuinely happy when we live in a constant awareness of this reality. Saint Francis de Sales and Saint Ignatius of Loyola would refer to this awareness as our remembrance that at all times and in every place, “we are in the presence of God”. Living in awareness for God’s presence is how Ignatian Spirituality can teach “Magis”,1 or being a man for others. This is how Salesian Spirituality erects “Christian Humanism” as the way to live a happy and useful life. This is how Dominican Spirituality embraces that all men and women are called to be the “Sacred Preaching of Jesus Christ”: that simply by seeing us or hearing us, we radiate Jesus Christ and His constant awareness that ‘what you do to the least of brothers and sisters, you do to me’. The Sacred Preaching of Jesus calls us to bring the saving message of the Gospel to others.
How do we grow in Grace and Peace?
To help us grow in Grace and Peace, I offer you these three steps:
1. When you begin the day, say this prayer:
a. “My God, I give You this day! I offer You now, all of the good that I shall do, and I promise to accept, for love of You, all of the difficulty that I shall meet. Help me to conduct myself during this day in a manner pleasing to You. Amen.”
b. Quickly review your day, and as you do ask God to be with you through everything moment, especially those that may be most challenging.
c. As you come to each moment of the day, especially the difficult parts, say, “Stay with me, Lord!”
2. As you take a break whether for coffee or at lunch, look back over the morning: thank God for what went well; ask for Him for insight about what was difficult.
3. As you go throughout the day, become accustomed to saying, “Mother of God. show me your love in my great need: there are none who can withstand your power. O show us you are our Mother!”
4. When you are going to bed pray, “Thank you, God for this day. For what I have done well: I praise You. For my sins, forgive me; heal those I have hurt; and help me to learn from my fall! I love You!”
Simple, baby steps that I hope will help us to grow in God’s Grace and His Peace!
Please pray for me as I do for you and those you love!
O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee!
In the Lord,
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October 2020
October 25, 2020
My dear Brothers and Sisters,
May the Grace of Our Lord remain with us always!
My heartfelt hope and prayer is that this pandemic has led us all to a deeper awareness of the grace and peace of Jesus Christ in our lives and the lives of those whom we are so privileged to serve.
These words of my Dominican Brother, Fr. James Marchionda of the Central Province of our Order speak to so much that is in my heart at this time. They remind me that while “new normal” is the phrase we hear over and over again, for we who believe in Jesus we cannot be complacent with a “new normal”, we must be better than we were before this life changing event. Can you name the deeper awareness of the grace and peace of Christ in your life? I have inklings of this deeper grace and peace as the days role on. Is your relationship with Christ deeper than it was in March? Do you pray every day? Are you kinder to your spouse, other people, and to yourself than you were when we began this time of isolation and purification? May the Grace and Peace of Jesus make us better!
Civil Unrest
During this time let us pray that the civil unrest that marks our country and our cities may cease, and we can begin the road to healing. In the most recent event in our own city, what are your reactions and mine? On Sunday afternoon I was on Blackstone Boulevard to bless the home of a new parishioner. As I was waiting to cross the Boulevard the procession of motorcycles that is now the center of our local news passed before me. You can imagine the shock of these bikers as they came flying down Blackstone and saw me in my habit waiting to cross to the other side! Horns blew; riders made the peace sign; others blessed themselves. When they passed me I never thought I would be thinking about the faces I saw as much as I am.
And the election….. I worked for Dr. Fauci when I was a young Theologian in Washington, DC in the late 1980’s: I can only say that he was brilliant and kind. I lived in Wilmington, DE from 1980 – 1982, and again in 1991 – 1992. Do what your heart tells you to do.
In all of these events I urge you: when they go low, we go high!
Growing deeper in Grace and Peace
The best way to grown in an awareness of Christ’s Grace and Peace is to spend time with Him. To make that possible there are a number of prayer possibilities in the coming week and a half, either in person or via livestream. Please see these possibilities announced in the Bulletin today, or on our website. I urge you to consider two of the times for prayer, praise, intercession, repentance, and thanksgiving.
Around the Parish
Later in the bulletin you will see how different projects are progressing. I am grateful for your generosity as well as the generosity of specific benefactors, and the hard work of so many that make this renewal of our Church facility even more beautiful than it was. Sue Carlino and I walked around the Parish Hall today and she remarked, “Father, this is just beautiful! You have a real Parish Center here!” Thanks be to God, we do.
Please pray for me as I do for you and those you love!
O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee!
In the Lord,
Fr. Jordan
October 18, 2020As we prepare for a very contentious election, let this Novena to Saint Martin de Porres encourage and comfort us.
Fr. Thomas McGlynn, O.P., puts the finishing touches on his sculpture of St. Martin de Porres.
Saint Martin de Porres was a Dominican - Lay Brother. He endured great discrimination because he was an illegitimate mixed - race - child. Pope St. John XXIII declared him the "Patron of all those who work for justice."
Novena to Saint Martin de Porres
Most humble St. Martin, your burning charity embraced all, especially the sick, the afflicted, and the poor. We turn to you in our present difficulties seeking intercession. Please ask God on our behalf for civic harmony and racial healing at the time of this national election.
By imitating your submission to God’s will, may we have peace in our hearts. You served others without seeking anything for yourself except closeness to our crucified Lord. May we too find intimacy with Jesus through our care for all who are in need. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
October 11, 2020My Sisters and Brothers,
May the Grace of Our Lord remain always with us!
Mass Survey
Again my thanks to you and for your great participation in the Mass Survey. Bob Short is busily analyzing the results, and we discussed the results at length during the Parish Council Meeting last evening.
The reason for this change is for the benefit of our Religious Education students and their families. You may remember that Religious Education Classes were taught on Sunday Morning for the older students, and Monday afternoon for the younger students. The Monday afternoon slot was not the best time for the students, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to find and to retain good teachers. When Bob and I suggested this schedule there was strong support for the change. Religious Education Classes need to stay where they are currently scheduled.
The Mass Survey presents us with the heart of the matter: At this time, are we able to sustain and support two Sunday Masses?
The Survey indicates that 33% of our parishioners have not returned to attending Mass in person – and that statistic is from the 75 people who answered the survey. I would think that we are much closer to 50% of our parishioners have not returned to attending Mass in person. Currently, people are voting with their feet, and the Noon Mass is very poorly attended, and we may need to cancel the Mass. When more people return to Sunday Mass, we can always add a Mass on either side of the 10am Mass.
When the Councils, Bob, and I have a definitive decision, you’ll be the first to know. If you have any thoughts or questions, please do not hesitate to call me, to come in to visit, or email me at pastor@stsebastianri.oeg.
Finances
Thank you to all of you who have sent in donations, or “catch – up” budgets. Your steady generosity is of tremendous assistance!. Sue Carlino is like a human adding machine! Each week as we study the collections, she tells me, “Father, at this run rate we will be…”; you are responding and that is a great assistance.
Online Outreach
Please check our Parish Facebook page to participate different initiatives we are trying. Covid Crazy: Pandemic Fear” made its debut of Monday. As I say the title is not making fun of the anyone; nor is it about taking the pandemic lightly: Covid Crazy: Pandemic Fear is about allowing our faith to help us deal with everything that we are facing.
Keep watching for Liturgy 101 with Fr. Jordan, coming to a living room near you!
The Parish Hall and Kitchen
If you are tired of hearing about this project - - - I’m with you: I can’t wait until this is complete.
We owe our Maintenance Man, Mike Sullivan and his good friend, Russell Furia, all the gratitude in the world! While we had to pay for asbestos abatement; repairing the drains; and part of the floor, Mike and Russell are receiving only a nominal payment. In reality, Mike and Russell have donated their time, and they have also bought a significant part of the materials. Both rooms were not simply a paint job. This project involved building three new walls in the kitchen; plastering large parts of the hall; and, working 12—14-hour days. As I said to these two gentlemen, “I will never be able to repay you for what you are doing for this Parish, and for me!” Please join me in grateful prayer for Mike and Russell’s extremely hard work and generosity! God Bless you and your families, Russell, and Mike!
Until we meet at the altar…
O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee!
In the Lord,
October 4, 2020
My Sisters and Brothers,
May the Grace of Our Lord remain always with us!
Mass Survey
Elsewhere in today’s bulletin, you will find a brief analysis and summary about the results of the Mass Survey. First, thank you!, for completing the survey: this survey had the greatest amount of participation in the 2.5 years I have asked for your feedback! Thank you! The Parish Pastoral Council meets this Monday Evening and we will discuss the results and see if we are able to arrive at a consensus. More to follow.
Finances
Over the last three Wednesday’s, Kathy Harrington, Sue Carlino, and I have met with three major stakeholders in the life of the Parish: the Parish Pastoral Council; the Parish Auditors; and the Parish Finance Council and Trustees. These meetings provided the opportunity for Kathy and Sue to “meet” everyone and discuss the stewardship of the gifts we have been given.
There is a lot of good news in the numbers. There is also the reality of a need for increased income to be able to hold the anticipated deficit at $15,000.00. I shared this with you last weekend in the announcement for the 10am Facebook Mass.
At the beginning of the Pandemic many parishioners experienced a substantial financial change in their lives. Many of you have very graciously shared those difficulties with me; I pray for you and that you and your family have all you need! If your financial status has become more stable and you can consider resuming your giving – Blessed be God! If you are not able to contribute at the level you once did, please remember this truth: “Stewardship: Not equal gift; but equal sacrifice.” Your sacrifice may now be different, but your gift means even more!
For those who have not returned to Mass in person, please consider mailing in your weekly budget, or sign up for online giving.
While the words, “we are in this together” may lead you to think of our Governor and Coronavirus; it has another meaning as well: if we are not going to allow the deficit to grow, but stand for the possibility to conquer it, we are in this together!
The Sacraments
The Mass Survey revealed to me how many are still not attending Mass in person because of coronavirus and the accompanying dispensation to not attend Mass.
I am concerned that those who are not attending Mass in person have been without the Sacraments since March. If you want to go to Holy Communion or need to go to Confession, please let me know and I will more than gladly bring the Sacraments to you! We could also arrange an “outdoor” opportunity for you to receive both of these Sacraments. Please be in touch with me if you would like me to bring you Communion.
Civility is a sign of God’s Presence in our lives
The Desert Fathers offer us a lot of great advice for living our daily lives happily and peacefully. Father Moses offers this advice:
If you are constantly yelling and pointing out the sins and failings of another, it is because you don’t know your own sins, and don’t like yourself.
We need this reminder in these turbulent days. Screaming and yelling is neither a sign of power or authority: it is a sign of self-loathing and fear. We need to strive with greater fervor to bring words that give life into the conversations and situations in which we find ourselves. Like you, I have stood back in shock at the profound sense of hatred that we so often encounter. Father Moses again offers us advice:
People will rant and accuse until they wrestle with the demon deep within themselves, and know that demon loved, forgiven, and redeemed by God!
Do not be afraid to wrestle with yourself! Its fruit is worth the struggle!
Until we meet at the altar…
O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee!
In the Lord,
-
September 2020
September 27, 2020
My Sisters and Brothers,
May the Grace of Our Lord remain always with us!
The other morning I was listening to the sage advice of my “Kitchen Cabinet Advisors’, aka the Monday Morning Counters, about different facets of parish life. I asked my Cabinet Members, “how much money did the Noon Mass bring in?”. The response was a noticeably quiet, “You don’t want to know, Father….”, tiny attendance – tiny collection. So, I began to ask some questions:
1. I asked: has there every been a Noon Mass before?
Everyone shook their heads and said “no”. I queried, “why did people suggest it”; again no one knew.
2. Then I asked why do you think people wouldn’t choose the Noon Mass?
The first response was “the football games” – my blood pressure began to rise; and I replied that the games begin at 1:30 and everyone would be home in plenty of time. I then learned that the games begin at 1. My blood pressure rose more as I wondered, “how did the NFL makes this decision without consulting me!?”
The second response was, “Father, what’s a Sung Mass?” Good question. The Sung Mass is the principle Mass of the weekend. Sung Masses can take many forms. At Saint Sebastian the Sung Mass looks like this: a. on the Sundays that call for the Gloria, it will be sung; b. if there is a big opening hymn, the cantor might sing a setting of the Introit as a solo; c. Sacramental Rites would normally take place at the Noon Mass, e.g. Anointing of the Sick; Baptisms; Commissioning of Parish Council members, etc.; d. Incense will be used for special celebrations. The real difference between a Sung Mass and let’s say the Masses at 5pm or 10am is the singing of the Gloria; and, the use of incense on particular occasions.
Our conclusion: we will continue to offer the Noon Mass and see how things go.
My wise cabinet then opined, “the Mass attendance numbers aren’t where they were before COVID.” I had one of those big “aha!” moments, and my mind was off to a new question: how do we encourage people to return to regular Mass attendance, and they still feel safe?
I found the following reflection from Father Roger Landry (printed in a recent Letter to the Editor of the Boston Pilot) a good place to start to answer that question. Fr. Landry started his reflection with this thought:
“It's a challenge for faithful to go from a habit of thinking Sunday Mass is optional for several months to Mass' suddenly being obligatory again almost overnight.”
Why is this happening now? What about COVID?
“Numbers of new infections are low in their regions, schools, places of employment, restaurants, stores, and places of entertainment have reopened, and people have resumed most of the activities of normal life. Combined with church protocols for safety, which have proven highly effective in preventing the transmission of COVID, there is no reason to continue a general dispensation. For those who are ill, caring for those who are ill, or those with health conditions that would make contracting the coronavirus especially perilous, the bishops have generally maintained particular dispensations.”
But isn’t optional Mass part of the new normal?
“Many people have gotten comfortable in the new normal of the pandemic. In priest online discussion groups, several pastors have described that their parishioners have told them that they haven't voluntarily returned to Mass in their parishes because they have come to prefer watching Mass making spiritual communions with a cup of coffee from their La-Z-Boy, or viewing livestreams from exquisite Cathedrals with great sacred music, or those featuring priests who are superb preachers. While it's good at least to watch Mass, in a culture of convenience, marked by consumerism both material and often spiritual, many Catholics over the last six months have formed new Sunday habits that they're not eager to give up. Others have simply gotten into the habit of living without Sunday Mass altogether, even virtual.”
What do we do?
“That's why I think it's essential for the Church, in hoping to draw people back to Mass, to focus less on obligation and more on the mind-blowing reality of what Mass is. God loved us so much that he not only humbled himself to take on human form and even further humbled himself to allow us, his creatures, to crucify him; he humbled himself to the extent that he hides himself under the appearances of bread and wine, so that we can spend time in prayer with him substantially present, and so that we can become one with him in Holy Communion. God has made possible for us to enter with him in time into his eternal acts during the Last Supper and on Calvary, so that we might journey with him through the new and eternal Passover from death to life.”
Give that some thought: the mind blowing reality of God’s love for us! Do we ever think that as we come to Mass? Do we remember, do we see and experience God’s love poured out for us over and over again, in His Word, in the Sacrifice of Calvary made real again through the Sacrifice of the Mass, especially at the moment of the Consecration? Do we experience the “kiss of God’ as we receive His Body and Blood under the forms of bread and wine? If we truly did remember, we would never miss Mass when we are physically well enough to join the Community for the sharing of His Word, and the banquet Christ offers us!
Sung Mass; no frills Mass; family Mass: just consider coming back to Mass!
Until we meet at the altar…
O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee!
In the Lord,
September 20, 2020
My Sisters and Brothers,
May the Grace of Our Lord remain always with us!
Trying to Hold It all Together
Schools, businesses, cities, and families: as we move through this “Pandemic Culture”, we are all trying to hold it all together. The Church is no different. The mind-numbing and frustrating budget meetings I have sat through trying to devise Budget A if we bounce back; Budget B if bounce back; and Budget C – that’s another story: we are all just trying to hold it all together. The Holy Father, and Robert Cardinal Sarah, the Prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, witness the same effort to keep it all together.
Cardinal Sarah recently published, Let Us Return to the Eucharist with JOY!, a letter to all the Episcopal Conferences and Bishops throughout the world, a letter he wrote at the request of Pope Francis. There are three specific points for prayerful consideration, I want to share with you. The Cardinal writes:
As soon as circumstances permit, however, it is necessary and urgent to return to the normality of Christian life, to the celebration of the liturgy, especially the Eucharist.
Aware the God never abandons the humanity He has created, and that even the hardest trials can bear fruits of grace, we have accepted our distance from the Lord’s altar….. However, as soon as is possible we must return to the Eucharist with a purified heart, with a renewed amazement, with an increased desire to meet the Lord, to be with him, to receive him and to bring him to our brothers and sisters…
We “cannot be without the Christian community,” Cardinal Sarah added, “ we cannot be without the house of the Lord,” “we cannot be without the Lord’s Day.”
These three snippets place before us the difficult reality that we have lived for these last 6 months: to be away from the Lord; to be away one another. One of these is possible even though it may be difficult; but both of these simultaneously – a perfect storm for a crushing paralysis!
None of us should take unnecessary risks, even if we are immune – suppressed, or if we have any signs of an oncoming cold, sore threat, or GI issues. But for the rest of us, do we need to challenge ourselves? May we be safe and stay well, but let us be honest with ourselves.
Odds and Ends
Asbestos Abatement begins on Monday, 21 September. This will necessitate that the Parish Hall is completely off limits until after October 1 or 8. If you need a restroom, please use the one in between the priest and altar boy sacristies. If you are willing to help us paint the hall, please contact Mike Sullivan or Bob Short.
The Parish Council will meet with Kathy Harrington and Sue Carlino on September 16. On September 23 we, Kathy, Sue and I, will meet with the auditors; please keep this meeting in your prayers.
Finally, on September 30 Kathy and Sue will meet with the Finance Committee and the Trustees. Following these three meetings, a financial report will be published to all parishioners.
Until we meet at the altar…
O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee!
In the Lord,
September 13, 2020
My Sisters and Brothers,
May the Grace of Our Lord remain always with us!
Thank You, and I’m fine
Thank you for all your concern last weekend when I experienced a little issue with my insulin. Your care and attention both at Mass and throughout the day, are very much appreciated! A real complication from this was not my health: it was my sister and brother-in – law who were watching and saw all of this unfold! I think my sister could have flown up her without a plane!
New Mass Schedule and Religious Education
We have begun the new schedule without too much trouble. The 5pm had a few more people than usual; the 10am had the best crowd, but still enough space for social-distancing; and the Noon - - - a whole 6 people. I am hoping that number was because of the Labor Day Holiday – time will tell. One more time, here is the schedule:
Saturday: Confession at 4 pm
Mass at 5pm – Low Mass
There is music, but not as developed as at other Masses.
Sunday:
9am: Religious Education
Grades 1,2, and 3; Confirmation II
10am: Family Mass –
Cantor and keyboard more varied styles of music.
11am: Religious Education
Grades 4,5, and 6; Confirmation I
Noon: Sung Mass
Please do not let this title, Sung Mass, frighten you! The only really extra singing is the weekly singing of the Gloria. And incense…used more than that to which you are accustomed, but we are not going
Hagia Sophia or Saint James Compostela!
Each one – reach one!
Some Financial Updates
Sue Carlino, the Financial Administrator appointed by Bishop Tobin, has been here in the Parish for about a month. We are becoming accustomed to one another, and I am grateful for Sue’s presence.
Currently we are 4%, or $5,400.00 behind, in budget income in comparison to the current budget, and where we were at this time last year. As Sue would say, “with that kind of run rate…..”: I am confident that we will catch up.
If you have been away and have not been using online giving, please consider “catching up” so we can close the gap that currently exists – we want to stop the run rate.
If the Pandemic has curtailed your regular giving that is certainly understandable. If your financial situation is more stable, please consider resuming your regular giving. Please remember: not equal gift, but equal sacrifice; our sacrificial giving will change as your circumstances change.
Your consistent generosity throughout these last six months has been wonderful and has allowed us to continue to pay our bills; to make salary; and to care for those in need: thank you so much!
Catholic Charities
This weekend is our Catholic Charities In Pew Collection. If you have not participated in the Catholic Charity Appeal this, I urge you to do so. Some data for your consideration:
Current Year Past Year
Goal: $72,000 $78,882
Given or Pledged: $85,968 $56,827
Donors: 44 138
Your generosity will allow the Church to continue its work among the poor and those marginalized by society. By law, no funds raised for Catholic Charities can be used to pay settlements to victims of clerical sexual abuse victims, or legal costs related to these cases.
Forty-four gifts raised a total of $56,827! Imagine of what we could do if the donor became 88!
Grateful for God’s Providence: Sharing the Vision, Meeting the Challenge
With all that in the last months the capital campaign, Grateful of God’s Providence: Sharing the Vision, Meeting the Challenge has taken a necessary and understandable back seat. As we strive to safely move ahead, Grateful for God’s Providence: Sharing the Vision, Meeting the Challenge needs to return to our regular consideration, and be given the critical attention is so rightly demands.
Some data for your consideration:
Goal: $343,383.00
Pledged: $388,852
Paid: $207,938
Due: $ 180, 914
Donors: 71
Total Households: 332
Participation: 21%
I’ve mentioned it to you before, and I will say it once again; I don’t know if I did the best job pitching the campaign to you and getting you more involved: I’m sorry for that. During the active phase of the campaign, our parish community was in a very different place than where we now find ourselves. There was something about last Christmas that changed everything in a very positive way: a sense of joy; an excitement and a willingness to work together that was new and refreshing. A parish council member said to me, “Father, things are really beginning to change for the good.”
In a spirit of thanksgiving, I invite all of us to consider again participating in Grateful for God’s Providence: Sharing the Vision, Meeting the Challenge. In making this request I acknowledge the difficulties of COVID and the uncertainties of the future; I also acknowledge the difficult relationships and experiences many of us have with the Institutional Church at large, and particularly with local Institutional Church. Because every dollar we raise now remains completely here with us, I urge us to see beyond our fears, emotions, and experiences not to hold us back from giving to our Parish alone: we are giving our power and our spirit away.1
Currently, $207, 938 has been paid into the Campaign Account. Giving the Diocese the $206,00 we owe them, that leaves us $1,938.00 Your participation in Grateful for God’s Providence: Sharing the Vision, Meeting the Challenge will allow us to pay back our own money to the Inter Parish Loan Fund; we could create a genuine endowment for the Church with operating by laws; we would be able to care for the poor and establish an Evangelization Plan; we could pay our Staff a more just wage; and, we would be able to create and fund a Capital Improvement Strategic Plan that we will never this kind of deferred maintenance again.
Please pray about your participation in Grateful for God’s Providence: Sharing the Vision, your gift will help us to bring the God’s Love and the hope of the Gospel to each one of us here, and to those yet unborn.
Until we meet at the altar…
O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee!
In the Lord,
.
1 Please remember 100% of everything we raise stays at Saint Sebastian, after we have paid the 206K to the Diocese. -
August 2020
August 30, 2020 - From Bob Short
As Father Jordan would write, “may the Grace of Our Lord remain with us always!”
By the time you read this our Pastor will have returned. (That verb is in the future perfect tense, if any of my students happen to be reading this.) There is still time, however, for one more short essay. Two weeks ago I wrote about the loveliness of our weekday Masses at Saint Sebastian Church. Last week my subject was what a young Catholic in their 20s or 30s is looking for in a parish. In today’s column I am eager to pull everything together.
To do so I would like to tell you a bit about a Bible Study we have brought to the parish. It is not a program or a video; nor is it something of my own making. I first encountered this study about four years ago. Two young women started a Bible Study on Saturday afternoons, and a rotating cast would pack their Bibles and bring them to one of a rotating list of homes. The conversation always focused on the next day’s Sunday Mass readings, but many times these readings were a springboard to unexpected topics. Over Scripture and snacks we shared our joys and frustrations; asked for prayers and prayed with each other. Our discussions on the Bible readings always included some “head knowledge”—we referenced footnotes or shared half-remembered details of something heard once in a homily or a lecture—but the focus was always on the migration of this “head knowledge” to the heart.
Let me tell you how these sessions most profoundly affected me: Like you, it sometimes takes a lot of courage for me to talk about what God has done in my life and how much I love God, and how that love is dwarfed by God’s love for me. Like many of the men of the parish, I was raised to be a stoic New Englander, and am only slowly learning how to articulate my emotions! At this Bible study, I was exposed to people with an ability to speak directly and honestly about the power of God in their lives. They did so casually, like one might observe the weather at the beach or the finer points of a delicious meal. In time, I was able to follow their model and speak simply about my relationship with God without the slightest embarrassment. I can’t imagine I could teach Confirmation class without this experience!
As the St. Sebastian Parish Council discussed evangelization efforts in July and August, I remembered this particular Bible Study, and with a little encouragement, we decided to try this format at our Parish. Let me tell you how our first day went.
There were five of us: two parishioners; one person who just moved to the neighborhood this month; one of the FOCUS Missionaries from Brown University; and a visitor from a parish across town. Socially distanced around the table in the Randall Room, we introduced ourselves while opening all the windows, propped open the door to the Room, as well as the door to the outside. We started off by reading aloud the selection from the 22nd chapter of Isaiah; and, after a minute or so of silent reflection we read last Sunday’s Gospel: the famous “You are Peter and on this Rock I will build my Church” section of Matthew’s Gospel. Both readings used the imagery of keys to describe the power vested in a person, the power to lock that which will not be unlocked and unlock that which will not be locked.
How does this affect us? In Isaiah the key which is described must be a very large and heavy one—it is described as being carried not in a pocket but on a shoulder. It is a different sort of view as leadership: it is a sacrifice, a duty, but also an opportunity. Why an opportunity? Priests share in Christ’s ministry to forgive sins, using those keys entrusted to Peter to unlock the chains that bind us. When this ended up being the exact thrust of our guest celebrant Fr. Jordan Zajac’s audacious homily on Sunday morning, the hair on the back of my neck stood up!
We read the second reading last. It is the end of chapter 11 in Romans—a rich and evocative prayer Paul uses to end his discussion about the role of the Jewish people who had not accepted Jesus in God’s vast plan. That is how it fits into Paul’s Letter to the Romans, but how does it fit in with the Sunday Readings, and how does it fit in our own lives? This question led to discussion of what it means to be chosen by God, and how in Christ we are able to call on the Eternal Father with the intimacy of a child. At about this point we slid back into the choice of Peter, and how Peter knew more than anyone that his call was purely the gift of God, and nothing that this loveable, brash, impulsive retired fisherman had earned. Finally, we arrived at the million-dollar question: Jesus’ question posed to Peter, “Who do you say I am?” Linked with this question, though, is a very timely question in this age of loneliness and anxiety: Who does Jesus say that we are? We chewed on that for the last fifteen minutes of the hour we spent together. Like Peter, several of us had received a new identity in following Jesus, even if we didn’t receive a new name!
I don’t remember when it happened, but at one point the conversation petered out into nothingness—a sort of living, holy, and grateful silence at the gift of Himself that God has given us.
It was a tremendous gift to be with these people and hear them open their hearts. God is a wonderful Father. He knows that He has to treat me differently from you, just like a parent knows the exact touch that works with each of their children. We learned so much by hearing another talk about how God has unfolded in their life. Even though this group arrived as strangers, we quickly developed a rapport and trust. We were able to have faith in each other due to our mutual faith in God, I suppose. It isn’t so bad to be dragged out of our comfort to speak about our love of God. If you are a parent, and you want your child to have faith in their life, they will need to see you pray. Without your example recognizing the role of God in your life, it is unlikely they will ever learn to do so. Perhaps prayer together before bedtime is just what your family needs. Perhaps your teenager needs to hear what changed in your life that made you know that God exists, and not only exists but loves us.
You may have read those words and thought, “that seems impossible! I’m no holy roller!” You don’t have to be a street preacher! You just need to be yourself. Christianity, I think, is not a self-sufficient terrarium, beautiful but enclosed. It is most itself when it is slightly off balance, reaching out to someone new. You might just find out that you are most yourself in this reaching out as well.
The parish has a number of different initiatives in the works—both in-person and online—that will allow you to grow deeper in faith. Please keep up with the Parish bulletin so you can hear more about these other opportunities as they are rolled out! If the Bible Study I described in this column interests you, I hope you will consider coming to discuss the Sunday readings with us on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of the month. We will meet in the Randall Room at the conclusion of the 9am Mass, and chat until 10:30. In September we will meet on the 12th and 26th. If anyone were to bring bagels, that would be a welcome treat!
At the beginning of this column, I said I would bring together my reflections of the last two weeks in the telling of this experience. How does the narrative of this Saturday Morning Bible Study achieve that goal? My shared story of myself and my fellow parishioners last Saturday highlight what every person is longing for, whether they acknowledge it or not. We all long for a place to belong; a place to pray; a place to be fed; and to be given a common mission. Saint Sebastian offers all of that and more! Through morning Masses and the community they create; through beautiful Sunday liturgies that cultivate the rich heritage of our Catholic Liturgical Life; and through Saturday Morning Bible Studies that feed us, unite us, help us to pray, and send us forth to be slat and light in an often dark and tasteless world!
As Father Jordan would say, “Each One: Reach One”: invite somebody to come to Saint Sebastian with you!
In the Lord,
Bob Short
August 23, 2020 - From Bob Short
As Father Jordan would write, “may the Grace of Our Lord remain with us always!”
Our pastor is still on his well-deserved vacation, and so this will be the second of three columns I write in his absence.
Last week I wrote to you about something near and dear to my heart—the beauty of weekday Masses at our parish. I once met an Irish priest at a protest who talked to me a while about visiting Iona, the island off the Scottish coast where St. Columba founded an abbey in the 6th century. He called at a “thin place”, meaning one of those places where it seems that the line between heaven and earth is almost diaphanous. Come to Saint Sebastian with faithful expectation and you will find you have access to a “thin place” much closer to home!
I also told you last week about a conversation with a 30-something “roamin’ Catholic” who regaled me with two sentence reviews of every church in the greater Woonsocket area during a walking pilgrimage. While reviewing parishes as if they were pizzerias or barbershops strikes me as a bit distasteful, the conversation gave me a lot to think about.
What is it that Catholics in their 20s and 30s want in a parish when they come to a new town?
Other Young People
The truth is, being a young person in the Church is a bit lonely. It is hard to be a young Catholic in the 21st Century—sometimes it seems that the entire world is conspiring against keeping the faith—but having companions on the path helps. I definitely lost friends when I embraced the Faith. In time I gained better ones. We set up meal trains when one of us is going through tough times. We pray for each other. We lend each other books. I met every single one of these people at a Church event or through a friend I made at a Church event. I am a better parishioner at Saint Sebastian for having these friendships, and resolve to be that person for others. But how can we reach this critical mass of young parishioners? Keep reading for some of my observations.
A Welcoming Parish
Young Catholics want to worship at a parish that knows their name and says hello with a genuine smile. They want a parish that encourages them and inspires them to love God and neighbor in more concrete ways. I dropped my faith like a hot potato when I went to college, but when I started tentatively going back to church in my mid-20s, I was mystified that the people of my parish were so kind to me. Didn’t they know I was a shiftless, underemployed jerk who laughed at all the wrong things and partied too much? They didn’t care. They loved me all the same, and I found myself wanting to be the person they thought I was. In time, that desire morphed into wanting to be the person God wants me to be! It has been quite the adventure these past eight years, but it began with people smiling and inviting me to sit next to them.
Great Preaching
We have all sat through many kinds of homilies. There are the ones that fire us up. There are the ones that puzzle us. There are the ones that seem to cut us deeply—where we are very nearly offended, but realize in time that this was just the message God wanted us to grapple with. Yes, there are also boring ones. What kind of preaching will keep the “roamin’ Catholic” glued to their pew? It won’t be the ones that are simple life advice, or worse, some kind of bourgeois morality masquerading as Christian ethics. Jesus truly is a wise teacher, but that is not why we worship Him! In a homily, we want to understand the Bible better. Scripture can be confusing! (What does Paul mean when he says “in Christ”? He seems to say it an awful lot...) We young people also want preaching that can shake us out of our complacency. We have had enough of religion that is merely conservative, or merely liberal. We want the whole Gospel, undiluted, which predates all this political posturing and will outlive all our drab modern categories. Society makes it hard for us to be anti-abortion and anti-police brutality at the same time. We are sick of having to pick between supporting policies that defend the nuclear family and policies that give aid to the poor. Young and old, we Catholics are quite politically homeless, despite the efforts of those who are trying to turn us into captive one-issue voters. We want preaching that will lead us forward, not divide us. We are neither fish nor fowl: we are salt and light, the people of God. We want to grow deeper in our faith—both faith in God and faith in the Church. We want to be invited into the richness of Catholic culture and traditions. We want to see God through the eyes of the saints—those ones who know God best.
Beautiful Worship
The Mass is THE most important thing that happens at Saint Sebastian Church. We are incredibly lucky to already have a beautiful liturgy here. Last Sunday I spoke to a young man who recently moved to Providence. He has gone to a couple parishes, but what made him feel most at home at our parish? You already know his answer, but it was the people, the preaching, and the liturgy. What makes our liturgy inviting to young Catholics? “Richness” is a word I want to emphasize here. The priest leads us with clarity and dignity. The music chosen is not an interlude, but is part of the Mass—reinforcing the fact that this is one great, big prayer that we are all offering together. People seem to love arguing over the liturgy. I get it—we all have our own aesthetic preferences. I do not mean to demean your preferences if you are a great lover of the Latin Mass or a folk Mass, but in my experience young Catholics are looking for the best of the whole tradition. We want all the benefits of the rich musical tradition that is specifically Catholic. We desire the ritual beauty which marks the Roman Rite. We long for all that Vatican 2 taught us about worship: that the Liturgy is heaven joined to earth! Some seem to think that the only decision is between a parish with felt banners and poor music or the Latin Mass. We know that this is a false choice. If my contemporaries choose the Latin Mass rather than the Mass of the Roman Missal, it is only because the way the latter was celebrated left them hungry, wanting, and not encountering beauty. At Saint Sebastian Church we possess this beauty: this is a thing to celebrate. Many other parishes would be jealous to see the riches we have access to each and every Sunday. I can’t wait until our masks can come off and we can all sing with Meghan at full volume!
Forgiveness
Young people in the Church have rediscovered the benefit of frequent Confession. In Confession we find the love of Jesus waiting to embrace us. The young people here would find that St. Sebastian Church is a wonderful place to receive that most merciful of sacraments. Father Jordan hears confessions starting at 4pm on Saturdays, and is always open to schedule an appointment! We are incredibly lucky to have access to an experienced, nuanced, and loving confessor. Maybe you haven’t been in a while? Let’s surprise Fr. Jordan with long Confession lines when he gets back. A line at the Confession room is one of the finest signs of a parish that is alive in faith. It is a signal to young and old that we need mercy and we know that Jesus is the one who gives it.
Peace and blessings on all of you!
From
Bob Short
August 16, 2020 - From Bob ShortAs Father Jordan would write, “may the Grace of Our Lord remain with us always!”
Our pastor is taking a well-deserved vacation, and I will be writing a few columns in his absence. You probably will not learn as much, but I try to make sure they are entertaining to read!
One of my friends is a great lover of Medieval history. Like many of us, he has put on a few pounds during the quarantine, but unlike many of us he has come up with a rather Medieval solution: he has begun to train for a pilgrimage on the Camino in Spain. In the summer of 2021, he hopes to walk the traditional route from the Pyrenees to the tomb of St. James the Apostle in northwest Spain. The route is over 400 miles—not something you do without serious preparation. As part of this training, he invited me to take a pilgrimage walk with him and a mutual friend. Our trip would start in Lincoln, go through Manville, North Smithfield, and Woonsocket, ending at the Saint Theresa Shrine in Burrillville. All in all, it was 12 miles. Our friend, also a young Catholic in his 30s, has already walked the Camino and was filled with tips and wisdom from his trek. I do not want to get bogged down in details, but I did find it very interesting that many long-distance walkers will put anti-perspirant on their feet to stave off wet socks and blisters.
I am always on the look-out for new catechist talent, so I directed the conversation towards which parish he called home. Perhaps he might be willing to join a certain beautiful stone Church on a picturesque street in one of Providence’s most venerable neighborhoods…
Like many Catholics my age, he is a bit of a parish shopper—a roamin’ Catholic, he described himself. As he spoke about bouncing from parish to parish in his native Woonsocket, I wondered what it was that caused me to end my roaming days and call Saint Sebastian home. Next week I will go into my observations about what attracts young Catholics to a parish, but this week I’d like to go into something at Saint Sebastian that was a special draw for me: our daily Masses.
I found out this parish existed in late August 2015. I had just taken over the Upper Elementary Classroom at Ocean State Montessori School and felt like I needed more than a little divine help to get me through my first year alone in the classroom. Was there anywhere near my school that had a weekday Mass early enough for me to get to work on time? The next morning I parallel parked on Cole Avenue.
I found so much to fall in love with at these Masses. I will start with the people. For all sorts of different reasons they got themselves out of bed early in the morning and came to hear the Word of God and receive the Bread of Life. Some were here only on certain days of the week. Some were here day in and day out. A couple have moved away. A few have gone home to their eternal reward. I met Marie, Pat, and the Samits; Joe, Sarah, and Rocco; Jim, Dan, and Katherine. I could go on. I have met some of the kindest and warmest people I will ever know in that chapel. In the past five years these people have prayed for me, given me rides to school when my car was unreliable, taken me to plays at the Gamm, and most importantly given me a thousand smiles and how-are-you’s that helped me live my life in as Christian a way as I can!
Maybe you have never been to a weekday Mass before. The Mass is celebrated every single day here, not just on Sundays. Monday through Friday we have a Mass at 7am (8am during the summer). On Saturday, we have the daily Mass at 9am, which is an entirely separate thing than the 5pm Vigil Mass on Saturday evening.
Weekday Mass has a whole different feel than on Sunday. You will first notice what is missing: there is no organ or cantor. Most days only have one reading and a psalm before the Gospel, rather than two readings and a psalm. There is usually no Gloria or creed. Things are more hushed, humble, unadorned, simple, and intimate. The beauty of the prayers shine out. We can almost hear each other breathing.
These weekday masses at Saint Sebastian became as much a part of the rhythm of my life as my own breath. What should I describe to you? How when the days get shortest, the liturgy has unspeakable beauty as we approach Christmas. The sun rises during Mass, such that we who walked into the church in pre-dawn darkness are dismissed from the liturgy into bright daylight. Or I could talk about the wonderful selections from the Bible that we hear read aloud—like during the first few days of Holy Week when Isaiah’s prophecies of the Suffering Servant interpret for us the Gospel stories of the trap which is about to be sprung upon Jesus, who freely gives his own life up for us so that we might be freed from sin and death.
Father Jordan has referred to these weekday Masses as an endless retreat. That is an image that reverberates with me. Each day he opens up for us doorways we into deeper understanding of familiar Gospels. He applies them to our lives. He reminds us of God’s love and mercy, and the path of life laid out for us.
And at the end of Mass, we are fed the Eucharist. Words fail me on this subject. Maybe you have a hard time believing this truly is the Lord. Or perhaps you know it in your head, but you don’t feel a thing when you take Communion. No matter where you are on in your journey, come to a daily Mass. Act like you believe, and you will find your mind and heart following close behind. Those of us who exercise know that what builds up our endurance and our heart is high repetitions at low weight. This is the spiritual version of that. We are building up perseverance. But more than that, we are dismissed to glorify God in our lives as we head off to work or school or babysitting grandchildren. We separate and go off, carrying the Risen Lord in us.
These Masses for me are a place of rest—a fitting end rejuvenating end to a pilgrimage of any length. And like many pilgrimages, you will find that destinations become new starting points. We would love to see you there. Sit with me if you like. I’m usually sitting in the front on the left side. Sometimes I am somewhere else though. I’m the one with the black glasses.
In the Lord,
Bob Short
August, 9th, 2020
My dear friends,
May the Grace of Our Lord remain always with us!
How can it be August 10th? In one way it doesn’t seem possible, and yet in another way it seems much later than August. I hope you are well and that you have had time to get some rest and relaxation, and that you are managing the day to day realities of life well.
As I noted in last week’s bulletin and today, I am doing my best to get away for a while, although it isn’t easy to find a place to go where one feels safe and that is easily accessible. My last week will be at our Dominican House in the Catskills; the first two weeks will be a great travel experiment!
While I am away, Bob Short will oversee the Parish. Bob will check voice mail and my email (pastor@stsebastianri.org) several times a day. Bob knows what to do if there is a sacramental emergency or if a funeral comes in. Bob will also be able to reach me at any time. There are priests from the College and the Diocese who will be celebrating Mass. I will be back for the Saturday morning Mass on August 29.
Getting Ready
My return date shows that September is just around the corner, and September brings the reopening of school. Who knows what the reopening school will look like? Let us pray for administrators, teachers, and students – like everything these last months – this will be a September like nonother!
I hope you have seen the YouTube post from Mr. Bob and me about resuming Religious Education. In his usual fashion, Bob has planned for every possibility – remote or in person. Please register your child/children for Religious Education, especially if they are ready to begin preparation for First Penance and First Holy Communion, as well as Confirmation.
New Mass Schedule
Beginning on Saturday, September 5 a new weekend Mass Schedule will go into effect. The Schedule is:
Saturday: Confession at 4 pm
Mass at 5pm
Sunday:
9am: Religious Education
10am: Family Mass
11am: Religious Education
Noon: Sung Mass
Parish Update
At long last the Parish Hall is just about complete! All of the construction work has been completed, including finding a hidden manhole! A completely new drainage system has been installed; a high-volume sump-pump; a new asbestos free floor; and two fresh coats of paint! We are extremely fortunate that the bequest from Connie Bissonnette paid for much of the work, and also for the tremendous generosity of two parishioners which has allowed the rest of the work to be completed.
Carpenters and design artists continue their work for the new Altar of Reservation (where the Tabernacle sits). I hope to see a complete rendering before I leave for vacation. The first sketch looks wonderful. The current screen remains and the center of it is raised a bit higher to allow depth for the Tabernacle as well as ease of access for the priest or Eucharistic Minister. During a visit with the designer I asked him if angels which were the sides of old pews could be used? He is working to incorporate these angels as well as the current sanctuary screen. We owe a profound debt of gratitude to Albert Terrano and Allen Walentukonis who have donated the Altar of Reservation in memory of their recently deceased Mother, Cornelia Lucia Pacheo. Thank you Al and Allen!
We are still interviewing candidates for the position of Director of Music and Organist. We have had many excellent applicants. Bob, Megan, and I met with two “finalists” and offered the position to a wonderful candidate. After some thought, she later turned down the offer because of the demands of being a senior in college. I am waiting to hear from the other possible candidate.
Sadly, Elaine Ginn, our Parish Receptionist, has chosen not to return both because of a decrease in hours and the new growth of COVID-19. We might try to manage Elaine’s position with some volunteer help.
Sue Carlino, the Financial Administrator, has returned to the Rectory after her father’s death. We assure Sue of our sympathy and prayers during this difficult time.
Some Final Reflections
In the midst of all the worries that surround us, find something beautiful each day, and find a reason to be grateful. As the pandemic, political unrest, the uncertainties of these months perdure, we must discover something good, something beautiful, something happy in each day! God did not create us to be miserable: He created us to be happy – and very often – to find the happiness in each day!
Until we meet at the altar…
O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee!
In the Lord,
July 26, 2020
My brothers and sisters,
May the Grace of Our Lord remain always with us!
As the weeks roll on it is apparent that COVID-19 is staying with us; spiking in those places that we refuse to follow its might and terror; and causing us to consider our every step, and its possible Corona consequences. As I mentioned to you last week, the unraveling of people is self-evident, I myself have felt like there were times when I was going to simply loose it: one more meal alone, or one more day of not being allowed to visit the Priory at PC – I am OVER this.
But that really doesn’t matter, does it? We are in this together. Friends of mine have written about the physical and spiritual effects of the pandemic and the quarantine that is attached to it. In this vein, I offer you a two part series about COVID – 19 and its spiritual realities. Both of these posts are written by Monsignor Charles Pope of Washington, DC. The first considers the uselessness of fear; and next week, a consideration of how to prudent, while being courageous.
Perhaps we could have an online discussion about these two articles? Please, let me know.
O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee!
In the Lord,
[See this week's bulletin for the first of the two articles Fr. Jordan mentioned in this note!]
June 14, 2020My Brothers and Sisters,
May the Grace of Our Lord remain always with us!
Today, the Church celebrates Corpus Christi, the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Historically this solemnity was held on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday, and then followed the next day of with the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In Italy, Corpus Christi and the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart were holy days of obligation, all businesses and schools closed; and a great 4-day weekend was celebrated! This sequence of Feasts was given to us to teach us that the Eucharist gives us a pledge of love and future glory given to us in the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Alas and alack, with the revision of the Liturgical Calendar in 1969, this sequence of celebration was lost. Nevertheless, over 4 days or one, Corpus Christi is another manifestation of the “one communion of love” we celebrate in the Trinity we are given through the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
The graces of the Eucharist are without number! Through the Eucharistic Feast Christ becomes our food; our souls are filled with grace; and a pledge of future glory is given to us.” The Eucharist is the food which nourishes us and allows us to live our Catholic Faith. The Eucharist is grace, the creative, sustaining, self-gift of God, fills our souls, forgiving our venial sins, making us one with another, and joining us to the Mystical Body of Christ. The Eucharist is the pledge of heavenly glory that we will know when we meet God as we gaze upon Him face to face. We need the Eucharist to keep us walking towards the heart of God, as we strive live to virtuously and in charity towards one another.
In the midst of the senseless riots that swept our country, we celebrated the Feast of Saint Norbert on June 6 (1080 – 1126). Saint Norbert is known as the “Apostle of the Eucharist and Reconciliation”. Norbert gained this title from a personal experience. St. Norbert gave his life to works of reconciliation. His conversion from corridors of entitlement and wealth was triggered by an act of violence perpetrated by civil and church authorities conflicted over who would control whom. Countless people suffered punishment and even death. He became a wandering preacher of peace who ceaselessly and unto death brokered peace between the church and civil power. Norbert would enter a meeting only after he had celebrated Mass, saying, “with the Sacrament of Charity filling my body and soul, I can only see Christ in those around me”. We need Saint Norbert today!
Do we need a new Saint Norbert today, or do we need the source of Norbert’s strength? We need to remember Saint Norbert’s example of reconciliation and charity, but by his example and experience we need to grow in our love for and our dependence upon the Eucharist, the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.
Through COVID-19 we have learned how essential the Eucharist is to our lives! Many of you have mentioned to me how much you have missed the Eucharist; or how wonderful it is to be able to receive Communion again: may this recent experience lead us to love Christ in the Eucharist more and more!
As Catholics do we believe that the Eucharist is truly the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ? The Blessed Sacrament is not a symbol or a sign, but the living and real presence of Christ Himself. Do we act reverently in His Divine presence; are our souls in a state of Grace when we receive Him?
Sacraments effect what they signify. The Eucharist is the greatest sign of unity that exists between humanity and Christ! As we are united with Christ and the hosts of heaven, the Eucharist teaches us to live in unity with one another, and in recognition of that whatever race, gender, ethnicity, or creed we are all made in the image and likeness of God and we are therefore, ONE. Do we live this way?
The soul is filled with grace… it is grace alone that guides us to embrace and to live all that is given to us in the Eucharist. No wonder we cry out, “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed!”
Until we meet at the altar… O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee!
In the Lord,
June 7, 2020
My Brothers and Sisters,
May the Grace of Our Lord remain always with us!
One cannot heal oneself
By hurting another!
These words of Saint Ambrose are most apropos after the events of the last week. How can hurting another heal me? It cannot.
Quite a bit of ink has been spilled about the death of George Floyd and the traumatic after math of this man’s horrific death. There can be no explanation for the manner in which George Floyd met his death other than insanity, fueled by a demonic hatred and rage that was completely lacking in reason or humanity.
The papers are filled with editorials, analyses, and philosophical reflections about the turmoil in which our country, and the world, find ourselves at this time. I do not want this weekly reflection to be a miniature editorial of the New York Times or any other major tabloid. I want to offer you the reflections of a person just like you, who has experienced the hurts and challenges of life, who happens to be your pastor.
The words of Saint Ambrose cause us to reflect upon how we can treat one another in a less than human manner. You have heard me say this before, but the ultimate cause for all of the rage and acting out rests in our inability to forgive one another. When we do not forgive, the poison of anger and resentment live within us, and more rapidly than the reproduction of COVID-19 or similar viruses, the poison infects us so profoundly that our vision becomes blurred; our reasoning skewed; and our hearts hard.
More often than we would care to remember, the injustices done to us, or worse done to those we love, are so psychologically scaring that we truly are never able to forget them. In the presence of such pain and trauma how can we ever forgive? On our own, we may not be able to forgive, but by offering God the hurt, His Grace forgives for us, and that same Grace begins to heal us in a way we never imagined.
How can such powerful Grace be active within us? Let these words of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI guide our meditation:
When the sense of God is lost,
There is a tendency to lose
the sense of man!
Try this experiment:
1. Name a person and a particular situation you cannot forgive.
2. Each day say to God, “Lord, I offer you _______; they make me so angry and what they did only makes it worse…
3. Lord, please forgive them, I cannot.
Try this for a month or six months or however long it takes. I hope and pray that you will find what I have found:
God heals me,
When I try to forgive another!
Our country cannot go on as we are! We have uttered those words about the Pandemic in which we are living. But now, we are confronted not by an unseen virus; but we visibly behold how thousands of us have no respect for human life.
We are a country divided; a citizenry who is treated as if we have no intelligence or common sense as we are bullied by crass words that sound like threats and insulted by thoughts that contradict themselves. How did we get here? We have failed to forgive one another for all of our failures individually and as a nation. That poison has turned a great nation, blessed by God, founded on Judeo-Christian foundations to become a country that makes choices that deny the sense of God for the sake of making sure everything is done: MY WAY. The consequence of losing our sense of God leads us to look at one another as an object, perhaps even an animal; but we do not look at one another as a human person made in the image and likeness of Almighty God. We cannot go on as we are!
O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!
Until we meet at the altar… O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee!
In the Lord, -
May 2020
May 31, 2020
My Brothers and Sisters,
May the Grace of Our Lord remain always with us!
Happy Birthday! Today on this great Solemnity of Pentecost, this is our Hymn of Thanksgiving to God: Happy Birthday! Our Hymn of Thanksgiving is not about a bureaucratic – institution fraught with sin and imperfection. Our Hymn is an Eternal Hymn of Thanksgiving for a plan that was born in the heart of God the Father. [1] This plan has but one goal: to lead us to share in the Divine Life of the Godhead. It is from our sharing in this Divine Life that all else flows: the salvation that is brought to us in and through Christ Jesus; the life of grace found in the Sacraments; the formation of our minds and hearts to “seek that which is above”; the sense of family and community we know when we gather in prayer; extend the works of justice; and live our concern for one another by checking in on one another, preparing meals, sending and receiving ‘chalk messages’ on our sidewalks; and that blessed assurance that to walk through the doors of our Church is to be at home! All of this and more is what shapes our Hymn of Thanksgiving for this beautiful plan born in the heart of our loving Father.
For the last weeks we have known what it is to be separated from the so much of the Father’s heart born plan for us, but not all of it. We have remained people of prayer; we have checked in on one another and found virtual ways to be together; we have continued to educate our children; and we have fed the poor. All of these experiences and more bring us to this annual celebration of the Birthday of our Church. But this celebration is quite different! In the words of Karin Schrott, our coming back together on this Pentecost Sunday is an opportunity “for everything to be new: it’s got to be new!” I could not agree more with Karin’s words and feelings.
Birthday celebrations and things being new are often messy and exploring unchartered waters. Our return to public Mass on this Pentecost Sunday and the days to come will be messy and going through unchartered waters. Some questions:
- Is this our permanent Mass Schedule? No.
- What will be our permanent Mass Schedule? I really do not know at this time.
- Why not have Mass outside? A great deal of thought went into this question. First, mainly due to health issues, we do not have enough people to help with the set up and taking down and we cannot afford to hire people to do this. One parent said to me, ‘how can you take a space the children know as a paly area and turn it into a place for Mass, and not expect parents to go crazy trying to keep their children attentive to Mass?’
- People are afraid to come into the Church. Let your heart guide you. I assure you; the Church has been professionally cleaned and sanitized not once but twice; and the Church is being sanitized before and after each Mass.
- Is it safe to go to Communion? At this time, I will be the only person giving out Holy Communion, I am not sick, and all best practices will be used for a reverent and healthy distribution of the Eucharist. You do not have to receive Holy Communion because you attend Mass; you can still make a Spiritual Communion.
We enjoy watching our little ones celebrate their birthdays as they consume ice cream and cake that exceeds their capacity to receive it and seem to delight as much playing with the food as eating it. May we find a similar delight in this Pentecost Birthday celebration as we rejoice that we have the opportunity to be together, even with all the messiness and unanswered questions combined.
Until we meet at the altar… O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee!
In the Lord,
[1] Catechism of the Catholic Church, #759.
May 24, 2020Alleluia! The strife is breaking……. The words of this familiar Easter Hymn fill my heart after hearing and reading Governor Raimondo’s decree opening our Churches on May 30. How that will “look” and what all the logistics will be is the work to be done between now and May 30. Please keep watch for any email blasts from me, or “Fireside Chats” in the days to come. Your responses to the Parish Survey are a great help in assisting the Parish Council and me discern the next best steps. I have been asked about cleaning the Church before we return: the Church will be cleaned professionally. Rob Lough, Parish Council Representative for Buildings and Grounds is leading the planning and execution concerning the safety and cleaning of our Church.
Some initial guidelines are:
· Water should be removed from baptismal and holy water fonts.
· The gifts of bread and wine should be kept from public areas, brought directly from the credence table to the altar.
· No physical contact at the Our Father or Sign of Peace.
· Discreet use of hand sanitizer by ministers of Holy Communion.
· No Holy Communion from the chalice by the faithful; concelebrating priests should Communicate by intinction.
· Holy Communion on the tongue is strongly discouraged.
· Vessels should be cleansed after each Mass with hot, soapy water
· Hymnals, missalettes, and other materials should be removed from the pews. Consider using a disposable worship aid or the use of familiar hymns, songs, antiphons, and acclamations.
· The faithful should be encouraged to wear a face mask; ministers of Holy Communion may wear a face mask; priest celebrant is discouraged from wearing a mask.
· With respect for the liturgical norms, the number and placement of ministers may be reduced: A deacon may fulfill the roles of lector and server. If servers are ministering, consider using adults. Ministers may be seated further apart than normal. Evaluate the necessity of Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion and the number needed for each Mass. As permitted by the missal, presidential prayers may take place at the altar, or a podium may be setup at the chair, reducing the need for servers.
· No collection baskets may be passed from hand to hand; consider a monitored collection point (i.e. an usher monitoring a single basket near the main doors of the church) to minimize contact.
· The bread to be consecrated for the Communion of the faithful should be placed on a corporal at the edge of the altar, not directly in front of the priest celebrant. Alternatively, the use of covered ciboria would likewise be appropriate.
May 17, 2020
My Brothers and Sisters,
May the Grace of Our Lord remain always with us!
For the last three weeks I have shared my personal reflections with you concerning Bishop Tobin’s recent Pastoral about our local Church. Today, I want to share with you my personal reflection about where we find ourselves.
The Curé of Ars
Born on May 8, 1786 Saint John Marie Vianney, also known as the Curé of Ars, came from an extremely poor family and a very humble background. He was completely uneducated, not able to read or write. In his late teens he became aware of his deep desire to become a priest. Because of his lack of education his entrance to the seminary would be delayed while he was tutored and developed the necessary education to enter the seminary. When he finally did enter the seminary he was confronted with another hurdle: he had to learn Latin. Once again, John Marie sought out the help of a tutor until he learned enough Latin to be able to say Mass and pronounce the words of absolution in the Sacrament of Penance. The Curé of Ars was ordained at the age of 29, a very advanced age for his time, and sent to the tiny village of Ars. Why Ars? Because Ars was a sleepy little town not known for its zeal about things religious, John Vianney was sent to Ars because his superiors thought “he won’t do much damage there”1. When the Curé arrived in his new parish he found a Church building in need of tremendous repair, and not many people attending Mass or Confession. The future Saint found himself energized by his new parish and asked the Lord to show him what to do. Like many saints, John Marie Vianney spent his days in the Church before the Blessed Sacrament. When questioned about what happens while in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, Saint John Marie replied, “I look at Him, and more wonderfully, He looks at me!”2 John Vianney had a very simple faith, a faith filled with trust in God, and a humility to wait upon God to act. Gradually the Parish began to change: there were many baptisms; the young priest heard hours of Confessions each day; Mass attendance increased greatly; and, a parish once distinguished for its malaise, became a place of pilgrimage and a source of renewal for the Church in France then, and continues to be so until today.
The Curé of Ars and Saint Sebastian
What is the link between Ars and our dear Parish?
When I arrived at St. Sebastian, I did not find apathy. I found wonderful people and some amazing volunteers. Sometimes, though, I detect a sleepiness here--a feeling that we are a small place and that transformation is too hard to even attempt. Arriving at this parish shocked me out of some of my spiritual routines and habits: what was most successful in other parishes would not be here, I had to discover something new. The routine of my Dominican Life, removed. Join me in leaving behind routine. Once we let God out of the box we have put Him in, we allow Him to make every day different. No prayer will be boring; no task too great; no dream too outlandish to dream. With God we can climb any wall, and we will have to climb the walls out of the boxes in which we have placed our faith and our Parish post COVID-19.
Words can become self-fulfilling prophecies that box people into self – perceptions that are at best wrong, and at their worst paralyzing. Words that we allow to pigeon-hole us lull us into a maintenance rather than a mission mode. It is my experience there are two words that prevent us from being the great light we can be. Those words are “small” and “little”. There is part of these words that are true: in comparison to sone parishes we are smaller in number, but not in ability. Similarly, we may be little in terms of a volunteer pool, or the number of extremely wealthy parishioners we had in a former generation, but little does not mean lacking in talent or zeal. If we would allow ourselves to climb out of the box that parochial transformation in too hard or beyond us because we are small, how could Saint Sebastian become a mighty Ars on the East Side of Providence? I invite you to pray about that question with the words of Luke 1:37 as our guide: “with God all things are possible!”
May the Curé of Ars, Saint John Marie Vianney intercede for us and show us the way!
O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee!
In the Lord,
May 10, 2020This is the third and final reflection that I will write to you concerning Bishop Tobin’s Pastoral, The State of the Church in the Diocese of Providence in the Age of the Coronavirus. This reflection focuses on the Bishop’s second category, finances. In many ways this category may be the most tangible; seen by many as the most important; certainly very controversial; and finally, the most difficult.
The Most Tangible
Money is very tangible: it comes in, and it goes out. The amount coming in shapes the amount going out. If there is too much going out, and not enough coming in, you decrease how much is going out. That seems direct and easy. However, when do decrease or cut an expense, and then you find out it isn’t that easy to support the decrease or function without the cut, what do you? Again, the simple and very tangible answer is you find a way to increase your income. How many families face this reality: how do we grow our income? If we do not grow our income our children may not be able to continue at their current school; if we do not create more income the mortgage is untenable…you get the point. I remember my Dad always had at least two jobs: his job as the supervisor of a machine shop; his freelance job on the weekends playing in a Big Band Dance Orchestra; and during the evenings at home, repairing musical instruments in our basement workshop. When I would ask for something and my Father would say yes, my Mother would ask, “and where are we going to find that money?”, my Dad would simply say, “don’t worry, dear; we’ll find it.” Like any parent, my Dad worked all those hours in order that our family could have tangible goods; a better education; for me, private music lessons; and for all of us, a vacation. Every nickel was planned, and every penny accounted for. Finances are tangible.
Tangibly, how will this pandemic affect the financial future of Saint Sebastian? Honestly, I do not know. As I mention elsewhere in today’s bulletin, you have been both faithful and generous in your sacrificial stewardship through both online giving and the weekly budgets. As such, it is my sense that we are doing well – thanks to each one of you. Many of you have written to me about adjustments in your giving because of a decrease in income or loss of employment: I am deeply moved by your humility; and I hold you ever more tightly in my heart and in my prayers.
One of the reasons we are in the black at this moment is because the payroll has been stopped for some employees and reduced for others because of fewer hours. What will we do when it is time to bring the Staff back to work? I am not sure.
The other pressing tangible, financial reality is the question, will Saint Sebastian’s survive? I will reflect upon this question elsewhere in this week’s column.
The Most Important and Controversial
Many Bishops and parishioners consider the finances to be the most important thing a pastor does and judge his pastoral effectiveness by how well he does or does not manage the money. The administration of parish finances is one of the many “most important” tasks in a pastor’s job description. I know I can speak for my brother pastors and for myself, the finances are a very important concern for us; the finances are a matter of justice; they demand transparency; and the administration of parish finances requires trust: parishioners trusting their pastors; and pastors trusting that with him, his parishioners seek the common good of the parish.
Discerning the common good and establishing the list of priorities about what to do when can be the source of controversy concerning both the finances and achieving established priorities. Just like your homes, emergencies occur; just like at home, you and your spouse may disagree about what to do when; just like at home, we need to come to a consensus when we do not agree.
The Most Difficult
While finances may frequently cause a certain knee jerk neuralgic reaction of fear and paralysis, the Pandemic has not only affected us physically, it has also effected the very psyche about how we live from day to day, from one moment to the next, with not the customary fear and paralysis about money, but also a more foundational bewilderment about our entire future, and especially our finances.
For our Parish, or any other, discerning priorities and arriving at a consensus about projects to be begun or completed will become more difficult because of the uncertainty about our entire future, and that includes our finances.
The Diocese has told my brother pastors and I that as a result of COVID-19 parish mergers and closings may begin sooner rather than later.. These decisions will be made based upon how well we manage financially not only now, but also in our past, and in our future. However, the decision will not rest solely on the state of the books, but also the conditions of the facilities, and most importantly the spiritual life of a Parish. Caring for our facilities and developing the spiritual life of our Parish will influence how we use the money we have, and how we keep the income steady and growing.
Sharing the Vision; Meeting the Challenge
During the highly active part of Sharing the Vision, Meeting the Challenge, we tried to learn that SVMC was not just about money, but also about our mission and our future. We have had some good results from the campaign, but I am not sure how well we have learned the lesson that SVMC is about our mission and our survival as much as it is about money. To that end, I accuse myself for not having been a better teacher about this particularly important support for our lives together. If you have questions about the Campaign or any anything about the parish finances, please come a talk to me. I have nothing to hide, and I would welcome you yourself telling me your thoughts and concerns!
To date, we have received two quarterly payments from the Campaign $186,894.80. But, each quarter we have to pay the Diocese $12,800.00 until we reach the amount we owe for the Campaign, or $206,000.00, after that 100% of all monies remain here. Participation in the Campaign enables us to address four pressing realities: 1) repairing the drainage system under the Parish Hall, as well as the damage it has caused; 2) repairing the handicapped ramp; 3) being sure we are able to pay the quarterly Diocesan payments for the Campaign; 4) replenishing and increasing our savings in order to continually address critical capital needs, and not deferring necessary maintenance. No gift is too small: if you have not considered the work of the capital campaign, please consider doing so.
Evangelization and Finances
Where do we go from here? Let us reflect upon the following:- How is Saint Sebastian an alive Parish Community? How can we drive our mission? Can we:
- Invite friends about on our on line Masses?
- Are you able to help Karin find ways to serve the poor, even, or perhaps especially, during this pandemic?
- Would a virtual bible study, prayer shawl meetings, and book club gatherings be a successful way to keep the Parish together and alive during this time, and as we move towards the “new normal?”
- How is Saint Sebastian a viable community fiscally and a safe an attractive facility? Can we:
- Support the completion of the repair work that needs to be done so the Church is structurally sound? What is that work: repairing the drain system in the parish hall and the damage it has caused; repair the handicapped walkway, and be sure the north side of the Church is watertight?
- Continue to support our weekly offertory as well as SVMC to restore and increase our savings to serve the parish both in terms of capital projects, other programs ,as well as savings?
- Each one of us pledge to give of our time and talent, in addition to, or evenmore than our treasure?
Will you join me in offering one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory be every day for the spiritual and fiscal renewal of our Parish?
Working with Cardinal George I learned this saying:
Mission does not follow money.
Money follows mission.
This is the reason for every dollar raised, and for every dollar you contribute to Saint Sebastian. You contribute money and we raise money in order that Saint Sebastian may remain a living presence for you, your children, and your children’s children. We give to continue our legacy of caring for those who have no one to care for them through our works of justice. We financially support the Parish so that just as generations before us have been brought here for baptism; celebrated their First Holy Communion and Confirmation here; been married here; bent some to God from here; and came to this altar to be nourished to live our Catholic Life, so future generations may find the same gifts we have found here.
May 3, 2020
My Brothers and Sisters,
May the Grace of Our Lord remain always with us!
As I sit in my office and write this to you, I am struck by the how beautiful the sun shines on Our Lady’s Statue and, from the transplanted hydrangeas from Easter, one very sturdy pink plant looks like she is reaching out to the sun and encouraging the other plants to brighten up! There are several signs of things brightening up around the Parish even during this rather dismal time of being quarantined. A few parishioners have stopped by the rectory with “time on their hands” and offered to use some of that time for the good of the Parish. Volunteers have come forward to work on the lawns; the aching ‘hole in the wall’ of the men’s bathroom has been completely repaired; and the Easter Flowers have been faithfully watered. All of this work has been completed at no cost to the Parish. Please join me in thanking these generous souls and ask God to reward them and their families. It has been beautiful to see love in action, and to hear voices that pierce the silence of life here at 67 Cole.
An Unexpected Gift: A continued reflection
As I wrote about last week, on Divine Mercy Sunday Bishop Tobin issued a Pastoral entitled, The State of the Church in the Diocese of Providence in the Age of the Coronavirus. The entire message may be found on our website, www.stsebastianri.org, and it has been emailed to every parishioner for whom there is an email address. The Bishop offers three main categories for reflection: 1) Worship and the Sacrament; 2) Finances; and 3) Evangelization and Outreach. Last week I reflected with you about Evangelization and Outreach. This week I want to consider the Bishop’s first category: Worship and the Sacraments.
The Pastoral Reality
The Bishop’s reflection addresses the “nuts and bolts” about how our recent experience has impacted our regular worship and the reception of the sacraments. For the Bishop and for all of us, these are primary concerns, and the pressing questions “when can we go to Mass and receive Communion, go to confession; celebrate baptisms, weddings and funerals?” long for directions, hope, and answers. Bishop Tobin provides these when he mentions that “it is my fond hope, my prayer, my “aspiration,” that by May 31st, the Solemnity of Pentecost, we will be able to gather in our churches again, even with a limited number of worshippers….”. Let us add our prayers to the Bishop’s and may we be together on Pentecost to celebrate in a particular way the ‘Birthday of the Church’!
A Deeper Lesson
As I take all of this to prayer, I also have deeper concerns. Throughout these last weeks many people have said, we will never be the same again; or, we cannot go back to the way things were. How will these words and the combination of angst and hope they declare impact the way we approach the celebration of the Sacred Liturgy and our regular reception of the Sacraments?
Worship
The centrality of the Sacrifice of the Mass in the life of every Catholic is set before us in the Constitution of the Sacred Liturgy of the Second Vatican Council: the Sacrifice of the Mass, as “the source and summit of the Christian life” [1]. Being intimately involved in the Liturgy for all my life, I have always been perplexed by what seemed contradictions to this reality. What are these contradictions? Here are just a few: a palpable careless attitude in the way a priest celebrates Mass; poor preaching; cheap vestments; dead flowers and dirty churches; no music, or worse – bad music… but also, a priestly style that is too rigid, and perhaps more Catholic than the Pope; preaching that is a college theology lecture; so many flowers you can’t see the altar; and music that is sublimely performed but never allows the participation of the people…I really could go on and on. Perhaps these two extremes are what cause people to stay away from Mass, or become very laissez-fair in regular Mass attendance? Why people leave after Communion, or before the priest has passed them in the recessional procession? As Saint Thomas teaches us, we need to find the middle behind the ‘abuses’ I mention above, because virtue stands in the middle.
The Liturgy is my highest priority as your pastor. There have been times we have disagreed about decisions made or options that were tried, but I think we have come to a good middle position. Please, if you disagree with me, please come and talk to me. The Liturgy is so vital to our Catholic Life because it is the source of our strength; the Liturgy leads us to God and transfigures our life in Christ; the Liturgy brings us together with others who believe as we do. And coupled to this, the Liturgy is the primary source of evangelization and catechesis. In our public prayer we invite the world to feast at this table by our prayerful joy. In the Liturgy we teach the way of Christ to the curious visitor or the one of us who is struggling and most needs to be reminded of God's great love. Through the Liturgy we are given the grace to respond to the Gospel in a new and fuller way; through the Liturgy we come to know and love God more deeply; through the Liturgy we are reminded that life is ultimately not about us – it is about God; through the Liturgy we thank God for His Love and His Mercy; through the Liturgy we are drawn together as one, and are sent forth is loving service to God and one another. Through worthy celebrations of the Liturgy our faith is built, and through sloppy celebrations of the Liturgy our faith is weakened, if not eventually, destroyed. [2]
When we return to being able to come to Church, I pray that when we return we will return to worship with a new zeal and a longing to delve more fully into the riches given to us in the Liturgy; and, when we return I pray that we embrace our celebrations more fully as the great banquet it is, and not some sort of fast food chain. When we will have some difficult discussions and decisions to make. Those discussions and decisions are: 1) Is our current Mass schedule sustainable, especially during the summer months; 2) how do we encourage greater congregational participation in liturgical ministries (servers, lectors, eucharistic ministers, and greeters); and 3) how can we encourage and sustain a culture of stewardship that sustains the Parish through time and talent, as well as treasure; 4) how do we avoid another financial crisis like last summer?
The Sacraments
Removing the regular reception of the Sacraments from our lives has reminded us of the unmerited and invaluable gifts God has given us through them. I pray that we will treasure these great moments of encounter with Christ with the resolve to never take these for granted again. I pray that our reception of the Sacraments will not be in any kind of “maintenance mood”. I pray that we will discover with renewed regularity the blessing, grace, and need for the faithful reception of the Sacrament of Penance. As uncomfortable as it may be, we need to acknowledge a reality that takes place in our Catholic Faith, and how we can improve for our own sake, for the sake of our children, and in recognition of what my witness, or lack thereof, says to others. Here is the reality:- Do I have my child baptized and then not darken the door of the Church until First Communion, and fail to catechize my child in the faith as well?
- Do I disappear from the Parish after First Communion until Confirmation?
- Do I easily excuse myself and my family from Sunday Mass attendance, but expect First Penance, First Communion, and Confirmation to be available with no questions?
- Do I live and believe in such a way that I teach my spouse, my extended family and friends, that the faithful reception of the Sacraments are an essential part of my regular life?
May our return to being allowed to attend Mass and to the regular reception of the Sacraments be marked by the lively faith and the deep longing found in these words from last Sunday’s Gospel: Stay with us, Lord; make our hearts burn with Love to be near You, to hear You; and to feast upon your Holy Body and Blood! Amen! -
April 2020
April 26
My Brothers and Sisters,
May the Grace of Our Lord remain always with us!
Please join me in thanking our “Fabulous Five” for another weekend of bringing the Liturgy to our homes! I appreciate the notes I have received expressing gratitude for the Mass, and the devotions that followed the Mass. We continue to work on improving everything about the livestreaming and Zoom sessions. Join us again this Sunday for Mass at 10am, and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament from the end of Mass until Noon.
An Unexpected Gift
One of the graces of Divine Mercy Sunday is the Pastoral Message of Bishop Tobin dated on Divine Mercy Sunday and entitled, The State of the Church in the Diocese of Providence in the Age of the Coronavirus. The entire message may be found on our website, www.stsebastianri.org, and it has been emailed to every parishioner for whom there is an email address.
Bishop Tobin offers three categories for reflection: 1. Worship and Sacraments; 2. Financial Questions; and 3. The need for Evangelization and Outreach. Each category is particularly important and most opportune. Ordinarily, I would be inclined to begin my reflection with you with the same one as the Bishop – Worship and Sacraments. But at this time, I think it is more important to begin with Evangelization and Outreach.
The Necessity for Evangelization and Outreach in the Life of Saint Sebastian
“By the time I retire, I want the Church of Chicago to be a Church of Evangelization”, these were the words spoken to me the late Francis Cardinal George as I was appointed the Director of Evangelization for the Archdiocese of Chicago and for the Cardinal, his statement was the entirety of my job description. Thus began a time of grace and new vision that continues to make my life and ministry until today.
What is evangelization, and especially what is the “new evangelization”? The New Evangelization is a particular Grace by which I hear the Gospel as I never have before and seek to respond to it without compromise. The first moment of evangelization is the encounter you and I have with Jesus Christ that changes the way we approach our daily lives. Throughout the quarantine how has your relationship with God changed for the better? Archbishop Gomez of Los Angeles points out that this changed relationship is the first step of evangelization: “to embrace the call to a new conversion, to renewal of our hearts and minds — so that we live our faith with greater integrity, new devotion, and new excitement.” How have the days in which we have been living through called you and me to the renewal of our hearts and minds: how are we experiencing our faith with new and greater integrity, devotion, and joy? How has this time in which so much has been stripped away have we found ourselves searching for, gathering strength to embrace whatever “the new normal” may be; to be able to live with less and be grateful for what we have; to anticipate one another in kindness; and to replace a negative judgment with the presumption of the good? This is the genuine heart of renewal, and this is the beginning of evangelization.
This personal renewal is not for us and it is not about us. The particular Grace of Evangelization is all about Jesus, and it is all about sharing the Grace of hearing the Gospel in a new way with all those we love, know, meet, and encounter. In the words of Scripture, we become ambassadors for Christ.
How does such personal renewal affect the life of our Parish? The graces of the New Evangelization are contagious: people will want – not so much by our words, but our example: our visible unity and joy!
This “new” way that is being talked about so much as we begin to reshape and rebuild ourselves to live with, through, and after any stay at home order is lifted, is essential for every institution, every Parish, and therefore for Saint Sebastian.
Theologically this “new” way is referred to moving from maintenance to mission. Individually and as institutions we can easily find ourselves slipping into maintenance mode: we do our jobs; we say our prayers; and we do the things we always do in certain days; we go to bed and get up and repeat. The deep commitment is there, but the spark is dim if it has not gone out, and we do everything automatically. Maintenance has marked the life of the Church throughout our history, and maintenance can lead to a faith that is flat and not life giving. At Saint Sebastian’s, like any Parish, we have known periods of great mission, and we have experienced mind – numbing maintenance. We need to have the courage to examine ourselves first as individuals: how alive is my Catholic Faith and the way I live: only after we have made this examination of conscience can we ask the same question about our Parish: how alive is Saint Sebastian Church; is it perceived as alive; what do I contribute to make Saint Sebastian a Parish that interfaces with contemporary culture we live with greater integrity, new devotion, and new excitement?
Outreach
Each of the categories Bishop Tobin discusses in his pastoral are avenues for worship: nothing can attract more powerfully than the Liturgy celebrated prayerfully; beautifully; joyfully; and with a clear experience of accessing the Transcendence of Divinity. At this time, I would like to address two opportunities for outreach.
First, you have often heard me say each one, reach one: YOU are the most effective recruiter for the Catholic Faith and for our Parish. Invite people to come with you when we can return to Mass. Or in these days, tell people about what we are trying to offer online. Do not underestimate how you can be an instrumental cause of God’s Grace.
Watching the news I am haunted by the lines of families lining up for food. My conscience prompted me to text the following to Karin Schrott the other evening:
“Hi Karin,
As I watch the news about the pandemic I am struck over and over and over again that our parish should be responding to help in some way. Given the extraordinary unemployment rate in Rhode Island, I feel compelled as the pastor to lead us in some sort of response and care for those affected.
While writing a check, for some, may be easy and the quick response, I feel like we should do more, and that there are many in our community would want to do more.
Is there a food bank, or a shelter, for whom we could provide not just canned foods and other staples, but for whom we would prepare meals?”
During my years in Wilmington and in Baltimore I helped to begin shelters where the poor and the homeless could come for a meal. Parishioners prepared a hamburger casserole; or green bean casserole; a dessert; that they brought to church on a given day, the same day of the month every month and what they brought was taken to the shelter. Is there anything like this in Providence? Do you think our parishioners would be interested in supplying these kinds of meals? The parish would supply the aluminum foil pans and the recipes; and parishioners prepare the meals in their home, and bring it to church frozen, and then it is taken to the respective Shelter. Each month we would promise the shelter a specific number of meals. We would need refrigerator/freezer space. This is part of the reason I want to redo the kitchen in the church basement so we could do this kind of thing easily. I think to provide this kind of service during this emergency and beyond would be most beneficial. What do you think? Father Jordan
Karin was excited by this idea and is investigating if this would be beneficial in our city. Such an initiative, alone with our hallmarks or worship, learning, and service could really make Saint Sebastian a parish that is living the New Evangelization. What do you think?
O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee!
In the Lord,
April 19
My Brothers and Sisters,
Today the Church rings with this great intercession:
For the sake of His
Sorrowful Passion;
Have mercy on us,
And on the whole world!
The Church also rings with this great acclamation:
Jesus, I trust in You!
Since the pontificate of Saint John Paul II, the Second Sunday of Easter has become known as Divine Mercy Sunday. The last page in the bulletin describes the origin and history of the Feast; as well as the role of Saint Faustina in making known the Lord’s desire for this Feast.
We have been shown such great mercy through the Paschal Mystery of the Savior, why do we need a special Feast to celebrate the Lord’s Divine Mercy? A very simple answer would be: as we have received mercy, now we are asked to share mercy, and to intercede for God’s Mercy for ourselves and others. But let’s delve a bit deeper about this Divine Mercy.
Mercy has two goals: reconciliation and communion.
When researching the etymology of the word reconciliation, one learns the more colloquial expression of reconciliation was “to be eye lash to eye lash”, and later, “to dry the tears from another’s eyelash”. Both if these analogies depict how reconciliation brings people together in a very intimate way. Because of its intimacy, reconciliation can be very difficult: how do I/ why would I seek reconciliation with someone who has objectively hurt me? Humanly, we would not desire such a reunion. But with the assistance of God’s Grace, we can begin to desire such reconciliation, and so we cry, “for the sake of His Sorrowful Passion; have mercy on us and on the whole world…”. This acclamation of intercession pleads for God’s Mercy for all of creation acknowledging that we are not able to be reconciled with ourselves, others, or even the Lord, without the assistance of Divine Mercy given to us by God’s grace. Reconciliation is not the panacea of “everything is just fine,” it is the reality that I acknowledge a breach in a relationship, and I need to pray for the healing of that breach.
But mercy also leads to communion. Communion… to be one with. In these days, so many of us long to return not only to the reception of the Body and Blood of Jesus in Holy Communion; but we also long for the commun – ity in which we experience that communion. But being one with another person is hard work, and there are times that this “one-withness” is stretched and tried. Again, it is the grace of Divine Mercy, that no matter the struggle, we forge on to maintain the communion we so treasure with those we know and love.
This is why the Sacrament of Reconciliation is so important in our lives, and it is one of the greatest sources of knowing Divine Mercy. Through the Sacrament of Reconciliation we admit that we have weakened and perhaps broken the communion that exists between God, ourselves, and others. Through the absolution of our sins, the Grace of the Sacrament of Reconciliation gives us what we need to begin again and strive for the communion we have lost or weakened.
But what about those situations or people where reconciliation seems impossible and communion isn’t in the vocabulary of our heart? Thanks be to God, His Mercy delights in our effort not our perfection; and, His Mercy is greater than our struggle to allow His Grace to restore the reconciliation which yields communion.
On this Divine Mercy Sunday, how does the Lord invite you to seek through the merits of His Passion, mercy for ourselves and for the whole world? As we pray, Jesus, I trust in You! may we trust in His work in us until we are one with Him, the Angels and Saints, and one another.
O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee!
In the Lord,
April 12
Christ is Risen, Alleluia!
He is Risen Indeed, Alleluia! Alleluia!
My dear brothers and sisters, uttered over two thousand years ago, these are the words that changed the world, and continue to change our world until this very day.
On this great Feast we hear one of the two most important liturgical words: THIS is the day the Lord has made. Through no reenactment; through no recreation of that first Easter morning, we on THIS day we celebrate that Christ, having risen from the dead dies no more, and calls us to rise with Him on THIS day and every day we live until we come to stand before Him.
How does Christ call us to rise with Him today? Consider the following:
· Who knew that every Mom and Dad could be a great homeschool teacher?
· Did you ever think playing board games would be fun in 2020?
· Realizing the precious gift God has given to us in our family and friends; and while Facetime isn’t as good as being together, at least we can see one another.
· Appreciating the great gift to be able to worship God.
· To be thankful for the grace to regularly receive the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist and Reconciliation.
· For children who come and color your sidewalk, so you know you are not alone.
· For the way this suffering has brought out the good in people.
· For the benefit given to our planet because of less pollution from cars and planes.
· For the hope we have because of our faith.
· For all the efforts to bring God into our homes through all manner of social media.
· For our health.
Christ calls us to rise with Him today through all of these ways and more.
But he also calls to rise with Him by:
· Replacing fear with faith.
· By embracing the Cross, however the Cross is manifested to us.
· Surrendering to a plan different from our own.
· Trusting that God will take care of us, and bring new life through pain, grief, unemployment, sickness and death.
· Learning the difficult lessons life brings.
· Learning less is more.
· Accepting our mortality and our finiteness.
· By bowing before the mysteries of faith, life, and circumstance.
May we know Christ’s invitation to rise with Him THIS day and every day of our lives; and may we respond with a joyful Alleluia! Let us rejoice and be glad!!
I wish you the best of Easters! Be assured of my love and prayers.
Until we meet at the altar…..
O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee!
In the Lord,
April 5, 2020
My brothers and sisters,
May the Grace of Our Lord remain always with us!
As a rule, I have no difficulty writing to you each week. This week is very different. I am finishing this very early on Thursday morning. Sarah Heaton, our bulletin editor, is patiently waiting to receive this, the rest of the bulletin is complete.
Generally, in From Father Jordan for the weekend of Palm-Passion Sunday I would highlight the times of the different Liturgies; give brief biographies of those to be received into the Church at the Easter Vigil; and encourage everyone to be here on Easter Sunday Morning after the 9am Mass to see the joy of our children running around during the Easter Egg Hunt – searching for every parent’s dream: more sugar! J
I hope you will join us from the live streaming of our Liturgies: Holy Thursday at 7; Good Friday at 3; the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday at 8; and Easter Morning Mass at 10. This will be a very different Holy Week and Easter! On Easter we may feel like we are still longing for new life, and we are. However, the new life of Easter 2020, albeit somewhat muted, heralds the new life Christ offers each one of us, and which He longs for us to accept. May this poem from one of our priests in Ireland open our eyes and our hearts to the new life that is around us.
LOCKDOWN
Yes there is fear.
Yes there is isolation.
Yes there is panic buying.
Yes there is sickness.
Yes there is even death.
But,
They say that in Wuhan after so many years of noise
You can hear the birds again.
They say that after just a few weeks of quiet
The sky is no longer thick with fumes
But blue and grey and clear.
They say that in the streets of Assisi
People are singing to each other
across the empty squares,
keeping their windows open
so that those who are alone
may hear the sounds of family around them.
They say that a hotel in the West of Ireland
Is offering free meals and delivery to the housebound.
Today a young woman I know
is busy spreading fliers with her number
through the neighborhood
So that the elders may have someone to call on.
Today Churches, Synagogues, Mosques and Temples
are preparing to welcome
and shelter the homeless, the sick, the weary
All over the world people are slowing down and reflecting
All over the world people are looking at their neighbors in a new way
All over the world people are waking up to a new reality
To how big we really are.
To how little control we really have.
To what really matters.
To Love.
So we pray and we remember that
Yes there is fear.
But there does not have to be hate.
Yes there is isolation.
But there does not have to be loneliness.
Yes there is panic buying.
But there does not have to be meanness.
Yes there is sickness.
But there does not have to be disease of the soul
Yes there is even death.
But there can always be a rebirth of love.
Wake to the choices you make as to how to live now.
Today, breathe.
Listen, behind the factory noises of your panic
The birds are singing again
The sky is clearing,
Spring is coming,
And we are always encompassed by Love.
Open the windows of your soul
And though you may not be able
to touch across the empty square,
Sing.
You are with me at every moment of the day: a Blessed Holy Week, my dear ones!
Until we meet at the altar…..
O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee!
In the Lord, -
March 2020
March 29, 2020
My brothers and sisters,
May the Grace of Our Lord remain always with us!
“These are such strange times” This phrase has become part of our vernacular since the outbreak of Covid-19. Unless you are in a particular profession, “working from home”, along with “virtual” or “zoom” classrooms is the new normal. And, while grocery shopping may not be a favorite chore, it has become an experience of the twilight zone, between empty shelves and dazed shoppers. While at first “wfh” (working from home) seems great, it can become boring or difficult. And, there is the great concern about the future of our jobs; the economy of our country and the world; and the health of our planet. Yes, these are very strange times.
However, with this new normal also comes many blessings, and a response to those blessings long after we are no longer quarantined, and we begin to return to life as we knew it before Covid-19. Some blessings I have experienced:
- The greatest blessing I have received is the care and concern for my health and well being shown to me by so many of you! I am humbled by your concern! Your phone calls, texts, emails, cards, and packages have touched me very deeply, and I am most grateful!
- I have had a number of conversations that expressed almost a sense of wonder for home cooked meals, family time with board games and other such things, spouses who are constantly traveling for work are home together. What a blessing!
- I think all of us, myself included, have found what a blessing it is to be able to worship together whether daily or on Sunday. Certainly, we are learning in a new and deeper way how grateful for we are for the Sacraments of the Church, especially the Eucharist. I have sat with two couples who have had to cancel their wedding ceremonies because of the prohibition concerning the size of our gatherings; but also, because their “venues” are closed. One couple in a very particular way said, “we want so much to be married, and we want to exchange the Sacrament of Matrimony with one another”; I had tears in my eyes as I heard these words.
- I am deeply grateful to our trustees, Chip Rogers and Catherine Taylor, for being proactive and contacting all our parishioners about the need to continuing our giving during this time. And, I am deeply grateful to you for your ongoing support whether through your budget offering or on-line giving. We were able to make a bank deposit earlier this week, and the balance in the check book ($5,421.67) allows us to pay bills.
Some points about moving forward:
- Given both health concerns and uncertain income the Staff is temporarily laid off. Kathy Harrington is coming in every two weeks to pay bills and balance the books, but this is considered per diem work.
- As I write this, I am waiting for some equipment and then lots of technical help in order that we be able to live stream are Masses. I am confident that we will be able to achieve this. When we do have everything set up, a full schedule will be posted on our website, www.stsebastianri.org, and I will email the schedule to those whose email addresses I have.
- It is difficult to predict how long we will not be able to gather for Mass. Recent reports are indicating that we may be away from the communal celebration of the Eucharist until April 30. This has not been confirmed, but some indications are pointing towards this date. Stay tuned for more information.
- Bob Short and Kristen Gold will be in touch with the Religious Education Families about religious formation during this time.
- Our faithful and wonderful seminarian, Colin Lane, contacted me last week to share with me the news that he will not be returning to Saint Sebastian. What a great loss! This change is a result of the decisions of Providence College to suspended in person classes; as well as the decision and Bishop Tobin to close Our Lady of Providence Seminary for the remainder of the semester. Colin’s superior, Archbishop Blair of Hartford, has assigned Colin to remain in the Hartford and complete his coursework from there. I know we will all miss Colin very much! I know I will: even at his young age, he has been a valuable bridge and support to me! Please join me in wishing Colin every blessing and assuring him of our ongoing prayers. When we have returned to Church, I hope to find a Sunday when we can personally express our gratitude and appreciation to Colin, and to appropriately thank him for his three years of service to Saint Sebastian.
The words of Padre Pio seem most apt:
Pray! Hope! Don’t worry!
Until we meet at the altar…..
O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee!
In the Lord,
March 22, 2020
My brothers and sisters,
May the Grace of Our Lord remain always with us!
How I miss you! Last Sunday morning as I walked into Church, tears formed in my eyes knowing that you would not be in your regular spots. And this week, our sojourn continues…a Sunday without the Eucharist… not what God wants, nor do we.
Yet, in all of this we need to confident that God will bring good from this experience. I don’t know how, but He will!
This weekend’s readings lead us deeper into this time of Enlightenment and Purification during our Lenten Journey. 1st Samuel; the Letter to the Ephesians; and Saint John’s insightful telling of the man born blind, call us to encounter God’s great Mercy as He anoints his chosen servant David; leads us from darkness to light as we hear those wonderful words, Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light! The message of hope and new life are all summed up in the Responsorial Psalm, “The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want”, or as we often sing, Shepherd me, O God, beyond my doubts, my fears; from death into life! During this very surreal time in our communal and private lives, we need the reassurance of these words more than ever: God will guide, be our Shepherd – if we let Him!
What can you do to spiritually sustain you during this very strange Lent? Here are some ideas:
· Our Parish Website lists the daily readings and how to find them on the USCCB Website – reflect them by yourself, as family, or with a few friends;
· Pray the Rosary! Saint Pope John Paul II called the Rosary ‘our greatest defense’ – the constant calling upon the sinless Mother of God as we meditate the mysteries of the life of her Son – like Mary’s foot – keeps the evil one at bay! Don’t know how to pray the Rosary, or don’t remember the “mysteries”? Go to our website, www.stsebastianri.org, and find the way to enter into this great prayer!
· Our Church is open from 6:30am – 7pm every day of the week. Beginning tomorrow, Monday, March 23, the Blessed Sacrament will be exposed for Adoration from 5pm – 7pm – come “make a visit”;
· Allow texting, email, and the phone to become a source of spiritual connection with family and friends… and ME – happy to hear from you.
How long with this go on? I have no idea. I hope we will be able to celebrate Holy Week and Easter together. Let us pray for one another; check on ; and let one another know, no distance can separate hearts joined by God in love!
May the Grace of Our Lord remain always with us!
These words never seemed so urgent…
Until we meet at the altar…..
O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee!
In the Lord,
My brothers and sisters,
March 15, 2020
May the Grace of Our Lord remain always with us!
I hope you have enjoyed the teasing days of spring we had this week! Monday was my favorite day as teacher after teacher brought their CCD Students outside for a few moments of recess, or to learn how to pray the Rosary by our Blessed Mother Statue. The sound of the children running around and playing, coupled with “Holy Mary, Mother of God…”, was idyllic!
Three Great Gospels
Today we begin reading three great Gospels as given to us by Saint John. Why great? Since the Apostolic Era these three Gospels have stood as foundational moments in the lives of those to be given the Sacraments of Initiation at the Easter Vigil. These three Gospels served as meditations for the catechumens concerning the lives they were leaving behind, and the new life of Grace they believed they would find in Christ. The Women at the Well (today); The Man Born Blind (next weekend); and the Raising of Lazarus (March 29), touch upon the deepest issues that are able to be healed through our encounter with Christ. How deep is my thirst, and for what/whom do I thirst; where am I blind to God’s presence in my life, in another person, in my God-given goodness?; where am I bound from accepting the freedom Jesus longs to give us as He unbinds us from our sin, worry, fear, self-loathing, apathy, anger and resentment? Thirsting, blind, or bound…; have you ever been there? I know I have!
What significance do these Gospels have for us during Lent 2020; aren’t these Gospels only for those joining the Church; why must we read these three long Gospels right before the reading of the Passion? Let’s work back words: if you find it too difficult to stand throughout these Gospels, just sit down. The reading of these three Gospels just before the Passion serves to lead us to hearing the Passion with hearts and minds that have been purified – purified to hear the greatest story of undeserved love found in Christ’s Passion. How these Gospels apply to more people than just the catechumens? Let’s consider the following.
Each one of us can name how we thirst for different things in life: a drink; a new job; a different looking body; a child; conquering a particular vice, and the list can go on. Some of these thirsts are good and natural. The issue becomes when our thirst becomes all we can think about, when the thirst controls us rather than our controlling it. However, we can also be so unaware of how thirsty we are, and we lives and our hearts become more like a walk in the desert, rather than the refreshing waters and green pastures promised to us in the Good Shepherd Psalm: we keep drinking and drinking, but are never satisfied, our thirst cannot be slaked. Do you see this in your life? Do you see this in our Parish?
Sight is such a precious gift! Several years ago, I scratched my cornea. During the examination the doctor told me that I was very lucky because if the scratch had gone the tiniest bit more in one direction I could have lost my sight. As my eye healed found myself treasuring the sight of people, places, and things much more. When our sight looks towards anyone other, and possession other than Jesus to fulfill us completely, we become blind. Have you ever felt this way? You know, been so in love you couldn’t see the forest for the trees; didn’t want to face a problem; preferred the sunglasses of denial rather than the clear lenses of the prescription of reality? Do you see this in your life? Do you see this in our Parish?
To not be free is one of the greatest crosses the human person can carry. To be bound in addiction; to be bound by the lie that I am a pusillanimous person, and I can not do anything difficult or that requires continued effort; to allow words like fat, I’m a mess, ugly, unlovable, and not deserving of God’s love or forgiveness to describe me and to become my self-definition is a painful and unhappy way to live. Do you see this in your life? Do you see this in our Parish?
Today we enter the time of Lent called, The Period of Purification and Enlightenment. May we experience the purification that we may be enlightened by Grace to thirst for God; to see ourselves and the world as He sees the world; and to be completely free so that we may all be alive in Him!!
Until we meet at the altar…..
O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee!
In the Lord,
March 8, 2020
My brothers and sisters,
May the Grace of Our Lord remain always with us!
Since the Second Vatican Council, the readings at Sunday Mass have been divided into three cycles, simply called Year A; Year B; and Year C. Each Cycle focuses on a specific evangelist and the particular audience for whom that person was writing. In all three cycles, the Gospel Readings for the first two Sundays of Lent are always the same: the First Sunday of Lent always deals with the temptations of Christ in the desert; and the Second Sunday of Lent always tells us the story of the Transfiguration of Christ on Mount Tabor.
The Transfiguration of Jesus offers us great hope! The Transfiguration gives us the sure promise of the glory that awaits us in heaven; that the sufferings of the Cross and of our lives are not for naught; and, that Christ shares His Glory with us as we live our faith lives.
I would like to share with you a story of the transfiguring power of Christ’s Love that continues until this very day.
Rose Hawthorne, the daughter of the great American writer, Nathaniel Hawthorne, founded the Hawthorne Dominicans. Born in Lenox, Massachusetts, in 1851, Rose Hawthorne spent her childhood years in Liverpool, England (where her father was U.S. consul), and Italy before coming home to Concord, Massachusetts, in 1860. At age twenty, Rose married George Parsons Lathrop and the couple eventually settled in Boston, where Lathrop worked at the Atlantic Monthly and Rose established her own reputation as a writer, publishing short stories and poems.
After five years of marriage, a son, Francis Hawthorne Lathrop, was born; but the lad succumbed to diphtheria when just five years old. Rose and George Lathrop were both received into the Catholic Church in 1891, ten years after their son's death. But their marriage became impossible; George Lathrop had problems with "intemperance" (as the New Catholic Encyclopedia delicately puts it), which led to his inability to keep a job. With her confessor's permission, Rose began to live alone and, after taking appropriate training, started work with patients suffering from incurable cancer -- a heart-breaking ministry of charity to which she devoted the rest of her life.
After George Lathrop's death in 1898, Rose Hawthorne became a Dominican sister, establishing the Dominican Congregation of St. Rose of Lima, also known as the Servants of Relief for Incurable Cancer. A center for cancer patients was established in Hawthorne, New York, where Mother Mary Alphonsa, O.P., as Rose was known in religion, spent out her years, dying there in 1926.
As Father Gabriel O'Donnell, O.P., the postulator for her beatification, once wrote, "service to Christ's poor did not simply mean that this lady of culture, education, and social status would put on an apron and offer gifts from her abundance. She decided to live among the poor, to beg for them as they did for themselves, and to establish a home where they could live in dignity, cleanliness, and ease as they faced their final days on earth...There was to be no class system, no 'upstairs/downstairs' for her residents. She and her religious sisters would be the servants. The residents would be the object of all their care and concern." Rose Hawthorne saw in disfigured men and women suffering from horrible cancers what others could not: the face of Christ. The Hawthorne Dominican Sisters continue the work of Rose Hawthorne (Mother Alphonsa) until this very day. They have a home not too car away: Rosary Hill in Hawthorne, NY. For over 100 years the Sisters have offered the finest care to those suffering with cancer and to their families while not charging one dime: their entire work is supported by charitable donations.
On this Transfiguration Sunday may our hearts be transformed to see Christ in all those around us, especially those who are most vulnerable.
Until we meet at the altar…..
O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee!
In the Lord,
March 1, 2020
My Brothers and Sisters,
I offer you this continued reflection on forgiveness and anger from Bishop Alfred A. Schlert of Allentown:
My dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
As another Lenten Season unfolds for us, I would like to reflect upon something that is impacting our Church and society greatly: Anger.
It seems everywhere we look, we see expressions of anger. Anger in and at the Church; anger in and at Washington; anger in and among nations; anger in families; anger in social media. In my travels around the Diocese, I often hear many who are concerned about the coarseness in our society.
Perhaps during this Lenten Season, a good way for us to reflect upon the anger in our lives and in society is to do an examination of conscience based on that very popular Lenten devotion, The Stations of the Cross. In these fourteen stops along the way of Our Lord’s Passion and Death, we see an example of patience and suffering combined in one total act of selfless love.
The First Station: Jesus is Condemned to Death
· In my own speech, do I in anger condemn another and quickly draw conclusions about a person’s motives and intentions?
The Second Station: Jesus Carries His Cross
· When I have a heavy burden placed on me, justly or unjustly, do I react with anger, blame, retribution, or avoidance?
The Third Station: Jesus Falls the First Time
· Do I take delight in another’s misfortune out of the anger I feel for him or her?
The Fourth Station: Jesus Meets His Sorrowful Mother
· When trial and sorrow come into my life, do I react with anger, blaming God or others for my testing, or do I seek to be compassionate and accepting of the situation over which I have no control?
The Fifth Station: Simon of Cyrene Helps Jesus Carry His Cross
· Does anger overcome me when asked to do something or circumstances demand that I get involved, preferring rather to watch from a comfortable distance, resentful that I have been asked to contribute my time, talent, or treasure?
The Sixth Station: Veronica Wipes the Face of Jesus
· Does my anger keep me from showing compassion, especially if I have experienced a lack of compassion from someone else?
The Seventh Station: Jesus Falls the Second Time
· Am I patient with myself when I make the same mistake again, or do I become angry with my lack of perfection and give up?
The Eighth Station: Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem
· Does my anger lead me to be hardened to the plight of others, convincing myself that somehow they are to blame for their situation and therefore absolving myself of any charity toward them?
The Ninth Station: Jesus Falls a Third Time
· Do I create an angry standard in my mind of what persons are worthy of being helped based on my own prejudices and misconceptions?
The Tenth Station: Jesus is Stripped of His Clothes
· In my anger, do I strip someone of his or her dignity or good name by what I say about them, what I post on social media, or how I act toward them?
The Eleventh Station: Jesus is Nailed to the Cross
· How does my interior anger disfigure my soul and nail my humanity to the cross of hatred, arrogance, and selfishness?
The Twelfth Station: Jesus Dies on the Cross
· Does my anger rage to the point that I see another person as irredeemable or without the human dignity of one created by God and saved by the Blood of Christ?
The Thirteenth Station: The Body of Jesus is Taken Down from the Cross
· Do I show respect for the human person or do I judge another as an object of my anger or to be used in a selfish way?
The Fourteenth Station: Jesus is Laid in the Tomb
· In my anger, do I emotionally bury a family member, friend, co-worker, or classmate by treating them as if they are “dead to me,” shutting them out of my life with no intention of reconciling with him or her?
The anger we sense in the world today is real and powerful. It is not easily rooted out, especially if we see the cause in someone else. This Lent, I ask myself and all the faithful to look inwardly to see how the anger in the world is really rooted in our personal anger, and seek to be reconciled with Our Lord and with those from whom we are estranged.
Psalm 34 tells us,Calm your anger and forget your rage; do not fret, it only leads to evil. For those who do evil shall perish; the patient shall inherit the land.
May God grant all of the peace and forgiveness of a Lenten Season truly lived well so that the Love of Christ will wash over us, bring us to be forgiven and inspire us by His forgiveness to forgive.
Sincerely in Christ,
Most Reverend Alfred A. Schlert
Bishop of Allentown
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February 2020
February 23, 2020
My Brothers and Sisters,
May the Grace of Our Lord remain always with us!
Everything was just a wee bit off this week: the neighborhood seemed really quiet; the phone barely rang; no Religious Education; no Mr. Bob or Ms. Kristin running in and out of the Rectory; there were no runners early in the morning, or again at dusk; everything seemed off. I went into the Butcher Shop on Elmgrove one day and there was no one there. I asked Dave, the owner, if the lunch rush was over, and he told me that it would be slow all week – public school vacation! If you got away for a break, I hope you had a great time: all of you were definitely missed!!
The quiet afforded me the opportunity to catch up on different projects – the biggest goal is clearing my desk. I am ashamed to say that I am still writing Christmas thank you notes; and there is always paperwork for so many different projects.
Catholic Charities
By now most of you should have a received a letter from Bishop Tobin concerning this year’s Catholic Charities Appeal. Although this is an annual request, I know that it comes on the heels of so many requests, most especially Sharing the Vision, Meeting the Challenge: Grateful for God’s Providence. Thank you for caring those who need our assistance, and for stretching yourselves once again.
Initially, our Parish Goal for CCA 2020 was $80,000.00. However, being aware of donor fatigue and in recognition of all of our efforts to increase our weekly offertory and participate in the Sharing the Vision, Meeting the Challenge, with the advice of both the Parish and Finance Councils, I requested a reduction in goal. Although I had asked that the goal be reduced to $65,000.00, the Diocese granted a reduction of $8,000.00 making our goal $72,000.00. More to come in the weeks ahead.
This Wednesday is Ash Wednesday
Hard to believe that this Wednesday will be Ash Wednesday, the beginning of our Lenten Pilgrimage. Masses with the Distribution of Ashes will take place on Wednesday at 7am and 5:30pm.
A few Lenten Highlights:
1. Lenten Mission
Fr. Isaac Morales from Providence College will lead us in our Lenten “Mission” next weekend, 29 February and 1 March. This year’s mission is entitled “Keep Sane in a Crazy World” – I know I could use this grace! The schedule is listed elsewhere in today’s bulleting. The Mission includes Pasta with the Padres – join us!
2. Wednesday Soup, Bread, and Study
On March 4, March 25, and April 8, following the 5:30pm Mass, come together for a simple meal of soup and bread at 6pm, followed by a brief teaching – talk (there will be separate sessions for adults and children); closing prayer, and on your way home by 7pm. Topics are listed elsewhere in today’s bulletin.
3. Daily Masses and Stations of the Cross
Masses will be celebrated each day at 7am and 5:30 pm. Stations of the Cross are held each Friday evening, following the 5:30pm Mass.In the words of the Liturgy, “this is the time of fulfillment, the reign of God is at hand…” during these days of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving may God complete what He has begun in us, that we may know a wonderful Easter on April 12, and a yet more glorious one in the Kingdom of heaven!
Until we meet at the altar…..
O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee!
In the Lord,
z
February 2, 2020
My Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,
May the Grace of Our Lord remain always with us!
The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord
In the old calendar of the Church, today ended the Christmas Season. Today was formerly known as the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary: forty days after giving birth the women of Israel were brought to the Temple to be purified, which really meant to offer thanksgiving for the birth of their newborn child. While once considered a feast of Our Lady, since the earliest days of the Liturgical Renewal (circa 1929) Liturgical Theologians have taught us and shown us that today is truly a Feast of the Lord – when Christ was presented in the Temple and consecrated to His Father and the mission the Father has entrusted to Him.
The greatest liturgical imagery of this Feast is light: today is the day on which we bless candles to be used in the Liturgy for the next year. Today is the day on which Simeon sings, “Now, Master, You have kept Your Word; with my own eyes I HAVE SEEN the salvation which you have prepared….: Candles light our path, and Simeon proclaims the Father’s faithfulness because Simeon sees the Word of the Father in the flesh: Jesus Christ our Lord!
Liturgy and Life
It pains me not to be with you today to celebrate this great Feast! If I were home, we would be blessing candles; there would be a procession during which the words of Simeon become our own, “Now, Master, you have kept Your Word; You let Your servant go in peace! With my own eyes I have seen the salvation You have prepared…” . To behold the glory of God – what we shall all see when we go to heaven!
The Operative Phrase
There are two great phrases from today’s Liturgy: A light to reveal You to the nations; and With my own eyes I have seen… light and seeing – what the optic nerve perceives. I offer you several “optic reflections” about our life together.
An Optic of Gratitude
This is the greatest “optic” before my eyes when I think of our life together at Saint Sebastian: gratitude. Gratitude for our community which continues to establish unity amidst the irenic conversations of different points of view; gratitude for new parishioners and old; gratitude for a joyful, wonderful, fun Saint Sebastian Potluck; grateful for a Christmas Season that celebrates the hallmarks of joy, generosity, and welcome: joy for the birth of Christ; welcome for established parishioners and many guests; welcome that has brought us new families and generosity that allowed us to make our Christmas Collection Goal of $25,000.00. Indeed, an optic of gratitude.
An Optic of Continuity
The greatest optic about our community is marked by our three pillars: worship, learning, and service. We continue to grow in our liturgical life and our personal lives of prayer. Our Religious Education and Faith Formation efforts flourish through the great efforts of so many, and the desire of even more to grow in faith. And, our efforts of service continue as we do what is familiar and embark on new initiatives.
An Optic of Growth
Since January 2019 we have welcomed 52 new families to our Parish! We great gifts this new life is to our community! Have you met any new members? Do you see people sitting around you who you do not know? Introduce yourself to these people. New members tell me they are impressed by the sense of community they experience here – may we be faithful to their experience!
Participation in the Capital Campaign, as well as the Christmas Collection, helps us to support the growth we are being given by the Lord.
An optic of growth is evident in the growth of our newly constituted Parish Pastoral Council members and their work to develop a mission statement; find ways to help our income; and offer me sage advice about where the Pastor’s Optic is on the mark, or may need an adjusted or new prescription.
An Optic of Reality
While every optic listed above is true, there is also the necessary optic of reality. In a few weeks’ members of the Finance Council and the Trustees will offer a report about our finances. Here is the truest optic there can be concerning our finances:
· Financially there is some improvement, but more is needed.
· As a community we are slow to respond to or accept a “culture of stewardship”. A culture of stewardship is not simply about money. A culture of stewardship is marked by the gifts of time, talent, and treasure by all of the parishioners. Approximately 33% of our parishioners support us by their treasure; and less that 20% support us by time and talent. We need to develop a culture of stewardship.
· When you receive the Financial Report of the Parish, you will see that this is a bare bones budget. To quote one of the trustees: “this is not a matter of expense, but of income. We no longer have parishioners who can ‘bail us out’, we need to find a way to encourage everyone’s help and increase our income.”
· Some of you have mentioned to me that there is an “optic of disconnect”, that I remark about our poor financial state, but our daily life looks fine, perhaps even grand; or that repairs continue while I talk about being in financial straits. No repair is made that does not have to be made, and made at once. Those repairs are depleting our financial reserves.
· What will happen to us if we do not develop this culture of stewardship? To answer this question honestly and bluntly: we will close. What worries me is the good will and generosity of 33% will be defeated by the lethargy of 47% of our members, we will have chosen closure by our lethargy.
An Optic of Hope
The greatest hallmark of our optic, of the way we work for and perceive our Parish, must be one of HOPE! If we lose hope, the devil has won! ! Can we change the optic of difficult reality? OF COURSE WE CAN! But to change this optic requires hard work and sacrifice from all of us! How do you and I reach those who may be unaware or lukewarm about being part of our ministry.
God has not given us the optics of gratitude, continuity, and growth to see His gifts squandered or fail: we must forge on in hope, sacrifice, and putting our hand to the plow.
Saint Thomas will teaches us that a fruit of hope is joy. The longer I am here, the happier, more joyful, I am to be here. Joy is the greatest way to invite new life and strengthen life that may be becoming flat. We are a joyful community – let us never hesitate to share our joy!
May the words of Simeon be ours today, and for generations to come, “With our own eyes we have seen the salvation, the growth, the community, and the stewardship You have prepared…..”
Until we meet at the altar….
O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee!
In the Lord,
Fr. Jordan