Time for a Big Heart

I want to take this opportunity to say thank you to those of you who read this blog. I was taking some time to review it and realized that one of my goals for this new year was to write more often - well guess I failed at that. Its been a roller coaster year to be honest, not that this is an excuse for not keeping a new year's pledge, but its a fact.

 

This year has been one of exponential growth in my parish ministry. We saw our parish community of St Mary of the Visitation truly embrace and become more fully focused on Christ’s mission and vision for parishes - to bring the lost home, care for the hurt, and minister to the hungering.

 

We took hold of our mission "to offer everyone in our community with a life changing encounter with Jesus", and we ran with it - full force! We saw new staff join our team, took leaps in our media and music ministry, saw our youth ministry and young adult outreach truly take off, our children's ministry extend, we saw the levels of parishioner engagement sore, saw attendance and participation rates increasing, we even saw many more parishes seek to visit us and partner with us. I found myself mentoring pastors, speaking at conferences and even scribing for my third book. It was humbling and unforeseen. It kept me moving at a very fast pace and probably the most productive and happiest I have been.

 

Then something happened that I didn't see coming - my phone rang and the Bishop called. Now Bishops only call for two reasons. If you are in trouble or if they want you to travel, and for me it was the latter one. My Bishop asked me, after almost 13 years at the parish I have loved - to "lean in" - as he loves to say - and leave to become Pastor of another parish near by, but there is more, this parish is located in the heart of two major universities and one college, with an active campus ministry, and is a large pinnacle parish in our region.

 

I was humbled by his request, but have to admit I had lots of reasons to say no. In fact initially I did in my heart. Not because the parish of St Michael in Waterloo is a bad fit - in fact its not! It was my home parish growing up, and the parish where I first heard my call to priesthood and entered the seminary from. I still have family and many friends there. In fact, I baptized my niece and nephew there, have married cousins, attended funerals, confirmations and have visited there many times. Its a great parish - vibrant, dynamic, committed to social action, good liturgy and hospitality...and its only 20 minutes away from where I am now. I resisted because, well, I had my mind made up on how things should be. I had the plan figured out and it didn't include moving boxes in January and certainly not leaving where I was happy.  

 

The Bishop told me to pray about it, discuss it with my spiritual director, and come back and chat again with him. I did, and well, God had His way (note I didn't say the Bishop did...but I guess he did too).... God touched my heart in several pivotal moments and told me, as St Catherine of Sienna likes to say, to "have a big heart", to think beyond what you know and embrace what God sees. Easier said then done, but part of the journey for her, and it seems for me.

 

So this Christmas was an emotional one for me. It was my last among a parish family that I have given my heart to for more than half my priesthood, and with each hymn, encounter and Mass came deeper pain at knowing a new chapter would begin and this part of the story would end. As a priest, our lives become interwoven with members of our parish. The rituals are one part, but its walking in the hurts and hopes, that when you try to unweave them- well - its heart wrenching.

 

I often tell the two young men from our parish studying in seminary, as well as the small group of five from our parish considering it, that the hardest part of priesthood is not the call to celibacy (that is a discernment on its own, for which one is either called or not), no, the hardest element of priesthood is obedience - going not where you want, but where God (and the Bishop) desires. I have quoted to them often.... "Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go."  (John 21:18) ..... now I am being called to model it...and well ......they are watching.

 

So January 14th, I move back to my home town, and to a childhood parish. I return to a parish which has had several pastors in a short time, and hope to bring a familiarity and a stability. My postal code changes, but not my commitment. I hope to continue to move forward the principles of evangelization and parish renewal which have guided my first 21 years as a priest. To continue mentoring, speaking, writing, teaching and to take what I have learned down the road to a new parish and into the lives especially of our post secondary students who desire to be part of a parish (and a Church) which - well - can be for them (like me) be a place to come home to.

 

Maybe a good way to finish this blog is with the quote below from a real friend and mentor in my life, and the man who first asked me, at the altar of St Michael Parish in Waterloo in fact, if I had ever considered being a priest...his promise then to pray for me....is one I still count on today.....

 

 

I think we will have a lot of exciting things around the corner in 2019, and I hope you continue along this journey with us.

A Response to Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report

The past week has been a difficult time for the Universal Church. Like you, I have felt frustration and anger as news of painful and sinful deeds has resurfaced along with new news about the way the leadership of the Church failed in its own response. While these events have not happened in “our parish”, they have in “our Church.”

These sins of commission and omission have sent the Church we love, the Church we serve, the Church some of us have consecrated our lives to, and the Church that Jesus Christ established - into sadness, not just in the United States, but in Canada, Europe, Latin America and elsewhere.

Our Bishop, has written a Letter which he asked be made available at all Masses in the parishes of the Diocese of Hamilton this weekend. St Mary of the Visitation Parish stands in unity with this official statement which is available at the Welcome Desk this weekend.

We pledge our prayers for victims of child abuse and their families. We renew our commitment to maintain the highest possible standards of safety for all of our children in all of our programs and adhere to all that is prescribed by our Diocese, requiring a “safe environment”, no matter ones role or vocation in the Church. 

While policies and best practices are necessary, we will never be able to create, as T.S. Eliot once put it, “systems so perfect that no one will need to be good.” Nothing can replace the need for each of us to strive for personal holiness and to live with moral integrity.

Both the enormity and the depravity of the recent revelations provoke an array of responses. From Anger, to sadness, to confusion, to hurt, to betrayal to embarrassment and shame. I have experienced them all. I have encountered, and individually met a myriad of people who are sensing these feelings too. What should and can we do, as men and women who both put our hope and trust in the Lord and are confused to say the least?

While I don’t claim to have the answers, I certainly have been praying a lot and sought solace rooted in our Scriptures of this Lord’s Day.

You may recall our Summer Message began with a simple reminder - to keep Christ First.  Over the summer the message has led us to repeat "Jesus is enough." And to neither swerve nor sway from the serenity that comes from carrying the scent of being a Child of God.

This weekend Our Gospel concludes with the statement that in all - the gift of the Eucharist is what remains with us… the abiding presence of Jesus in our midst is the manifestation of His promise to never leave us.

The Church exists as the People of God who are nourished and drawn together by the Eucharist, and it is the Bread of Life that gives us Hope… Jesus Himself!

In the Gospel (John 6:60-69) we are reminded that many gave up on Jesus because they had enough! But the disciples recognised what Jesus offered them—as He (and He alone) offers to us— a gift we can find nowhere else: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68-69). - keep Christ First

It is in communion with Jesus, and in unity with one another, as a believing body together worshipping Him and Him alone, that we find the peace which leads to eternal life - to keep Christ First

Father Michael Schmitts, who serves in the United States in Campus Ministry, and whom many of our youth and young adult are familiar with through his You Tube videos put it well… “this is not a time to leave, it is a time to lead  the Church”. Your presence and perseverance in the wake of these painful times is a great witness.

I want to thank you for your faith in Jesus and in not giving up on that faith. Your presence and perseverance in the wake of these painful times is a great witness.

The institution of the Church is human. The institution needs to find ways to be transformed, but the presence of Jesus always remains. His promise stands unshaken. And in this crisis we must never lose the focus to know that to be the Church is to strive to be holy and saints ourselves – for holiness is what we need most right now -  to keep Christ First

In the midst of our anger (as justified as it is) and our tears (as real as they are), let us not lose sight of this precious gift. That we lead the church by our holiness – and the church needs your holiness, - our holiness. The Church has sinners. What the Church needs now more than ever is people committed to being saints! -  to keep Christ First

 St. John Paul II wrote in 2002 these words of encouragement:

We must be confident that this time of trial will bring

a purification of the entire Catholic community, a purification

that is urgently needed if the Church is to

preach more effectively the Gospel of Jesus Christ in all

its liberating force. Now you must ensure that where sin

increased, grace will all the more abound. So much

pain, so much sorrow must lead to a holier priesthood,

a holier episcopate, and a holier Church.

Let make sure to pray for each other. Let us be committed to grow in holiness together. Let us vow to walk beside side each other, for some among us may be hurting more than others. Prayer alone will not solve the problems we face, but prayer will help us keep our hearts centered on the Lord.

To that end, on Friday, September 7 we will offer a Day of Prayer. Following morning Mass - the Blessed Sacrament will be exposed in our Church for Eucharistic Adoration from 9:00am to 6:00 pm in the Church, with the opportunity for Sacramental Reconciliation during this time, including with the presence of visiting priests, and the reciting of the Litany of Divine Mercy at 3:00pm.  We will conclude the day at 6:00pm with the reciting of the Rosary.

I invite you to come, at some point during the day, and sit with the Lord, to offer some time of prayer for healing, and for God’s mercy to guide the Church forward.  

If you know someone who is struggling, offer this time of prayer for them, or even invite them to join you to pray together.  All of us on the parish team will be participating in taking an hour before the Lord on this special First Friday.

If any feel that they need to speak privately or personally regarding these events, know that I am available to you, and that our parish team is here to aide you, pray with you and walk beside you.

Let us pray, first and foremost for all vulnerable members of our society, especially those who in the past have been hurt. Let us pray for our Church, its leaders and let us strive, determine and resolve in a steadfast manner, to return our flock to be a communion of saints.

My Rebuilt Experience

I recently returned from the Rebuilt Conference. I heard about the book called Rebuilt for the first time early in 2012. I remember it came as a relief when I read it. My own priesthood, needed a spark that would produce a new way, a new focus, a new path. I read the entire book that night.

It told the story of a priest and his lay associate who did just that: they rebuilt and reawakened their parish. It combined humour with relate-able difficulties for any who find themselves in parish life, but it did more, it also offered doable next steps that resonated with me and made faith relevant for my own parish family.

The book — and three others Father Michael White and Tom Corcoran have written since — have influenced my ways of serving and leading. From introducing a small-group ministry, to having screens in church, to focusing on hospitality teams, (including a Café after Mass) to a social-media presence, to an insistence on cleanliness in our facilities (that one was easy, I hate dust), to the importance of mindful parish communications — from the homily to the website— including weekly podcast, all started that night.

I have visited Church of the Nativity in Timonium, Maryland numerous times and over the last six  years count many there (including Father White and Tom) as friends. My encounters with them at other events, and even in the process of having them visit my own Diocese during a clergy seminar, have always left me encouraged, inspired and energised to keep moving forward, but the recent Rebuilt Conference in their newly built church (they literally rebuilt it), strongly impacted me!

Whether it was the amazing energy of the place, or the inspiring keynote sessions. Whether the insightful breakout sessions or impacting networking. Whether it was a humble but competent professional staff or the hundreds of parishioner volunteers who would not stop smiling as they shared a vision of making disciples and not letting people become passive consumers of faith. I found myself re-embracing principles which have led my ministry, and my parish, to become about one thing – offering every person in our community a life changing encounter with Christ.

At the Rebuilt Conference, I re-learned the importance of committed volunteers as the key to guaranteeing the quality of the programs, avoiding always the temptation to be a silo; something isolated from the rest of the parish (a clique one might say). The idea that parishioners are not consumers or clients, but rather people called to a mission of evangelization. These building blocks, along with keeping the message, music and ministers (meaning the parishioners) as first priorities on the weekend, are keys to the rebuilding

Church of the Nativity, and the Rebuilt Parish Association, is part of the Amazing Parish initiative, as we are, and it is a privilege now to not only learn from the best, but now to also share best practices (and some failures along the way on our part) with other local, and event some distant, parishes that will help all of us as we continue rebuilding our families of faith.

At the opening session Father White told us that `Right Now` was the time to have an impact and make a difference. At the closing session, Tom Corcoran told us how to do that - by being letting the voice of God be instilled in our hearts, and thereby what we hear, and permitting His vision of us to be what we see, and thereby what we become. That we become re-committed in a renewed way (one might say a rebuilt way) into being faithful disciples with the mission Jesus entrusted to us, making our parishes places where people can become and grow as disciples of Christ and offer every person in our community life changing encounter with Christ.  Let’s Keep Rebuilding!

Easter and the Power of Empty

The first witnesses to the Lord’s resurrection on that first Easter found themselves initially confused by being confronted with an empty tomb and a variety of questions: 

• Where is Jesus? What have they done with his body?
• Why are His burial clothes still in the tomb? 
• Who rolled the stone away? What do we do now? 
• Dare we hope that what he promised has come true: that He would rise from the dead on the third day?

What would we have done and thought if we were to have encountered the tomb empty on that fateful day? 

Would we have run away too scared to tell anyone what we saw or didn’t see? Would we have peered into the tomb half thinking to find him still there, half hoping we wouldn’t because He was true to His word? Would we still seek the living among the dead as the revelation angel asks the women caught in confusion and grief?

Easter challenge to us all to believe in the power of "Empty". Go with resurrection faith and seek the ‘dead’ among all those living in the world today; those caught in the ‘deaths’ of grief, violence, victimisation, of despair, hopelessness and hurt. Look out with His love and find those who experience the death grip of addiction, the agony of being devalued and of feeling unwanted or useless. Run with a heart full of joy to bring His message of hope and inclusive care to those who feel unwelcome in society. Bring His healing peace and forgiveness to those caught in cycles of un-forgiveness, guilt over sins that still haunt their lives or fear that no one understands or is willing to heal their wounds. Jesus, I believe, says that we are to seek the ‘dead’ among the living so that the life of the crucified and resurrected Christ can touch their lives with new hope.

During the Easter Season we will be focusing together on the power of "Empty" and asking ourselves who ‘among the dead’ does Christ invite us to seek out and find this Easter for the sake of their New life? Who is that "one more" that God calls us to seek and find.  Who will He send you to from His empty tomb, with His message of hope?

“Sir I wish to see Jesus”.

This is the final week of our Lenten Message Series. We have travelled far. From the desert where we began looking at the whole question of temptation: “the invitation to embrace self-interest.” One temptation we decided we need to get over was “ourselves” - our need to focus only on ourselves - for when our life perspective is about our self - we not only limit our selves but we can lose ourselves in the process - missing out on opportunities to grow.

Then we moved to the mountain of transfiguration where we sought to get a better view - a God perspective to the things of life- up the Mountain of Transfiguration along with Peter, James and John and see God’s plan, His view, His Game Plan for you this Lent. Our second week was about focussing on perspective – how did we do?

Then we moved to the temple where Jesus in the midst of deep disappointment at its use cleared it and in that reaction we were called to consider our own reactions - we react to so many things - but do our reactions speak of ourselves (you know the one we were called to get over) or do they speak of God and His work in our life? Our trust in Him?

Then to the Gospel last week - the best quoted of all - John 3:16 - were we were invited to look at the Cross - and examine the crosses in our lives - asking ourselves during it all - do we know His love, do we embrace and seek His love, do we share His love and do we even see the Cross and the crosses of our life as symbols of His love?

Our final Gospel for Lent takes us to a Greek Citizen who says - “Sir I wish to see Jesus”. He wants to see Jesus - but will he, can He, should he? He seems almost afraid to grow in his relationship with Jesus. At times there are things which can hold us back – almost quarantine us from growing in our relationship with Jesus… often it is Sin - and when we recognize that, it becomes a moment where we ask ‘ What Are You Waiting For?”  We explore the Sacrament of Reconciliation and prepare for our Day of Mercy on March 22, 2018

God so loved the world

Our Lenten Message Series continues .In this Sunday's Gospel, we get to hear the most famous verse in all of the Bible: John 3:16. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him might not perish but have eternal life.” In this chapter, John recounts a conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus, a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin who had sympathy for Jesus and his message of salvation through repentance. Nicodemus came out to meet Jesus after reports of the miracles Jesus had performed, hoping to gain some insight into His teachings.

The history of salvation, from the fall of Adam and Eve until the final judgment, revolves around the coming of Jesus Christ, the Savior, the Son of God. Why did He come? Because the Father sent Him. Why did the Father send Him? Because He “loved the world so much.” He simply couldn’t bear to see us perish in our sins; He longed to share with us His everlasting life. God cares. And Jesus Christ is the definitive proof that He cares. He cares so much that He is willing to sacrifice His only Son to atone for the sins that have separated man from God, the source of all good things. We need look no further to find the very core of the gospel: “God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not be lost but may have eternal life.” No hidden agenda, no selfish undertones – pure generosity. This is the heart of God, of the Lord who longs for our friendship. You might be saying….alright, I know and understand and accept that….however…where is the insight?

So here is the insight? The cross. You see all of this was possible due to the generosity of the Father, but also because of the choice of the Son to accept the Cross. This instrument became not a tool of torture, but a pulpit of love. When we take on the Crosses of our life, in that same spirit, and accept His love, then we too are able to embrace Him and His love in our life. Are you willing to accept the Cross? What are your waiting for?

Reactions are a part of life

We continue our Lenten Message Series.  The picture above is one I took during our Parish Pilgrimage to the Holy Land. It is a view from Mount Tabor where our journey left off last week. What is your reaction to the photo and the view?

Reactions are a part of our life, we have thousand of them each day. To what we or others wear, watch on TV or even have for dinner. Most are pretty basic and allow us to make our way through an average day, but some are most significant & impact our life, values and livelihood (not to mention happiness). Our readings, as we continue this Lenten journey lead us toward a reflection upon Reactions, Decisions and Choices - how we make them, what shapes them and who influences them.

Our gospel invites us to reflect on the reaction of Jesus as He entered the temple and cleared it. It invites us to see His reaction for who He is for us. 

On the First Sunday of Lent, when Jesus was tempted in the desert, He revealed His humanity – in His hunger – and His divinity in His rejection of the temptations of the evil one. On the Second Sunday of Lent, in the transfiguration on Mount Tabor, we heard Jesus referred to as God’s “beloved Son”, and we were asked to “Listen to him”. 

Now, on this Third Sunday of our Lenten season, we are challenged by the gospel to see a different side of Jesus, but as a man inspired by God to cleanse the Temple. He prophesies His resurrection from the dead and He says that He will “destroy this temple and in three days … raise it up” speak of His rootedness in the plan of God for Him. Although the disciples did not understand Him, He was talking about His death (‘this temple” referring to His body), and His resurrection three days later. Only later, after the resurrection, did they put the pieces of the puzzle together and understand His true meaning. They too had a reaction to what He was doing. 

Sometimes God does puzzling things in our life, are we willing to try and understand His meaning “three days later?” What is your reaction?