The Renewal of Faith Blog

Here is the article I wrote for the cover of today’s (Mother’s Day) bulletin.

In the Church today we celebrate the Sixth Sunday of Easter but we also recognize today as Mother’s Day.  We take time each year on the second Sunday in May to honor our mothers.  On the third Sunday in June we will celebrate Father’s Day.  Somehow Mother’s Day gets a lot of attention.

Children may make mom “breakfast in bed” or give their mothers something they made in school.  Adults may buy mom a gift, flowers, or take mom out for a meal.  I think making sure mom doesn’t have to prepare meals that day is a way of recognizing that we appreciate all the meals they have prepared for us.

Of course, these are ways we honor our mothers who are still living.  But we can also remember our mothers who have passed to the eternal kingdom.  My own mother passed away three years ago.  She died the Sunday before Mother’s Day, which made for a difficult Mother’s Day that year.

Just because our mothers have passed doesn’t mean we can’t honor them anymore.  We can remember the good things they have done for us and trust in the promise of Jesus that they have received the gift of eternal life.  For our mothers who have died, we honoring them by still remembering them on this day.

Of course, as Catholics we have another mother that we honor during the month of May.  The Virgin Mary was the mother of Jesus and in John 19:25-27 Jesus gives Mary to us as Mother of the Church.

As Mother of the Church, Mary does the same for us as our earthly mothers.  Mary watches over us and prays to her son Jesus for us.  Our mothers care for us and pray for us.

Mary (with Joseph) is the one who made sure that her son Jesus learned all the religious customs of the faith.  Often, it is our mothers who make sure we complete our sacraments and learn about our faith.

It was Mary at the Wedding Feast of Cana who believed in her son.  They had run out of wine and she sent them to her (adult) son Jesus.  She knew he could take of it.  She didn’t know how, simply saying “Do whatever he tells you.”  When we are little, we listen to our mothers.  As we grow into adulthood, we become more independent.  Our mothers (and fathers) let us make decisions for ourselves.  I suspect for our parents it is both difficult to let our children make decisions for themselves as adults and yet a great reward when they make good decisions.

To all our mothers, thank you!!!

Peace, Fr. Jeff

I put the title of this article in quotations because it is not actually my title.  It is the title of a talk I heard today by John L. Allen, Jr. and it is also the title of his book on the same subject.  The talk was given at our annual diocesan Ministerium and was a continuation of a talk he gave last year.  The book discusses ten trends affecting the Catholic Church in the 21st Century.  Last year he covered four of the trends and discussed some of the remaining trends today.  Here I offer a few highlights.  If you want more information I provide the full citation for the book below.

The first trend he discussed today was actually #3 in the book, Islam.  I wish to be clear here the discussion was not about Islam and terrorism.  John Allen’s point was that 25% of the people in the world belong to the Islamic religion and that makes it a major world player.  Of course, he recognizes the 9-11 attacks are a major factor in how Islam is viewed but he also stressed that Pope Benedict’s speech at Regensburg in 2006 had a major effect on Catholic Muslim relations.

Then John Allen moved to Trend #4 – The New Demography.  The point of concern here is the aging population.  He referred to it as “The Grayby Boom” because of the increasing percentage of senior citizens in our pews.  Generally, when people are discussing how the average age of our congregations is increasing, the discussion revolves around the fact that younger people are not coming to church much, if at all.  That is true and in the “New Evangelization” we need to work on inviting these younger families into our churches.  But even if everyone was coming to church, the average age of our parishioners would still be increasing because people are living longer and the younger generations are not having as many children.  This effects what ministries are needed and when to offer them.  Working families prefer evening activities but the retirees often prefer daytime activities.  We need to provide ministry to both groups at times that work for them.

Next came Trend #7 – Globalization.  The world we live in is constantly changing and we need to make our faith relevant in it.  If we don’t help people see how faith is still relevant in our world today, then why should we expect them to care about our faith?  For example he spoke of the “Vocation of the Business Leader” released last year by the Pontifical Council for Peace and Justice on how our faith influences our work in business.

Then he talked about Trend #10 – Pentecostalism.  Pentecostalism is the most rapidly growing religion today.  In part, they are growing because they do better than us in some areas.  Sometimes they do a better job of pastoral care.  They do a better job of getting all parishioners involved.  They make morality a priority that sometimes we don’t like to talk about (but the Catholic Church has a lot to say about).  We need to be aware of what attracts people to churches.  However, we must not engage in a popularity contest.  We are not called to proclaim the message that people want to hear.  We are called to proclaim the truth that Jesus offers.  The question we need to answer is how best to proclaim Jesus’ message in the world today.

In that we must remember that we are not to be evangelized by the popular culture today.  Rather, we are called to evangelize the culture according to the principles of our faith. In other words, we must shape society instead of letting it shape us.

To conclude, John Allen offered a new trend that he sees after the book was published in 2009.  Trend #11 is Religious Freedom.  When you hear this, I suspect that the first thing that might come to mind for Americans is the current controversy over the health care mandates.  John Allen did speak about that but he spoke more about the global situation of religious persecution.  In the United States, if you offend someone with your religious views, the worst that might happen is you get sued.  In many countries, your religious views may get you executed.  He said that every hour 17 people are martyred for their religious views today.  Where is the freedom of religion?

These are just a few of the highlights of what I heard today.  The question for us think about is how these ideas affect our ministry.  What do you think?

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

John L. Allen, Jr.The Future Church: How Ten Trends Are Revolutionizing the Catholic Church, Doubleday:New York 2009.

In this Sunday’s (May 6, 2012) Gospel, Jesus proclaims “I am the vine, you are the branches” and He calls us to “remain in him.”

What do we do to remain in Jesus?

It begins with coming to Mass but it does not end there.  To ‘remain in Jesus’ requires more than an hour a week.  For me, remaining in Jesus involves a desire to constantly be aware of His presence in our lives.  It is to live with an attitude of gratitude acknowledging the good things that God has done for us.

For me, remaining in Jesus also means that we seek to learn more about what Jesus teaches, how He calls us to live, and to strive to deepen our relationship with Jesus.  Some people seem content just to take a minimalist approach with Jesus.  They want to do just enough to get by.

For me, to be a minimalist is not enough, meaning if you desire is to do just enough, then you aren’t doing enough.  I want to deepen my own relationship with Jesus.  Some of how I do this is my ministry.  Sometimes just seeing the faith of other people (especially in difficult moments) inspires me in my own faith.  Preparing homilies helps be grow in my own faith.  For instance, for a typical Sunday homily, I began reflecting on the readings on the previous Sunday afternoon.  I spent time reflecting on the readings everyday and look at commentaries written by biblical scholars to find what God is saying to you and me.

I also like to read and most of what I read is theology magazines and books.  When people hear that I like to read theology material, they sometimes ask if I ever read for fun.  Occasionally I do read a mystery or spy novel for fun but reading theology is relaxing and enjoyable for me.  From reading, I also grow in my own faith.  Of course, it also helps me in my ministry.  I spent seven years in seminary, six of it in full-time studies.  I still feel like I just know the time of the iceberg so I want to learn more.  I read theology not because I have to but because I want to.

However, I know reading isn’t for everyone.  What do you do to remain in Jesus?

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

Yesterday I spent time both at Immaculate Conception Church and Our Lady of the Lakes at St. Januarius’ Church.

I went to Immaculate Conception where I will become the pastor on June 26th to met with the current pastor and take a tour of the facilities.  It began with lunch with Fr. Leo and Sr. Edna and conversation about the parish.  After lunch, Fr. Leo gave me a tour of the church, office, school, and rectory.

While I was there for a little over two and a half hours, this is really just the beginning of getting to know the parish and the staff.  It will take a while for me to get to know the parish and parishioners.  It is going to take a lot of listening on my part to get to know the parish.  I will need to listen to the parishioners, the committees, and the staff.  Most importantly, I have to listen to God.  For me, being a pastor isn’t about getting my way.  It is about leading the parish according to God’s Will.  That means listening to everyone involved, praying in conversation with God, and then making a decision that seeks to help all involved grow in their relationship with God.  All this being said, from the tour and the conversation, I continue to believe that this is where God is leading me.

That was my afternoon.  From there I drove to St. Januarius’ Church in Naples for the Sacrament of Confirmation for the children of Our Lady of the Lakes.  While I did concelebrate for the Mass, I did not need to be there but I chose to be there to show my support for the children that were receiving Confirmation.  Being a priest means helping the people deepen their relationship with our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.  Being there for the important moments like the Sacraments is a vital part of that.  Now, I can’t be everywhere.  Part of being a good pastor will be to set priorities.

Do you rely on God to help you set priorities in your own life?  We need to look beyond our own wants and needs and look at the world with eyes of faith.

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

Well, it has been almost a month now since I received the phone call from Bishop Clark appointing me as the pastor of Immaculate Conception Church in Ithaca on June 26th.  The response expressed from my current assignment at Our Lady of the Lakes has been offering congratulations to me but sadness that I am leaving.  I take the sadness at my leaving to be a good sign that they like me and the ministry I do.  Of course, there may be people who are looking forward to a new priest.  That’s fine.  We each have our likes and dislikes.

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you probably have seen the comments from a few parishioners of Immaculate Conception welcoming me.  I have also received a couple of emails welcoming me.

I continue to be excited about becoming the pastor there.  I hope it is because it is what God asks of me and not pride.  When people ask if I am excited or nervous, I respond that I am excited 95% of the time and the remaining 5% I wonder if I am up to the task before me.  As long as it is God’s will, God will give me the gifts to do what he asks of me.  Of course, it will be essential for me to listen to the staff, Parish Council, Finance Council, and other committees, and the parishioners in general to discern what the needs of the parish are and how God calls me to lead.  Listening to others and working in a collaborative way with staff and parishioners will be essential but I take the responsibility and authority as pastor very seriously.  In the end, when difficult decisions need to be made, it will be my responsibility, with God’s grace.

Of course, the transfer date is still just over two months away.  For now, I still have ministry to do at Our Lady of the Lakes while preparing to transition to Immaculate.  I intend to remain faithful to my commitments here.

Change isn’t always easy but when the change is God’s will and we open ourselves to God’s will, we are in good hands.

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

The news has been covering the continuing controversy over the issue of religious liberty as it pertains to the new rules issued by the Federal Department of Health & Human Services requiring insurance to cover contraceptives.  Our bishops have been attempting to dialogue with our government on this issue.  It should be made clear that our bishops are not lobbying to make contraception illegal.  They simply ask that religious organizations (with a much broader definition of religious organization than set by the government) not be mandated to provide coverage for anything that violates the religious beliefs of the organization.

This is certainly an important issue but there are other areas where religious liberty is being threatened.  With this in mind, the United States Bishops have issued a new document entitled Our First, Most Cherished Liberty: A Statement on Religious Liberty on April 12, 2012.  It is only about thirteen pages.  I encourage you to read it and think about what religious liberty means today.

On page 11 of the document, they call for a special time of prayer and focus from the evening of June 21st to July 4th to focus on religious liberty.  July 4th is, of course, the founding of our country with the signing of the Declaration of Independence.  The Declaration recognizes the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  It also sees these rights as coming from God.

June 22nd is the Feast of St. Thomas More and St. John Fisher who were martyred because they followed their faith over their country.  During this time period we will also celebrate a feast of John the Baptist on June 24th who was beheaded because he held to his faith.  On June 30th, we will celebrate the first Roman Martyrs.  All these people died standing up for their faith.  Do we have the courage to stand up for our faith?

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

For further reading check out our articles

• Faithful Citizenship
• Rights and Responsibilities