Saturday, February 28, 2009

Feast or Fast?

We're always "giving something up" for Lent, but would it help our faith more if we "did something" for Lent? In that vein, here is something I found on the internet:

I suggest we move beyond chocolate to declare our own fast ---
Fast from judgment, Feast on compassion
Fast from greed, Feast on sharing
Fast from scarcity, Feast on abundance
Fast from fear, Feast on peace
Fast from lies, Feast on truth
Fast from gossip, Feast on praise
Fast from anxiety, Feast on patience
Fast from evil, Feast on kindness
Fast from apathy, Feast on engagement
Fast from discontent, Feast on gratitude
Fast from noise, Feast on silence
Fast from discouragement, Feast on hope
Fast from hatred, Feast on love

What will be your fast? What will be your feast?

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Lent


Lent is a powerful season in our church year. Some of us will resolve to not eat chocolate or not fight with our siblings. Others might think these small attempts are silly. But there is something powerful about a time of year that challenges people to make some kind of connection between how we live our lives and how God is calling us to live them.


Figuring out what God is calling us to is what we mean by discernment. Discernment isn't just for men trying to figure out whether or not they want to be a priest. It's for everyone. And it isn't something we can do all at once. It's a daily task. It's something we every day of our lives. It's often messy; it's always challenging.


All of us, at least at times, wishes that God would just "tell us what to do." Well, actually, he has!

In the person of Jesus Christ we have been shown what God wants for us. But it hasn't just been handed to us on a plate. It was handed to us on a cross. And, if Jesus is our way, we would understand that following God's call isn't easy.


We ought not to think of Jesus as walking a “scripted” path, as though he was some sort of divine actor who plays his lines faultlessly. Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness proves this: the struggle to live out his calling faithfully is one that has to be lived out and “proved” in the faithful doing of it. There is always the imminent possibility of failure - even for Jesus!


And it's the same with us. Being Christian means living dangerously. We have to eager to take chances, trusting that, like Jesus in the desert, the Spirit will not lead us anywhere and then leave us alone. We have to willing to make mistakes and then willing to learn from them. And always, always believing that God loves the sinner--and especially the sinner who cares and loves enough to risk choosing wrongly for the sake of love

Monday, February 23, 2009

Topics for blog

Please let me know if you have any topics, issues, etc., that you would like me to address on this blog.

Thanks!

People Leaving St. Therese


People leave a parish for may different reasons. The problem is that most of the time we don't know what those reasons are. I believe that the most important question is not "Why are people leaving?" but "Why are people staying? And, "Why are people coming to our parish?" In other words, what are we doing right that is making people come and want to worship with us?

However, it still hurts to know that some people may be leaving for some reason that we might be able to change. But, unless we know why, we can't do anything about it. That's where you come in! None of you need a data base to tell you if someone you know hasn't been around for a couple of weeks. A common complaint of people leaving is that "no one noticed." All it takes is a phone call or e-mail to ask if there is a problem. Show them that you have noticed they aren't around. Find out if they have been sick. If there is a problem, talk to them about it. After all, you are the church!

There are times when a friend of yours may leave for the wrong reasons. You may be the only one who knows why. If a friend of ours is in the wrong in why they are leaving (the facts they are basing it on are in correct) or they are leaving in the wrong way (slandering people, gossiping, causing division and pulling others along with them), then we need to roll up our sleeves and say, "I'm your friend and I always will be, but you need to know that I think your facts aren't correct and the way you're going about this isn't the best."

And then let me know if there is anything I can do to help. I don't want anyone to leave, and especially not because of wrong facts! So, if you have any suggestions or know of anything that would help me deal with this issue, please let me know.

Thanks!

Go to these sites if you are interested. These are just a sampling of what comes up when you google "why people leave church:"

http://mondaymorninginsight.com/index.php/site/comments/and_the_1_reason_people_leave_your_church_is/

http://www.victorious.org/leavechu.htm

http://www.churchmarketingsucks.com/archives/2005/08/why_people_leav.html

http://www.christianpost.com/church/church-growth/2006/10/survey-reasons-why-people-leave-the-church-15/index.html

Firewood


This may seem a little strange finding on a priest's blog, but I'm searching for firewood for my fireplace. I was talking to the Knights of Columbus while they were making brunswick stew and one of them said, "Why don't you just announce it from the pulpit?" Well, one of the things I've always found hardest to do as a priest is to ask for help. I especially don't like to in any way take advantage of my position. But tonight, as I'm suffering from the flu like a lot of you, I was googling the web about why people leave church and came across a site that suggested that a pastor should have a blog site to better communicate with parishioners. So I started this site and thought: "Robert, why not ask if anyone has extra firewood."

So, if you do, or if you know someone who sells it cheap, let me know.

Thanks

Homilies

I am really interested in hearing from you about my homilies. I preach every week: it's one of the most exciting things I do as a priest. However, I seldom get any feedback. Do I sound like I'm preaching at you? Do my homilies touch you and your life in any way? Do you have any suggestions about what I might do to make my homilies more relevant?

Whatever you think, I would like to hear from you.