FM's Message | Sunday, October 8th, 2023

I mentioned in my annual finance letter that the Cardinal has renewed my appointment at Mary, Queen of Apostles Parish. I am grateful to him for his confidence and the clergy personnel board that recommended this reappointment. I believe that the Cardinal, after looking at all the evidence, realized that while we certainly have come a long way, we still have a ways to go before we can say that every person is engaged as a disciple and living out our faith in the way we are called to do. There is always more work as we seek to evangelize and heal in the city of Salem. I want to reiterate that we exist to proclaim the message of Jesus Christ to all of Salem. We have a long way to go and I hope that this year’s Alpha brings more people to a relationship with Jesus, healing as they need it, and a desire to continue to share their faith in communion with us and as growing disciples. We are called to be people who look out beyond the doors to the mission field in front of us.
In the past, we used a variety of programs and methods to catechize and prepare people for sacraments and for a period, that was enough. We are now faced with the challenge of helping everyone to recognize what the last six Popes have been saying, mainly that first, a relationship with Jesus Christ is a primary part of understanding the church and the sacraments that we so often take for granted. The word for that process is evangelization. We are sent to the world to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ and because of that people come into relationship with him. We say this at almost every baptism, i.e., the most important day of our lives after our births is the day of our baptism. That is the day that the arc of our lives’ changes for ever. It is the beginning of relationship with Jesus and the moment in which we accept that our lives will be modeled on Jesus’s life. It is hard to overestimate the impact of this moment, and yet we can see that when we don’t understand this, it affects the rest of our understanding of the sacraments and the church.
In the early Church, which we see the in Acts of the Apostles, we see the method of evangelization and catechesis used in the beginning of the church. Most people were not Christian and in many cases were pantheist, i.e., believing in a variety early Christians studied the scriptures, celebrated the sacraments together and then went out to preach to people wherever they were. That is our task now and, in many ways, in this part of the country, it is imperative that as we meet people and start to introduce them to Jesus, we need to be ready to explain who Jesus is and what he has done for everyone, starting with our story of course. This is the method we are using in Alpha and the testimonials we use as we prepare. This is the “New Evangelization” or one of the techniques anyway. The message is the same. Jesus Christ is Lord; however, the methods of communication have changed to adapt to the new situation. A brief review of the history of the Church will reveal that this is always the case and that in truth, since the documents of Vatican II were published, we have seen the need for updating different parts of the way that we proclaim the message. Thanks be to God, we have the Holy Spirit to ask for guidance all the time. It is the same for us as we adapt and change. I remember my father being astonished at my iPad and cell phone. He went and got a cell phone and it changed his life and how we communicated with him. (It might have saved his life on a few occasions as he got older and sometimes got lost driving).
So we will continue to as Father Richard Lennan says, “Till the Church”. It is an unfinished field and needs planting, watering, pruning and harvesting and I think I will be here a few more years to see the work through.
Building news: We continue to do some yard work and spread wood chips from the tree that was cut down. I am grateful that a parishioner came and helped to spread the wood chips and do some gardening. It is a nice way to honor the tree that was taken down. Next up is grinding the stump and then transferring the conifer near the ramp entrance to that open spot. There is a new landscaper for us taking care of the lawns who was complimentary about the lawns and the care of the property. I am grateful for the feedback and able to report that it is largely the result of parishioners doing all the work. In other news, thanks to the knights and Chi- Chi for the parking lot volunteering during this time. We also continue to clean the churches and work towards making them efficient so that we realize some cost savings. There are five (half) drum barrels in the basement of St. James if anyone is looking for a large grill. They are well seasoned and come with charcoal and lighters.