FM's Message | Sunday, September 30th, 2022

Growing up, my father would assign us work to do and sometimes would not tell us why we were given the task. When we asked, “Why me?” he would say, “Because I said so.” The look on his face usually conveyed to us that that was reason enough. On the other hand, a millennial author named Simon Sypek has written a series of books that address the present age and culture. He has done a lot of research on how our current young people respond to invitations. One of his main points is that we should always be clear about our “why.” If we know the reason we are here, we can better communicate it to those who need to know why.  Stephen Covey, author of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, said, “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing." For the Church, the main thing is for us to proclaim the Gospel, make disciples, and baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (MT 28:19). We are given our “why” from Jesus.
What we sometimes get hung up on is the “what and how.” This can be the subject of much discussion and disagreement, but the main purpose of our parish is to bring the message and healing of Jesus Christ to everyone in Salem. Over the 34 plus years of my priesthood, I have seen tremendous changes in how and what we are doing. Never once have I heard or seen that we are not believers in Jesus, His teachings, and the truth of the Church as God’s primary instrument on earth for the salvation of souls. For example, when Pope Francis gives us a new teaching on the relationship of God with others, we can see that he is drawing from the traditions and writings of recent popes. His teaching reminds us that we are first in a relationship with Jesus. This is our faith. It begins in relationship and not with teachings and philosophies. Those are certainly what we use to think about our faith, but it starts in a relationship. It seems new, but this traces way back to the earliest popes. It was rediscovered by Pope St. John the XXIII. Pope St. John Paul II said it. Pope Benedict reiterated it in his clear teachings. Now, Pope Francis is urging us to this relationship. It is something to remember as we continue forward to the renewed Church.
Shortly, we are going to begin a series of meetings that I hope will allow us to move into the future. We will do this by gathering people who are willing to come forward with their time, talent, and treasure and join those who have already been working here to fulfill the mission of the parish.
I receive a lot of feedback about our parish.  One of the most common comments is that the parish is very welcoming. Here, people sense that we are welcoming and open to new people to our parish. Thanks to all who have reached out to the stranger among us. That small but big gesture is helping to change the face of our parish. Inviting people to our church is the next practice I hope we become known for. The Alpha team is asked to invite a minimum of five people to each Alpha series. Like in the scriptures, not all respond, but we need to keep inviting. I ask everyone to invite someone new to Mass, a program, or an event. Keep inviting. It was what Jesus did and what His first disciples did. We need to do this too if we are going to fill the church for everyone to have a personal relationship with Jesus.
 
Building news. This past week, the roofers were back at Immaculate to dig out the gutters on the school side of the church. We are reaching a critical point with them as they are more than 30 years old. This week, we also had a visit from the electrician for some work and from the plumbers to clean and prep the boilers for the heating (yikes) season. The two gravel piles have been removed from the parking lot at St. James, and we are ready for the parking stripes to be painted.