Two of our hymns start out this way. "Enter the journey. Come to the song. By God you are chosen, by name you are called to follow the vision, carry the cross. Enter the journey of faith as fhe family of God." The second says: "We are companions on the journey, breaking bread and sharing life..." Both of these songs bring out the reality that "our" journey happens with others and NOT by ourselves. This obviously is speaking to all Christians who belong to the family of believers.
The first question of those we are asked to ponder, answer, share as input for the worldwide synod of bishops in October of 2023 says: "How does the jorneying together happen in the local church." Hopefully, many can answer that question in regards to the Sacraments we all receive, especially those that are celebrated over and over again. That is one instance that the Church provides for our growth in the Lord that always has a "communal" aspect to it, even when we receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation which seeks to restore harmony between ourselves, God, and the entire community of believers who are affected by our sins.
The priest stand "in persona Christi" (in the person of Christ) in all the Sacraments, and also is there in the name of those that we journey with in faith and often physically present with our brothers and sisters in Christ when we receive them. It would hopefully be fruitful if we also ponder the ways that the Church community joins us and supports us in other aspects of our lives, firstly in our charity in the name of Jesus Christ to those in need and ongoing efforts to foster and maintain a more just and peace-filled country and world. There is also the area of ongoing formation and instruction in the ways of our faith lives as Catholics that should always have the goal of leading us to share our faith with others whether it be believers or those who have yet to come to faith. Another things for us to ponder and assess is the ways our parish community seeks to bring us together to grow in fellowship and in our relationship as brothers and sisters in Christ. This would include spiritual and social gatherings where we pray together and/or play together.
Lastly, besides other areas and way that you would come up with to name and share as we journey to our final home in heaven, please consider our liturgies (which normally means our Masses). In what ways or means can we better "journey together" in our times of giving praise and thanks to God and growing stronger individually and communally in those times in which we are together.
The first question of those we are asked to ponder, answer, share as input for the worldwide synod of bishops in October of 2023 says: "How does the jorneying together happen in the local church." Hopefully, many can answer that question in regards to the Sacraments we all receive, especially those that are celebrated over and over again. That is one instance that the Church provides for our growth in the Lord that always has a "communal" aspect to it, even when we receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation which seeks to restore harmony between ourselves, God, and the entire community of believers who are affected by our sins.
The priest stand "in persona Christi" (in the person of Christ) in all the Sacraments, and also is there in the name of those that we journey with in faith and often physically present with our brothers and sisters in Christ when we receive them. It would hopefully be fruitful if we also ponder the ways that the Church community joins us and supports us in other aspects of our lives, firstly in our charity in the name of Jesus Christ to those in need and ongoing efforts to foster and maintain a more just and peace-filled country and world. There is also the area of ongoing formation and instruction in the ways of our faith lives as Catholics that should always have the goal of leading us to share our faith with others whether it be believers or those who have yet to come to faith. Another things for us to ponder and assess is the ways our parish community seeks to bring us together to grow in fellowship and in our relationship as brothers and sisters in Christ. This would include spiritual and social gatherings where we pray together and/or play together.
Lastly, besides other areas and way that you would come up with to name and share as we journey to our final home in heaven, please consider our liturgies (which normally means our Masses). In what ways or means can we better "journey together" in our times of giving praise and thanks to God and growing stronger individually and communally in those times in which we are together.
More than a few of you are old enough to remember when Vatican Council II was being held and Catholic bishops from all over the world (with selected theologians accompanying them) were called to Rome by then Pope John XXIII to discuss, debate and vote on resoloutions some of which became the documents that helped the church "look forward" to the challenges and blessings of life in the "Modern World" in which we live. At the time (the early 1960's) when it started few could have grasped the direction that society and the Church has gone since Vatican Council II. Some still believe (sadly in my opinion) that the Church did not need Vatican II and its developments in the area of Liturgy, Ecumenism and other issues. Hopefully many more have appreciated and benefitted in many ways from the results of the Counil and recognize that it happened under the guidance of the Holy Spirit as Jesus promised would be the case for the Church until the end of time. Most Catholics recognize that the "Council" was an ongoing meeting (lasting in total over 3 years) of the Ordained leaders of the Church, Pope, bishops and selected priests and theologians AND some Religious and Protestant attendees.
Unlike the social media apparatus of recent times, the reporting of what was happening during the Council was not broadly known by "lay people" throughout the Church and for sure there was little or no input that was received from the laity for the council to consider before or during their meetings. Many (even with the social media appartus we have) are unaware that Pope Francis has announced a meeting of the Synod of Bishops to take place in Rome in October, 2023. To prepare for this meeting, the Pope has asked ALL DIOCESES throughout the world to enter into dialogue with ALL BAPTIZED PERSONS. He has asked that we have various opportunities to get input from the laity on their experiences and concerns that will be helpful when the Synod of Bishops meets with the Pope in 2023. He wants the Church to journey with its members to listen to their experiences and to seek their advise. As I and other parish leaders work and plan to make this happen SOON in our parish, I ask all of you to save and start pondering these questions and even start putting down in print your responses.
How does "journeying together" happen in our local Church?
What has been your experience of how the Church has journeyed with you?
What steps does the Holy Spirit invite us to take in order to grow in our journeying together?
As Bishop Taylor and our Church leaders listen, what else is important for them to hear?
As large as the Church is, this is a huge undertaking, AND I hope many of you, will see this as a chance for every baptized person to be consulted as the Church moves ahead under the guidance and inspiration of the Holy Spirit to be true to and united in our mission to carry on the "Good News" of Jesus Christ in our lives and throughout the world!
Unlike the social media apparatus of recent times, the reporting of what was happening during the Council was not broadly known by "lay people" throughout the Church and for sure there was little or no input that was received from the laity for the council to consider before or during their meetings. Many (even with the social media appartus we have) are unaware that Pope Francis has announced a meeting of the Synod of Bishops to take place in Rome in October, 2023. To prepare for this meeting, the Pope has asked ALL DIOCESES throughout the world to enter into dialogue with ALL BAPTIZED PERSONS. He has asked that we have various opportunities to get input from the laity on their experiences and concerns that will be helpful when the Synod of Bishops meets with the Pope in 2023. He wants the Church to journey with its members to listen to their experiences and to seek their advise. As I and other parish leaders work and plan to make this happen SOON in our parish, I ask all of you to save and start pondering these questions and even start putting down in print your responses.
How does "journeying together" happen in our local Church?
What has been your experience of how the Church has journeyed with you?
What steps does the Holy Spirit invite us to take in order to grow in our journeying together?
As Bishop Taylor and our Church leaders listen, what else is important for them to hear?
As large as the Church is, this is a huge undertaking, AND I hope many of you, will see this as a chance for every baptized person to be consulted as the Church moves ahead under the guidance and inspiration of the Holy Spirit to be true to and united in our mission to carry on the "Good News" of Jesus Christ in our lives and throughout the world!
As I compose this pastor's column, I have just returned from the home of Clyde and Ida Porterfield, where I comforted Clyde and prayed for Ida in the wake of her sudden death. I want to take this opportunity to encourage all of you to call me right after a loved one has passed away and know that I am prepared to go to the home or hospital (or other institution) to pray over them (and with the family) in committing their soul to the eternal care of the Lord and offer prayers and presence for the one is grieving their loved one's death. I cannot give the Sacrament of Anointing to the person who has died, yet I want to nevertheless "be there" as a "presence of hope" if the family member or members would welcome me to come.
With regard to Ida, Clyde informed me that she had pre-arranged with one of the local funeral homes and had decided to have her body present for the Rosary and funeral Mass and then be taken for cremation followed by interment in a columbarium. This gives me another oppportunity to ask your consideration of such arrangements for yourself if you are choosing to be cremated. This is NOT firstly what Fr. Bill "wants" but rather what the Church strongly encourages for a number of reasons, starting with honoring the body of the person that was baptized and received other sacraments of the Church, including and especially the Holy Eucharist. Having the body present (whether with an open casket or not) allows the family and others to mourn the loss of the "person" whose soul is now, we pray in the loving, merciful hands of God. While cost might need to be considered for some, please realize that to embalm a person and "rent" a casket is really not that "pricey" and after doing the research, I can tell anyone who wants to ask me, what some of the funeral homes in the area charge for such services.
While talking about cost, this past weekend, I spoke of doing pre-arrangement for the funeral Mass with us (ie music, readings etc.) and if cremation is the choice to consider choosing and purchasing an urn through an online service (like Amazon) which can be a good thing to do for a number of reasons, including a lower cost for the urn. By the way the dimensions for the niche's in our Sacred Heart Columbarium are eleven and a half square in the front and ten and a half square toward the back of the niche. Each niche is one foot and eleven and seven-eighths deep from front to back.
Admittedly this pastor's column is bringing up things that some don't want to think about or plan in advance which is okay. I do know that Clyde Porterfield is blessed that Ida made some decisions and arrangements ahead of time to lighten the burden of decisions for him at a most difficult time as he mourns Ida's passing. Please pray for Ida and all who have recently died as well as Clyde and all those who are mourning the loss of their loved ones!
With regard to Ida, Clyde informed me that she had pre-arranged with one of the local funeral homes and had decided to have her body present for the Rosary and funeral Mass and then be taken for cremation followed by interment in a columbarium. This gives me another oppportunity to ask your consideration of such arrangements for yourself if you are choosing to be cremated. This is NOT firstly what Fr. Bill "wants" but rather what the Church strongly encourages for a number of reasons, starting with honoring the body of the person that was baptized and received other sacraments of the Church, including and especially the Holy Eucharist. Having the body present (whether with an open casket or not) allows the family and others to mourn the loss of the "person" whose soul is now, we pray in the loving, merciful hands of God. While cost might need to be considered for some, please realize that to embalm a person and "rent" a casket is really not that "pricey" and after doing the research, I can tell anyone who wants to ask me, what some of the funeral homes in the area charge for such services.
While talking about cost, this past weekend, I spoke of doing pre-arrangement for the funeral Mass with us (ie music, readings etc.) and if cremation is the choice to consider choosing and purchasing an urn through an online service (like Amazon) which can be a good thing to do for a number of reasons, including a lower cost for the urn. By the way the dimensions for the niche's in our Sacred Heart Columbarium are eleven and a half square in the front and ten and a half square toward the back of the niche. Each niche is one foot and eleven and seven-eighths deep from front to back.
Admittedly this pastor's column is bringing up things that some don't want to think about or plan in advance which is okay. I do know that Clyde Porterfield is blessed that Ida made some decisions and arrangements ahead of time to lighten the burden of decisions for him at a most difficult time as he mourns Ida's passing. Please pray for Ida and all who have recently died as well as Clyde and all those who are mourning the loss of their loved ones!