Tag: Church

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Pick-A-Parish

One of the most frustrating things about working in ministry is encapsulated in the following email:

“Hi Laura, I live in DC and I attend [church x] but I must confess I still hop around between parishes trying to find my niche, so that keeps me back from getting involved in any specific community.” (emphasis added)

There is a vast difference in finding your niche and creating your niche! How can you create a vibrant parish community?

  • Do you think the choir needs help? Join it!
  • Does the way the Word of God is proclaimed lack interest? Use your talent and be a lector!
  • Does your homilist miss the mark when trying to connect the Word of God to the congregation? Establish a relationship with your priest or deacon, then suggest ways he could improve!
  • Does the church’s interior not reflect glory of God’s True Presence? Donate funds to help refurbish the church!
  • Do you complain about a lack of attention to social justice issues and community outreach? Volunteer to start a committed group!
  • Has another parishioner never introduced him or herself to you? Make the first move to welcome them!

The list goes on!

This is what Catholic stewardship means: to survey our gifts and offer our time, talent, and treasure to building up the Kingdom of God. For those of you reading this, I’d like to take a quick survey.

  • What do you complain about the most at your parish?
  • What can you do to remedy the situation?
  • Let us know if creating a vibrant parish community is on your priority list!

Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church. 1Cor. 14:12

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What Happened to the Church in Europe?

Here’s another Fr. Barron Video where he ponders the awful decline of the Church particularly in Europe. Does this merely mean that the Church has failed? Or is there more at work? Surely there are things we have done things that need correcting, but even when we do everthing we ought to do, there will still be a waxing and waning. Let me get out of the way and Let Fr. Barron speak.

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Call to Unity

The video below was produced by www.calledtocommunion.com and presents some thoughtful questions to ponder. Questions such as, Did Jesus intend all this disunity among Christians? Do we tend to “paper-over” our disunity and minimize its seriousness?. If Christ intended only one Church then how can we determine the one True Church? At points the video is a bit hard to hear but it surely gives a lot to think about. The truth be told, the disunity among Christians is a grave and serious scandal. It is certainly opposed to the will of Jesus who said:  I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. (John 17:21-22) The website mentioned above is thoughtful and scholarly and I recommend it to your attention.

Another Hat tip to Canterbury Tales

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Angels and Demons – Review by Fr. Barron

angels-and-demons-posterAnother movie quite unfair to Catholics and the Church has been released: Angels and Demons. It remains true that the attacks against the Catholic Church would never be tolerated against Muslims or Jews. Fundamentalist and Evangelical Christians are also groups that it is OK to attack. None of the usual rule apply about bigotry or insensitivity, hate crimes etc when Catholics, Evangelicals and Fundamentalists are the target.

The following review by Fr. Barron is helpful in sorting out the myth that the Church is somehow “anti-science.” By the way, skip the movie.  I read the book and while it is suspenseful in places it has a really stupid and unrealistic ending.

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Catholic News

 The Pope’s Upcoming trip to the Holy Land

              Media Priest Caught Up In Scandal

              Spain Government Denounces the Pope on Condoms

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40 Reasons For Coming Home – Reason # 40 – God is Worthy

Reason # 40 God is Worthy – OK, so I admit that it took me a little longer to get here than I thought. I’m about a week past my deadline but blogging is tough 🙂 Now here in this 40th reason we come to the one reason that trumps all other reasons: God is worthy. It is possible for us to think in a very ego-centric way to the effect that all we ever ask is some version of “What’s in it for me?”  This question is not wholly inappropriate but we have to be willing to accept the answer that even if there is NOTHING in it for you, you still ought to be in God’s house every Sunday. Now, as I have tried to show in the other reasons, there is ALOT in it for you. But it remains true that our primary reason for being at Mass on Sunday is that God is worthy of our praise.

Every now and then people tell me that they don’t come to Mass because they “don’t get anything out it.” or “it is boring” to them etc. Well, truth be told, it’s not about you. Somewhere in our journey we all have to learn that world doesn’t just revolve around me and my preferences; that the job of the Church or the world isn’t just to peal me a grape and entertain me. Somewhere we have to discover that there are great things beyond my limited scope of interests and that it is possible for me to grow beyond my comfort zone. The Mass and all liturgy is about God. There is an old song that advises the following: Just forget about yourself and Concentrate on Him and worship Him. In the end, I hope you get a lot out Mass and life in the Church and I know you can and you will. But there is something very healing and freeing to remember that your life isn’t about you and the world doesn’t revolve around you. There is something sanctifying about recognizing that God is at the center, not me.

It’s a good place to conclude this 40 Reasons feature of the blog by simply stating that you and I ought to be at home in God’s house every Sunday simply because God is worthy of our time, our worship and our attention. Everything you have and are is God’s work and God’s gift. Even your sufferings are a mysterious gift from God to help perfect you. God is good and God is worthy. God’s been too good for me not to enter into the great thanksgiving (Eucharist) every Sunday. If I don’t praise him the rocks will cry out!  Come home to God’s house, to the Church which he founded. God deserves your presence. God is worthy of your praise.

All 40 Reasons can be viewed here: http://blog.adw.org/category/40-reasons-to-come-back-to-church/

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The Art of the Fugue and a fine Organist

Hidden in many of our Choir lofts are secret virtuosos: the Organists of our Church!  Though they vary in their capacities it remains true that to play the organ well requires great skill. I have always had special admiration for organists who can play with both feet and hands, turn pages, switch stops and never miss a beat. Over the years I taught myself to play hymns properly with both feet and hands and it is a wonderful “full body” experience. But I could never play the wonderful fugue you are about to see, that takes a real virtuoso like the beautiful young woman in this video. Sadly her name is not listed but she plays Bach’s Fugue in D major (BWV 532).

What is a fugue you might ask? A fugue is a simple musical theme that is introduced and them elaborated upon in a somewhat mathematical fashion. Bach was surely the master of this form. Notice how our organist introduces the theme with her right hand. The left hand next begins to answer and then come the feet. A marvelous thing to behold. Music and skill, science and art.

Enjoy! Even if classical music  isn’t your thing and the pipe organ is not on your playlist, just enjoy the skill and many years of training that go into the moment of this performance.

I have posted elsewhere on the theme of the organist here: http://blog.adw.org/2009/04/easter-jig/