WHEN CATHOLICS GO BAD

When I was a kid and somebody did something wrong enough to be reported on in the newspaper, it was not unusual for the reporter to mention that the man was once an altar boy - as if that had anything to do with the price of cheese.  People raised a big stink about making this connection and such mentionings stopped cold.  But it was an interesting back handed compliment - as if a former altar boy should know better - that a Catholic should BE better.

The thing is - there is some truth to that, but not as much as would be preferable (hence confession lines - and sometimes lack of them.)  Every once in a while someone will lob the (accusation?  back handed compliment?) that a Catholic or a Catholic organization should know better, be better, act better, lead better . . .   And that is true.  That is why we are here.  To make humanity . . . well . . . better.  Good.  Redeemed.  Saved.  Living in truth.

And the Church is holy - that is her teachings, her way of life, what she promotes and what she eschews is holy.  She makes saints.  But she is made up of a bunch of sinners striving to be saints (hopefully).  AA helps people not drink, but many of her people do though they know better and want to be sober.  Hospitals are about making people healthy but all of her residents are sick.  Libraries are supposed to help a person grow in knowledge and truth but some of her books are full of misguided advice, knowledge or insights.

So when someone says, “this Catholic (person/institution) should be morally better at (whatever), they are right.  But if it is perfection for which they are looking, look at the teachings of the Church, not her people.  The people are patients in the hospital.  1.2 billion people.  Priests are somebody’s baby brother - nuns are someone’s daughter, an altar server is a teen like any teen, the person in the pew is person like any other striving to be that better Christian.

What makes them different is being soaked in the teachings of One Who knows how human beings can thrive.  They absorb grace through the practice of the sacraments and prayer.  They are encouraged regularly to good works and self improvement.  They are given a vision of a better world.  And yes we should know better.  And I am glad people think that Catholics should be held to a higher standard.  And we should hold ourselves to a higher standard.  But that even John Paul II is a saint does not mean he did everything well.  It means he strove well and still made mistakes and still needed the sacrament of confession.

This is not an excuse.  It’s a reality check.  Catholics are sojourners in desperate need of Christ.  Every day we get better, but we are definitely on the journey.  We have not arrived.  

GROUND RULES FOR DISCUSSION

From the most faithful, faithful Catholic, to the vaguely nominal Catholic to the anti-Catholic it seems most people want to weigh in on the abuse scandal in the Catholic Church.  If and when you are pulled in to one of these conversations, here some things to avoid:

Don’t equate (or allow others to) the faith with the sins of some (or all!) of its members.  There are two different things going on here.  The problem here is what happens when a person or group of persons DON’T follow the faith.  It is a failure of persons - not a failure of faith.  Whether you are a pope or student in 2nd grade at your local parish school, you still have free will, and concupiscence still effects you and from time to time we fail.  Sometimes spectacularly.  It is why we have the sacrament of confession for one.

Don’t defend the actions of those who did wrong.  It was a horrible thing and we should all be appalled.  “Well it’s worse in . . .” doesn’t help.  It was wrong and by our faith those who participated need to face the consequences of their actions.  One does not hate the United States because somebody abused their freedom. We still believe in the United States and in freedom, we know we just need to deal with the abuse.

Don’t deny that the Church has sinners in it.  There are 1.2 billion Catholics - more than half of all the Christians in the world.  We are Church of sinners.  Some are terribly rotten.  It is embarrassing that some of them call themselves Catholic.  But seriously - 1.2 billion people.  Yeah  - some of mess up big time.

Don’t let someone tell you that this is RESULT of the faith.  (“Just look at the Crusades!”)  I bet you can name more saints than another sinners, more great institutions than another wars.  And those things that they are able to name - how many were a result of persons running contradictory actions to the faith?

Don’t let someone tell you something that sounds fishy without backing it up.  An editorial recently (it may be blog fodder next week) stated that this is a sign that we need to get rid of priestly celibacy, as if that somehow caused it.  There was no citation, no reasoning why this move would solve all or even some of the crisis problems.  If it did, there would be none of these problems in marriages.

Don’t clump broad swaths of people into a group, “Those bishops!  Those priests!” as if they were all the same - it perpetuates what we would call in other circles prejudice or guilt by association.  It ruins the reputations of good people.

Don’t take on the sins as if they belong to the whole Catholic Church.  They belong to those who sinned.

Don’t make those who sin “the others.”  In exactly the opposite of the last point, when part of the Body of Christ is effected, the whole body is effected.  The Church needs to examine herself, make amends, do penance.  We are not islands unto ourselves.  We are one.  We take on each others victories and faults and work together as a body to both build up and purify the Church.

I HATE POPE FRANCIS

Despite his rockstar status, in many circles, there are those who are very wary of Pope Francis and they let me know it.  It is a completely different group from those who were very wary of Pope Benedict and let me know it; which was a somewhat different group from those who didn’t care for Pope John Paul II.  Was it ever thus?  St. Paul had a run in with St. Peter and sought him out to set his straight.  Then there were those who didn’t care for Jesus much either, even among His most intimate brethren.

Is there cause for concern with Pope Francis?  I will admit that every once in a while he says something that causes my right eyebrow to rise up slightly higher than the left.  Objectively, he has not changed anything of the fabric of the faith.  The most serious accusations thus far (at least it seems to me) is that he thinks a bit too much out loud and may be a cause of scandal particularly for those whose faith is weak (adult children, grandkids, friends.)  

Conversely there are those crowing because they are back on some sort of “winning side.”  With Pope Francis they see the hope of some flagging dreams for the Church spark and catch on once again.  

Every pope brings his with him his human strengths and weaknesses.  They are men after all.  Pope Francis seems to think out loud.  A lot.  John Paul II - excuse me - St. John Paul (the great?) - was not a great administrator.  But if you really want scandal, especially of the moral kind, it is easy enough to find in the history of the line of popes in the Catholic Church.

But the faith has never been compromised.  Sometimes God uses his popes as sons, sometimes as tools.  Even the most morally corrupt pope was what the Church needed at the time - saving the Church from bankruptcy, making it possible for some of our most beloved art to exist - but never did God allow the Church to fall away from truth in any official manner and I dare say he won’t under this pope either.

There are two reasons for this:  The first is that there are just far too many safeguards in place.  A pope may say, “I have decided that polygamous marriages are a good idea,” but that does not mean that the Church will allow it.  (Have you witnessed one change to faith and morals in the past century during a time that mainstream Protestantism went through wholesale overhauls of 2,000 years of beleif?)  The second is that the Holy Spirit is ultimately in charge.  He always has been in charge and He always will be in charge.  Men and women may do unintelligent and unholy things, but the Church, the spotless Bride of Christ the Bridegroom, will never be so sullied.

So if you don’t like, agree with or are nervous about a particular pope, pray for him and for the Church.  I guarantee you he is making mistakes and needs prayers.  It’s difficult enough trying to manage a parish, I can’t imagine trying to manage 1.3 billion Catholics of different languages, customs, practices, cultures, etc., some of whom are cheering you, others booing, some passionate, some disconnected.  

Then give thanks that you are not the pope.

AND THE SECRET INGREDIENT IS . . .

I killed a great and successful program.

I feel extremely guilty about it.

I could offer ALL KINDS of excuses but when it comes right down to it, I could have handled it in a more constructive manner.

Let me just say it was drawing a lot of desperate people from near and far; men, women, old(er), young(er), Catholic, non-Catholic, to come together a pray, study, and (toward the end) have a good time together once a month.

Unfortunately, it was in the rectory, I am at the old(er) end of the scale, it was always on a work night, and I was always having to kick people out so I could get to bed.  “No, seriously, you people have to leave now.”

The reason I bring this up is that I was having a discussion with a newly ordained recently and we were debating what works and what does not work when it comes to forming community and getting people involved at the parish.  Clearly, our model of programs, initiatives and posters no longer work well.  Something new is needed as we rebuild Catholic culture in the United States.  

Here is something that doesn’t work (that surprised me) and something that did work (that surprised me.)

WHAT DIDN’T WORK:

Meetings on the parish grounds that featured Bible studies or theological talks.  We peppered them up, gave them snappy titles, made great posters and turned it into a social/coffee house to try to up the attendance.  The same 30 people turned out for all of them.  Great people.  But why were we failing to attract more?

WHAT WORKED:

Theology on Tap has been a wonderful success thus far.  Hundreds of people have been through the door over the past year.  (We are coming up on our 1 year anniversary.)  Theology on the Rocks has almost been too much of a success.  We have had angry people because the venues have been so crowded.  At each of these there has been a solid theological talk, questions and answers, and, of course, food, drink and community.

The group with which I opened this article was a study of the writing of a turn of the last century Catholic writer.  Who would come to such a thing besides a few nerds like me?  But they did.

So . . . what is the THING and how can it be applied to other programs that are withering on the vine?  What are the ingredients?  Do we need to have PSR classes at Taco Bell?  What would make you come out for a Bible study?

YOU'RE IN THE BOOK

When I was first ordained, my first trip was to Slovenia in order to celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving with my family in my grandparent's home village.  One of the things that I really wanted to do was go to visit the place where the sacramental  records were kept for the parish in order to trace back the family history a bit.  That is when we encountered a strange discouragement for doing so from family members.  There seemed to be a general, "You can't get there from here," or "the road is closed for construction."  Of course, in my head I am thinking, "There's got to be more than one way to get there," but there was also some language barrier issues so we let it go.

Then at the dinner after the Mass, my cousin handed me a wrapped tube.  I opened it and there were photocopies of our family records going back to the 1800s.  That was wonderful.  I still have those records.

Today I spent some time signing our sacramental books at St. Sebastian, putting my name next to the records of those who were baptized or married by me.  These records are meant to kept forever.  What a terrible loss if there should be a fire and they are not well protected!  Even in a closed parish, the sacramental books are taken someplace in the diocese (the parish with which it was merged or perhaps the archives of the diocese) so that they may be preserved for posterity.  

What a thing it is to think that, perhaps in a couple hundred years, someone might open these books that I scribble in today to do research on their family line . . . 

That is why we talk about Catholics having a permanent record.  Every time you receive a sacrament, that information is sent to the parish at which you were baptized.  So always remember where you baptized!  Your whole sacramental life is recorded there!

YOU THINK THIS POST IS LONG? TRY ATTENDING THE ACTUAL MEETING!

THE EXCUSE

So, here’s the reason (yet another excuse) that there was no post yesterday.  We had a Presbyteral Convocation, aka a murder of crows, aka a meeting of the priests of the Diocese of Cleveland, which took place at our seminary.  Before taking off, I had to do my morning chores including feeding and airing out the dog and go to a Finance Council Meeting.  My car was pulled out and parked in a strategic direction for quick escape.

After, there was just enough time to make it home, eat, and then it was time to hear confessions, have benediction, and finally, bless our new pipe organ.  (No, not that one.  Another one.  I think I’ll tell you about it tomorrow.)  After all of that I was of little use save as a throw rug or door stop.

THE MEETING

The meeting concerned the future of ministry in the Diocese of Cleveland.  “The sky is falling,” so what are we going to do?  What follows is a brief overview of the first couple hours of the meeting - largely consisting of statistics.  (Two hours in I leaned over to my table partner and said, “information overload.”)

In the 1960s, 50% of all Catholics in the United States lived in a triangle whose points are roughly Chicago, Washington D. C., and Boston.  So this is where all of the churches, schools, religious mothers houses and the like are concentrated.  Today, only 25% of all Catholics live in this triangle.  We moved with the Social Security set hitting such places as Florida and those searching for their first jobs heading to such places as North Carolina (like my nephew.  I mean, come on!  Who lives in N. C.?  I hate driving to Cleveland to see people - so N. C.?)

Anyway, this means that in parts of the country, they cannot establish parishes quickly enough.  Church and school buildings are appearing as quickly as Christmas decorations at the mall the day after Thanksgiving.  Meanwhile, in the magic triangle, we have a lot of giant buildings that are as empty as the Rubber Bowl on a Saturday night.

Cleveland is not doing too poorly YET.  But we are going to retiring huge classes of priests in the near future.  Right now we have 256 priests.  By 2040, unless we really do something, it is predicted that there will only be 140.  In 1970, that means there was one priest for every 1,694 Catholics.  In 2040 it is predicted that it will go to one priest for every 3,251.  (Double!  But that is approximately the year I supposedly retire.)

COMPARING CLEVELAND TO THE U. S.

In the United States we have OUTSTANDING service to our Catholics as far as parish and priest availability per Catholic is concerned compared to most of there best of the world.  I often wondered why the older generation of the Valencheck family did not go to Mass very often.  It was because in Slovenia, there was not a priest who could make it to the village very often so they only went a few times a year.  This is not terribly unusual around the world.  No priests = no Mass.

In the U. S. we have a ration of priests to parishes 1 : 1.  In the Diocese of Cleveland it is 1.4 : 1.  If we close no parishes by 2040 it will be .8 : 1.  Ouch. 

The average amount of weekend Masses at a parish in the U.S. is 3.6.  In Cleveland it is 3.8.  Seating capacity at your typical Catholic Church in the U. S. is 523.  In Cleveland it is 663.  The average weekend attendance nationally is 1,004.  In Cleveland it is just a bit over 900.  The average number of registered households in Cleveland is 1,439.  St. Sebastian seats 800, has a little over 1,700 households, and has a slightly higher weekend attendance rate than the national rate.

702 weekend Masses are offered here with 159,000 Catholics (or 23% of all Catholics here) attending.  1,090 day Masses are offered every week.

The Diocese is over represented in both white and African American populations.  Nationally the Church is 61% white and 13% black.  In Cleveland, we are 73% white and 18% black.

SUMMIT COUNTY

This is the county in which St. Sebastian is located.  We are about 20% Catholic having had a 7% growth in the number of Catholics since 1971 with the over all change in population of this county holding at 0%.  The confirmation rate of those baptized Catholic is the highest in the diocese.  

WHAT CAN BE DONE?

Don’t panic.  Trust in God and pray.  This is the continuous story of the Catholic Church for 2,000 years.  First we are here, and then we are over there.  We adapt and cope.  

Next, promote vocations.  No way around this one.  We have 80 men studying for the priesthood for the Diocese of Cleveland right now.  That is nice, (even great compared to MANY dioceses) but it’s nowhere close to replacement levels.  

Evangelize, evangelize, evangelize.  Although the overall population of northeast Ohio is dropping, the Catholic population is leaving at a greater rate!  When was the last time you invited a neighbor to Mass or parish event?  When was the last time you spoke to someone about your faith?  We are horrible at this in general but we need to get over it.

Expect non-clergy and religious Catholics to take on a MUCH larger role in the life of the parish and the diocese.  And we must make a serious evaluation of all of our venues and services.  Do we need to have them all?  What is our core mission?  What can/should we give up?

Bring jobs to northeast Ohio.  What I hear over and over again is how much millennials love Akron/Cleveland.  There is so much here.  So much to see and do.  But we don’t have the jobs on which to raise a family.

CONCLUSION:

There is hope.  There is also a lot to do RIGHT NOW so that we do not panic later.  It is not (as it appears here) that there are less Catholics.  The Catholic population in the U. S. is exploding.  It is just in the magic triangle where the concentration is spreading out to the rest of the country.  The dam has broken.  There is not less water, there is just less water behind the dam.  The water is spreading out across the valley with more on the way.  How do we adapt to this new reality?

ADDENDUM:

I just thought to add that in spite of what you read up above, Catholic priests have the among the highest "job" satisfaction rates in the country.  We might be tired, but we are (generally) fulfilled and most of us would not trade it for the world.

WHAT CAN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH LEARN FROM THE APPLE CORPORATION?

I had an occasion to go to an Apple store recently.  For the first time I went unaccompanied by an adult in the computer world.  I was intimidated.  I didn't know what I was doing, what questions to ask, or even really what I needed.  I felt out of place and out of touch.  But I put my big boy pants and went.

The store was by far the brightest, cleanest storefront in the mall.  It's presence just stuck out like a cathedral in a medieval town.  They capitalized on the energy of the store having the entire front open so that you could see the energy of all the people.  But this was also off putting.  What am I supposed to do when I go in there???

The atmosphere was almost Church like.  Every inch of space told you exactly where you were.  Instead of a crucifix the Apple apple was prominently displayed.  Saints were picture along the walls (outrageously happy people using Apple products.)  There was a recognizable clergy of sorts wearing habits of blue shirts with crucifixes - er - I mean apples on them.

So I walk in and an extremely pleasant Apple clergyman walked up to me and said, "Good evening, how may I help you?"

I showed him the object in my hand and said, "This either doesn't work or I am ignorant.  I am not sure which."

He directed me to where in the store I should go and what I should expect.  A lady came up to me and addressed me by my first name (which I have never gone by in my life but whatever) and she heard my confession - er - I mean listened to the difficulty I was having with my product. 

She apologized profusely that she didn't know enough about the thing that I brought to her and talked into her collar (microphone of some sort) and another, extremely polite man came over and she explained the problem.  "Well, let's see what we can do for you sir.  We are here to solve problems!"  And he explained to her, "Why don't you stay with us so you can learn how to do this in the future," for which she seemed genuinely grateful.

During this time the staff interacted in a most interesting way.  One person crumpled up a piece of paper and another reached out to take it and throw it away.  One person stated that they were going to go do something and another said, "I'm on my way, let me get that for you."  It was like the whole place was an old couple still in love and anticipating the other's well known needs.  There were lots of "Thank you" and "excuse me's."  I told my cleric, "Everyone is so polite here."  He smiled and simply agreed.   Then I said, "I imagine the people with whom you deal are not always so polite back."  It was then that I saw only the mildest of breaks in the facade.  For a moment there was a ruffled brow and a deep breath and as he blew the wind out of his lungs he simply said, "Well, you know . . . " and then perked right back up.

One of the Apple clerics showed me a computer.  "This is like art!  Like a Michael Angelo the way it was constructed!"  I thought that was a little over the top but without fail they all appeared to believe in the product they were selling.  Knowing that I was a priest, he showed me how to see the Vatican on the computer.  I thought that was thoughtful.  He could have picked Disneyland I suppose.

All and all it was a positive experience where I thought I was going to be miserable.  Granted, we are doing different things.  They are selling a manmade product for profit.  We are introducing people to a Person; Jesus Christ.  The Church is not a business but there are aspects of it that are business like and we could learn a thing or two.

WHAT WE NEED HERE IS SOME PROFESSIONAL CATHOLICS

Every now and then I pray that news agencies will hire somebody who knows the Catholic faith well before attempting to write a report on it.*  The simplest misunderstanding of a word can lead to grave mis-reporting.

Let's take just one example:  Who does the Catholic Church refer to when she says, "Church."

This is extremely important when considering sentences such as, "Will Pope Francis change Church teaching?"  The very phrasing of the sentence shows a Protestant mindset not consistent with the Catholic Church.  As we have seen, whether it be a storefront Church or a mainstream Protestant Church, tectonic shifts in what is considered core beliefs can change often by having a vote.  The Church, having come to a new understanding of what God intends, can take a vote and change what the Church believes.

When the Catholic Church says "Church," she does not mean Pope Francis.  She does not mean those "old men in Rome."  She does not mean all of the clergy and religious throughout the world.  She does not only mean every single Catholic alive in the world.  For the Catholic, the Church refers to every member of the Catholic Church who has ever lived.  St. Peter's mother-in-law is still a member of the Church.  A milkmaid in the middle ages is still a member of the Church.  My deceased Mother is still a member of the Church and still has a vote.  G. K. Chesterton called this the Democracy of the Dead.  What they held as true to the faith must be held by us and by those who come after us or the true faith has not only been unknown, it is unknowable.

It is categorically wrong to think that Pope Francis is going to change Church teaching.  Church discipline?  Maybe.  The WAY the faith is taught?  Sure.  But that he could change a doctrine?  It is impossible.  You might as well ask if he is going to change the laws of the universe.  The laws of the universe are not his to change nor is he capable.

Someone might point out to you something about the infallibility of the pope - another thing that is gravely misunderstood.  One of the very definitions of an infallible statement is that it does not contradict 2,000 years of Catholic teaching.  If it does so, it is not an infallible statement by definition.

Will Pope Francis change Church teaching?  That is the wrong question to ask.

* But not all the time because I would have a difficult time finding fodder for the blog.

FAITH R US

Does your parish remind you more of a gym or a hardware store?

 

I’m not talking about the architecture.  That’s another post.

 

How do you see the way your parish functions in your life?  Is it more like a gym, a place where you go to accomplish something and then leave and return to other activities?  Or is it more like a hardware store where you go to be equipped to do those activities that one who visits such a store might do?

 

If it is the first, then your parish is a service to you.  Like the drycleaners or the mechanic’s, you go to have a service performed.  If it is like the second, it is more like the travel agency or the recruiting office, where you go to be sent on to do something. 

 

If it is the first, you understand the relationship that is required of us as Christians with each other.  We are community.  God draws us into unity.  And so we come together to pray.

 

If it is the second, you also understand that there is involved here a relationship with God; a very intimate and involved one.  It is not like showing up at Grandma’s house in time for Sunday dinner and then leaving after dessert not to think of the lady again until your stomach growls the following Sunday.  Hopefully you think of her during the week, call, stop by, send a text.  You might perform some task for her such as mow her lawn or help figure out her taxes.  And as family there are many intangibles of hers that you carry on without even realizing it: you carry the family name, you have certain turns of phrases and bit of advice that you give from being steeped in the family, you may be inspired to do things that others don’t simply because grandma always said a good person did such things, and you prayed for her good at night.

 

Because that is what a (functional) family does.  And there (as Fr. K pointed out) is where the first question because a false one.  Your parish should remind you of neither business institution.  At its best it should remind you of family.  (How do you get a couple of thousand people to be family – center on Christ because people [I] can’t do it.)  And family is not something you do at a particular time, it is who you are and how you live.

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: WITH GREAT POWER COMES GREAT RESPONSIBILITY

Here’s a new 7 week series for Friday Potpourri:  The precepts of the Church.

 

Fr. Kovacina had an excellent series at Faith Lodge concerning the rights of the faithful under canon law.  And as Catholics are (hopefully) painfully aware, all rights come with responsibilities.  The precepts of the Church outline those responsibilities as laid out in the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore.

 

THE FIRST:  Keep Holy the Day of the Lord’s Resurrection

 

Thought by many to be a quaint custom that has perhaps passed in the modern era is, in fact, listed first among the precepts of the Church.  It is, after all, a commandment and cannot (despite people doing so with Biblical strictures all of the time) be ignored.

 

There are, however, two extremes that must be avoided.  The first, most obviously, is to ignore this commandment all together making Sunday just or almost like any other day.  The other is to make TOO much of it so that what was to bring man relief becomes a heavy burden.  This is what caused Christ to teach, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”

 

The day is to be, as far as possible, a day of sanctification, rest, and recreation.  First and foremost this means get to Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation.  There is nothing more important we do as the Body of Christ than to come together and pray in this way.  This is the family coming together.  If you don’t make it, it is like a husband not bothering to call his wife and family to let them know he won’t be there for dinner.  Even though the dinner is there primarily for you, there are certain obligations. 

 

The second is to do one’s best to avoid any activity that would hinder the renewal of soul AND body.  There are all kinds of things here and ways of understanding this.  Some people would say that no work at all should be done and one should wile away the day mindlessly.  I would argue that it would give greater glory to God to have a family wash the car together on a hot, sticky, summer day than have everyone vedge in front of the television watching some awful reality show.  What is to be avoided is needless paid work and non-life giving chores (enjoy working in the garden?  Then it isn’t really a chore is it unless it keeps you from worshipping God.) Unnecessary shopping is to be avoided.  (Coming home from vacation and are almost out of gas and may not make it home?  Go buy some!)

 

Some people must work on Sunday: Priests for one.   Sometimes it is my busiest day of the week.  Police, Fire fighters, ambulance drivers, phone operators, snow plowers, medical personnel, even those whose jobs are not vital but their business force them to work are not breaking this commandment.  BUT, they should do their best to observe the day as much as possible, and on their day off, observe a day of a kin to a Sabbath as they can.  If work makes it impossible for them to attend Sunday Mass, they may speak with their proper pastor and seek permission to make up for it on a weekday Mass if possible due to hardship.

 

I think a lot of people who are conscious and try their best to follow this first responsibility as difficult as it can be for some.

ITS ALL GOOD

I can’t think of a thing to write about today.

 

That is to say, I can’t think of ONE thing to write about.  There is just so much.  There is an incredible amount of GOOD happening within the Church but that isn’t nearly as fun as talking about the bad.  And even though the bad is miniscule compared to the good, sometimes it seems overwhelming whether it is attacks from without or seemingly rotten undermining from within, intentional or unintentional.

 

If too much time was spent on the negative, one could despair.  The problems could seem so overwhelming that we could feel powerless and just give up.  But history teaches us important lessons against this mentality.

 

Religious orders have died and religious life sprung back and flowered.  The Church has been viciously suppressed by governments and has been the government and back again.  At one point, 70% of the Church was in heresy and then the heresy passed.  We’ve survived “the bad popes” and have, especially recently, been blessed with saints.  Clergy and lay have lost contact and been best friends and back again.  Religious institutions have been rigorously Catholic, lost their way, come back, and lost their way again.  Catholics have been put on pedestals and hung on crosses.  Which all goes to say, no matter how good or bad it may seem to you, God’s Church prevails across the great arc of its journey through time giving further proof that the Church does not exists because we are so clever, but that it is the one true Church inspired by the Holy Spirit.

 

That is not to say we sit back then and let happen what will.  We are not fatalists.  But all things work to the glory of God and we can be used as sons or as tools as the Church moves forward through time and in the end.  And though being Christian in any given situation may be a trial for some, in the end we would rather be sons and daughters.

NO,NO, NO, NO, NO NO NO - WE WILL FACE THE SHARKNADO

Last night I watched the world premier of Sharknado Two; the Second One, unfortunately one of the best films of the summer.  The movie left off just as the clean up was about to begin.  The city is infested with man eating sharks (not enough room here to explain), injured people, and buildings left in rubble – not to mention the flooding.  Who is going to help clean all that up?

 

The Catholic Church.  We are so connected as a worldwide Church that we have the mechanisms in place to immediately step in and start bringing aid to those who need it.  Catholic hospitals will treat the patients.  Catholic social services, Catholic Charities, Catholic work groups would help.  Collections from Sunday Masses across the country/world would come streaming in.  Catholic services would be set up for those who need the sacraments.  The gates of Sharknadodom would not prevail against it.

 

Think of all the atheist societies that would come to help.  The Atheist General Hospital, the Atheist Charitable Society, money would stream in from collections at the Sunday morning atheist community gatherings and from collections taken up at the local Atheist Elementary Schools. 

 

I wonder if the local atheist meeting hall provides as much to a community as the local parish.  I think of all the things that this parish provides for this part of Akron.  Education, sports, concerts, lectures, arts, community support during times of death, crisis, or illness, retreats, camps, dances, cultural and entertainment events, hubs of information about and how to be involved in local, national, and worldwide concerns, clubs for persons of all ages, youth groups, gardening clubs, beautiful grounds and playgrounds used by the community, charitable organization that reach out to the parish boundaries, to the diocese, and to the world.  Permanent jobs are provided for a couple score of people in everything from teaching and arts to ministry and business offices.  Other recent jobs include roofers, plasterers, painters, organ construction, plumbers, heating and cooling professionals, landscapers, architects, construction workers, sign makers, carpet layers, and more.  A bit over three million dollars passes through this part of town as part of our budget annually.  It provides a voice for the neighborhood.  So much so that studies show that when a Catholic parish closes in a struggling neighborhood, the neighborhood goes into a steep and accelerated decline because a Catholic parish is so connected to other parishes, the diocese, and people outside of the immediate neighborhood it kept the neighborhood alive.  The parish also provides spaces for the community to rent for everything from wedding receptions to city meetings. 

 

AND ON TOP OF ALL THAT: providing sacramental healing, forgiveness of sins, adoption into the family of God, the reception of the Eucharist, receiving on the Holy Spirit, and uniting in matrimony.  All that in just a couple of acres. 

 

So beware sharks!

WILL THERE BE ANYTHING ELSE FOR YOU?

There are two ways in which a person can own a horse.  The first (the model imagined by seven year olds everywhere) is where you pay to have your horse boarded.  You come by, when you have the time, to ride, give a carrot, and pat it on the nose.  The other way to own a horse is to 1) own a farm and 2) you go out twice a day to feed the horse, give a bale of hay (which you loaded into the barn last fall) and muck the stall, give it its daily exercise, groom, clean its hoofs, give it its shot and pills, find caretakers when you want to be a way, call the vet, etc. etc. etc. . .

 

This is also a model for two types of churches.  The first, you pay your money like you would at a gym, things are taken care of for you (babysitting, youth group, senior club, Bible studies, and so forth) and you can make certain demands (I pay good money to come here and I expect . . .) with the threat of going next door next Sunday.  The other is to belong to a church where you are part of the mission.  If there isn’t a Bible Study, you go talk to the pastor and if he can’t do it, you start one yourself.  If there are no greeters at the door, ask if you can start greeting people.  Outreach is not the pastor’s and staff’s responsibility, but everyone’s. 

 

Catholic parishes are closer to the second model in both, but often we try to be the first model and that frequently fails.  That is not to say that a pastor cannot use great ideas from the first model, but they are employed closer to the second model.  It is the difference in mentality of running a service in the hospitality industry and running a good family home.  The first has many perks and a few responsibilities, the second has many responsibilities and a few privileges and perks.

 

“I came to serve, not be served,” is the call we follow.  It is funny how easy it is to fall into the wrong mindset (from both sides!)