Encouraging the Culture of Encounter with Jesus Christ, His Church, and All People

Dear Brother and Sisters in Christ,

As I write this I am on retreat with seven other priests, all pastors.  We are praying for our parishes and people. Especially in this weird time, it is sad but at the same time comforting to know that others are going through it with us and we with them.  So many parishes and other brethren in the faith struggle to discern these times and how to live faithfully. Religious, political, cultural, and economic upheaval breed confusion, discouragement, and even despair.  All the more reason to hold fast to Christ. He must be our center - the source, the summit and everything in between.

An Ice Sculpture?
This week our retreat director used an image that stuck with me.  Imagine an ice sculptor preparing to sculpt a swan in a big block of ice.  The large rectangular block stands in front of him on a table.  How does he begin?  What would happen if he immediately started hacking away at the ice? Our first response might be that chunks of ice start exploding off the block. While that may happen, the more important thing to happen is that the ice block will slide off the table! The sculptor needs to bolt the block to the table so that it stays in place for work to be done. 
I thought of this in light of our discerning a new Mass schedule and reaching out to those who attend the Extraordinary Form of the Mass.  Some might interpret our changing the schedule as hacking away at the sculpture.  Although, my interpretation is that God is the sculptor and He is asking us to bolt down the Parish in our worship. For without worship of God all our other efforts will bear no fruit.  Without being secure in the Presence of the Divine Sculptor we won’t be able to handle the chisel that comes to transform us into saints. This bolting down process takes discernment and work, which is what we are striving to do.  

New Mass Schedule Proposal
Thank you to all those who have thoughtfully and charitably offered their comments and suggestions about the new proposal which includes adding a Mass in the Extraordinary Form on Sunday morning. A number of people have remained after the Masses to participate in discussion on this topic. Some have emailed in responses and a few have left comments in our suggestion boxes.  A reminder to those who leave notes in the boxes: Please leave your name and number; anonymous notes are less helpful since we cannot respond or ask for clarification of the one who leaves the suggestion. There have been many positive responses.  There have been some legitimate concerns raised as well.  From the feedback thus far, some main themes are rising to the surface. It would be too much to write it all here and also finish it by the bulletin deadline for this weekend. So there will be an addendum being passed out at the Masses as well as it being on our website. 

In the meantime I continue to encourage everyone to charitably and reasonably reflect and share.  In the midst of changes we want to foster an attitude of true Christian discernment.  This means being recollected and avoiding rash judgment. This means openness to new ideas at the same time respecting all that has come before.  This requires honoring all people’s experiences and history as well as looking forward to new horizons.  

Thank you for your prayerful recollection and efforts.
Sincerely in Christ,
Fr. Pfr