CHURCH CHAT #44

 

 

 

 

CALLING ALL ANCESTORS, FORMER PARISHIONERS AND FRIENDS

A PROJECT PROPOSAL

IN CELEBRATION OF ST. THERESA CEMETERY'S 200th ANNIVERSARY

1827-2027

ST. THERESA CEMETERY IS A SHORT WALK FROM THE CHURCH AS SEEN AT A RECENT FUNERAL 

In celebration of the 200th anniversary of the establishment of  St. Theresa Cemetery next year, my youngest brother, Mark, and I want to help parishioners with a project to build a permanent covered funeral pavilion in the new St. Theresa Cemetery, down in my hometown parish of St. Theresa of Avila in Rhodelia.  So that workers do not have to put up (and take down) a tent at every funeral, we hope this project will help save on some of their funeral costs.  Hopefully, it will be similar to the one pictured above in the Zachery Taylor National (Military) Cemetery here is Louisville. This project has the approval of the pastor and lay leaders of the parish.

We plan for it to be low-maintenance and conveniently located. We hope it will have a large concrete pad, permanent "park bench" type seating for families to sit (or stand) and a permanent platform for caskets with enough room for the presiding priest or deacon to stand as they lead the grave-side prayers. We plan for it to have a metal roof matching the roof on the parish Family Life Center with a wood ceiling like the one on its long porch.  

The total cost is predicted to be between $30,000 - $35,000. Since our parents, our grandparents, our uncles and aunts, our brother, sister and brothers-in-law, our neighbors, our fellow parishioners and classmates are buried there, and since my grave stone is already installed and waiting for me to be buried there, Mark and I have personally donated $5,000 each with the hope that a few others will join us in helping to fund this project. Small gifts are welcomed. If we manage to keep costs below the figures mentioned above, any excess funds will be donated to the St. Theresa Cemetery Fund which cares for both the "old" and "new' St. Theresa Cemeteries. If you are reading this blog post and are willing to help, let me know so that I can personally thank you (jrknott@bellsouth.net), but send your tax-deductible donations directly to: 

St. Theresa of Avila Church
9245 Rhodelia Road
Payneville, KY 40157

In the blank memo line on the bottom left of your check, please put:
"Cemetery Pavilion Fund"

    

 HOPEFULLY. AFTER ITS COMPLETION, A DEDICATION OF THIS "CEMETERY PAVILION" AND THE 200th ANNIVERSARY OF ST. THERESA CEMETERY WILL BE CELEBRATED SOMETIME IN 2027. IF SO, IT WILL SURELY BE ANNOUNCED IN PLENTY OF TIME FOR YOU TO ATTEND

       

 

 

SOCIAL TECHNOLOGY WITHOUT THE WISDOM TO HANDLE IT WELL

 

In a world where scrolling through memes and sharing vacation selfies has become second nature, social technology emerges as the hero of human connection. It’s not just about posting pictures of your lunch on Instagram; it’s a powerful force reshaping how people interact, collaborate, and build communities. Imagine a digital playground where friendships blossom, ideas flourish, and even your grandma can master video calls—now that’s social technology in action! All good! However, there is very little said about the responsibility (even morality) to use this technology well! 

Like all new technology, there is an upside and a downside! Yes, it certainly can bring people closer together, but it also can drive people further apart. This blog is deliberately called "An Encouraging Word" for a reason. When I started it, I decided that I did not want to condemn "evils and sins," but rather to affirm "virtue and goodness!" I can only hope that I have been somewhat successful!

One of the "social technologies" that I do not use, is Facebook! I am sure it has its upsides, but I do not use it because it seems so often to be abused by people who like to gossip, intimidate, tear down and pass on untruths without much thought about how their words will affect others! Yes, I may be wrong about the actual percentage of users who use it unwisely. If so, I stand corrected!  However, I do know that, like other social media, it has its upsides and downsides. My only suggestion is that, if you use it, use it wisely, thoughtfully and for "good" by paying close attention to the contents of the graphics at the top of this blog!  

SCOLDING GOD WHEN GOD WON'T DO THINGS YOUR WAY

         

Peter took Jesus aside and began to scold him.

Matthew 16:21-27

Up to this point in the gospel, things were going very well in the ministry of Jesus.  A mute man was able to speak. Five thousand had been fed on one day and four thousand on another. A blind man had regained his sight. A successful exorcism had been performed on a young demon-possessed girl. Another young girl had been lifted well from her sick bed. A woman with a hemorrhage had been restored to health. An insane man had been given back his sanity. A man with a withered hand had had it made healthy again. A leper had been cleansed from his leprosy. A crippled man was made able to walk. A storm was calmed. Peter was able to walk on water. A deaf man with a speech impediment was able to hear and speak plainly.

Peter was so overcome with excitement by all these things that he was moved to call Jesus the "Messiah."  He was the very first one to do this. The "Messiah" was the "promised one to come" that Jews had looked forward to for centuries, one who would do such things that I mentioned above. The lights went on for Peter! He had come to the conclusion that Jesus just had to be the "Messiah” who had finally come!

Jesus immediately took the wind out of his sails, telling him that the Messiah would not only do wondrous things, but would also have to go through great suffering, rejection by religious authorities and even death on a cross. Only then would he rise victorious from the dead after three days.

Peter did not like what he was hearing, so he took Jesus aside to scold him. "Look, Jesus, we are on a roll here! The people are behind you! Soon we will be able to conquer these foreign Roman invaders occupying our country and finally throw them out! Then you can be king and we can all be part of your royal court. Please don't blow it now with all that negative talk about suffering and death!"  

When he heard this, Jesus spun around in disgust and said to himself, "Satan said he would be back to tempt me again and here he is disguised as Peter!" Jesus then looked at all of his disciples and addressed Peter directly, "Get behind me, Satan! You are not thinking like God, but like a human being! I went through these kinds of temptations in the desert before I began my ministry! I rejected them then and I reject them now! What you, and the others, want is not what God wants from me!"

As Peter's face fell, Jesus addressed the whole crowd following him, "Now listen up, because you need to get one thing straight! If you are going to follow me, you have to be ready to suffer with me, for whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. Otherwise, if you go down the path that Peter has just proposed, you will certainly lose your life! You will not be thinking like God, but like human beings!"

Just because Jesus stood up to Peter in this story, we do not need to conclude from this story that it's never OK to scold and argue with God. The fact is that many of the major figures in the Bible and in church history argued, scolded and had words with God - people like Job, Jeremiah and Theresa of Avila. Just as Peter learned a lesson today, sometimes the only way they learned what God's will was for them was through a struggle. As any good teacher knows, encouraging, challenging, questioning, discussion and debate are the best way to learn. Like students, when disciples are allowed to think through and discover things for themselves, the best learning takes place.

The prophet, Jeremiah, in our first reading, is a case in point. Jeremiah was a very young man, maybe about some of your ages, when God called him to be a prophet and to preach in his name. God said to Jeremiah, "Hey, Jeremiah! I've had my eye on you since the moment of your conception. I choose you to go to the people and preach to them for me!" What was Jeremiah's response? "No thank you, God! I'm not interested in preaching to anybody! I'm too young! I have other things I want to do in life! Besides, I'm not good at public speaking!" God snaps back, "Do as I say and don't give me any of those lame excuses! Wherever I send you, I will be with you! And don't worry about what to say, I will put the right words into you mouth as you go along."

This wasn't the last time that Jeremiah argued with God. After he was deeply involved in his ministry as prophet and everything seemed to be going wrong, Jeremiah returns to give God a royal chewing out.  "You tricked me, O Lord, and I let myself be tricked.  When I speak in your name, I am a butt of people's jokes and mockery. I tell you what! I quit! In the words David Allen Coe, made famous by the country singer Johnny Paycheck, Jeremiah tells God, “Take this job and shove it! I ain't workin' here no more!” From now on, I am not even going to mention God's name ever again!"    

After he had unloaded his guns on God, Jeremiah must have felt better because he follows his rant with these words. "On the other hand, your words are like a fire in my heart! They are embedded in my bones! I grow tired of trying to hold them in! I guess I'll just have to keep going!"

Parishioners and guests! Many of us grew up being told that faith is about unthinking trust and acceptance of God, the Bible, the teachings of the Church and the trials of life. To question any of those things was to demonstrate a weak faith and a blasphemous heart. However, faith does not grow through unthinking submission, but through a process of questioning that leads to understanding. Just as Jacob wrestled with the angel, a real commitment to God often involves a deep, honest and sustained wrestling with God.  The only sin is never to enter the ring, but just walk away because the struggle seems to be too much trouble! The real sin is not arguing with God, but to dismiss God without ever really engaging him! If you insist on rejecting God and his Church, at least do it after an honest fight! At least, give God a chance to win!

We are challenged today to enter the ring together. We go into the ring as a tag team. Together, we wrestle with God - in here and out there. We need to put up a good fight and not wimp out just because we are lazy or scared. God will win, of course, but when the match is over, we will all know more about God and how he operates than we did when we first entered the ring.  We will have flexed spiritual muscles we never knew we had and that will help make us strong enough to handle the inevitable struggles of marriage and family life or priesthood or whatever profession we end up in!    

CHURCH CHAT #43

 

DUTIES OF PASTORS WITH THE HELP OF LAY MEMBERS - PART II

Last Saturday, I presented a leadership retreat to the Parish Council of Epiphany Catholic Church here in Louisville entitled "The Responsibilities and Disciplines of a Pastor and Those Who Share in His Pastoral Leadership."  While the two posts this week are not complete copies of those presentations, beginning last Tuesday and Wednesday as well as this Thursday and Friday, I wanted to share some partial follow-up summaries with those who attended and with the readers of this blog. 

PART II- THIS THURSDAY AND FRIDAY

SOLID THEOLOGY ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIP OF PASTORS AND LAY MEMBERS

Father Ronald Knott

PART TWO

CANON LAW #528

The pastor is obliged to see to it that the word of God in its entirety

is announced to those living in the parish…and with the aid of the Christian

faithful to bring the gospel message also to those who have ceased

practicing their religion or who do not profess the true faith.

For the pastor and those who share in the responsibility for pastoral leadership, the Church has identified three facets of one effective pastoral leadership: servant, king and prophet. All are necessary and important, though one or the other may be more prominent depending on the situation. 

·         SERVANT – The servant facet of pastoral leadership is the impact, the relationship, the connection, which is experienced by others because the servant is sent to heal, console, listen to, counsel, encourage, invite welcome, empower, support, affirm, minister to, care for and love. This means to be profoundly present to and become deeply connected to the People of God. Servant leadership is focused on relationships. Our messages about Christ are communicated not only through what we say but also through our gestures, tone of voice, stride, facial expressions and actions. Pastors need to be models of these behaviors because it is difficult for others to experience the love of Christ if pastors are grumpy, impatient, inattentive, aloof, disinterested, dismissive or inaccessible; the truth of Christ if it is spoken in a harsh, condemnatory, righteous, overly complex, academic or confusing manner; the joy of Christ if the pastor speaks in a sour or critical way, or not at all, and carries himself in a disinterested demeanor. In other words, the pastor must be able to “walk the talk.”  They need to monitor their behavior, reactions, emotions and motivations to make sure they are in congruence with Christ’s. They need to be intentional about their own spiritual and personal growth and ask for feedback on their leadership. If pastors are not credible, they will have a diminished impact and they will not command attention. 

·         KING – The kingly facet of pastoral leadership is connected with stewardship – with managing and directing the resources of the parish to achieve Christ’s mission. Resources available to the pastor include facilities, money, time, information, connection to the larger Church and – most importantly – the people of the parish. Engaging, organizing, directing and administering these resources to prepare and empower the people to “build the kingdom” is the primary focus of kingly pastoral leadership. Pastors extend their capacity by relying on resources outside themselves as well as to compliment their personal and professional limitations. Organizing, directing and administering the staff and volunteers, as well as the informational, educational, programmatic, and monetary resources of the parish to prepare and empower the people corporately to “build the kingdom” is the primary focus of kingly pastoral leadership. The key of kingly leadership is to extend resources in such a manner as to increase them – to create abundance. It is important for kingly leadership to maintain the trust of the people as regards their resources: to be credible by having clarity of purpose or a vision, transparency and openness about what, why and how, willingness to be accountable about results, recognition that the people made those results possible and affirmation of their generosity. With sustained credibility and effectiveness comes trust.  In the absence of credibility and effectiveness, people retreat to, at best, a maintenance level of engaging and contributing.  

·         PROPHET – The prophetic facet of pastoral leadership is concerned with the future of the parish. It focuses on patterns and trends in the present day and it projects those into the future. Prophetic leadership is visionary, strategic, corporate and foundational. Prophetic leadership is focused on the “big picture.” It thinks long-term. It connects the dots among societal events, discerns broad-scale trends and connects with others who are knowledgeable about the demographic, cultural, social, religious, economic, educational and technological trends affecting the parish. Prophetic is visionary and analytic. It attempts to anticipate the future impact of those changes on society and the parish. It uses this information to shape and concretize a desired future for the parish, rather than allowing the parish to be a victim of circumstances.  It calls for change and renewal.

A pastoral leadership that engages and calls the people to be co-responsible as servants, stewards and prophets is needed if the people are to grow in their baptismal priesthood and be able to transform their civic communities and participate in “building the kingdom.”  

ADDITIONAL ASCETICISMS REQUIRED OF PASTOR-LEADERS 

The pastor is responsible for the unity of the flock, not just the welfare of individual sheep.  As such, a pastor must move from a personal point of view to a viewing point so that he can appreciate, not only his own point of view, but also the various views of the community. The Congregation for the Clergy has made it clear that a priest can never put himself at the service of an ideology or human faction. Pastors are the primary ministers of communion in the community, something that is so sorely needed in our badly divided church. Unlike a seminarian, or even an associate pastor, a pastor does not have the luxury of a point of view, but must hold in unity a variety of legitimate points of view.  

A “passion for pastoring” is ultimately a spiritual gift that must be asked for, embraced and cultivated through prayer.  God never calls people to spiritual leadership without also giving them the ability to do the job. Like Solomon who prayed for all he needed to be a good king, those who are called by God to be pastors will get what they pray for. Like Gideon who prayed to know how he could possibly do what God asked, we are told that God will be with us if we seek, knock and ask for what we need to be a good pastor. Through prayer, it will be given to us, running over into our laps. Having the people to pray for us, as pastors, is also a good suggestion. A pastor’s spiritual leadership depends on it. 

The skills of a pastor include skills in communication and administration. Pastors need practical wisdom to translate general norms into particular situations. They need presence and availability to their people. “I am the Good Shepherd. I know mine and mine know me.” Pastors need to have a sense of the whole.  They need spiritual transparency or an evident spirituality that enables them to be unambiguous witnesses of the holy mysteries they proclaim and celebrate.

A pastor also directs, guides, manages, and governs the parish as a system, as a community. The American Bishops spelled out these skills in greater detail in their Basic Plan for the Ongoing Formation of Priests. “A pressing need for a new pastor is to acquire the “know how” of being and functioning as a pastor. Often, this is tied to very specific issues, for example, the business function of pastoring. Pastors need to learn basics of financial management, fundamental personnel management, confliction resolution, the organization of meetings, community organization and communication, and the management of volunteers. Pastors need to familiarize themselves with canonical requirements, diocesan regulations, and any legal provisions that have a bearing on parish life, such as employment law. Finally, new pastors need to discover ways of knowing and understanding the community in which they serve: demographics, culture, economics, and political realities.”

Being named a pastor is not just about getting a new job or acquiring a fancy title or personal honor, it is the beginning of a great spiritual adventure wherein one not only learns how to pastor, but how to be sufficiently centered spiritually. Appointment to a pastorate propels a priest into new growth and development. The time of entering the first pastorate is a moment ripe for ongoing formation in all its dimensions.  Appointment to a pastorate intensifies the challenge of integrating who the priest is and what he does as a priest. The words of Paul to the presbyters of Ephesus is a simple outline of the task of pastoring, “Keep watch over yourselves and over the flock of which the Holy Spirit has appointed you overseers….” (Acts 20:28) 

The title of “pastor” will not of itself make a priest a leader. Designated leaders are people who have the titles and robes of a leader, but not necessarily the appeal and skill of a real leader. When that appeal and skill are absent, designated leaders who are not real leaders eventually have to pathetically appeal to their status.  Sheep recognize the voice of the one who is “good at shepherding.” Real leaders have something to offer besides their position. They do not need to rely solely on their titles and robes.  The best-case scenario is when designated leaders are also real leaders, people recognized as leaders with obvious ability to lead their flocks into ever expanding discipleship.

What is the essence of good pastoring? Is it merely good management? Certainly not! People clearly and urgently want priests to pull themselves out of themselves and out of their in-house, intra-ecclesial squabbles and preoccupations. They want substance and hope. They want Jesus Christ and salvation in a world marked by sin, division, violence and death. They plead with priests, “Show us Jesus. Give us bread. Touch us and heal us. Forgive and renew us.”  They want priests to be spiritual leaders with a heart for the people of God. Our capacity to respond will depend in large measure on our preparation to serve in this way and the ongoing formation that will keep preparing us to serve in this way.    

The pastor most likely to be successful in spiritual leadership is one who leads not merely by pointing the way, but by having trodden the path himself. The People of God want to follow a “martyr,” meaning a “witness,” someone who has “walked his talk.”  

Pastors who are spiritual leaders are not just religious policeman. When a pastor demands obedience of another, he is tyrant. But when, by tact and sympathy, compassion and prayer, inspiration and wisdom, a pastor is able to influence and enlighten another to alter his or her course and pursue a spiritual one, he is a spiritual leader.

Pastors who are spiritual leaders work on themselves, discovering and correcting their weaknesses, as well as discovering and cultivating their strengths.  In short, spiritual leaders are always working to increase their ability to influence others.

Pastors who are spiritual leaders cannot produce spiritual change themselves.  Only the Holy Spirit can do that! Personal transformation cannot be taught, but it can be modeled and encouraged. Pastors as spiritual leaders can, and must, strive to be worthy and effective conduits for the Holy Spirit.  They are catalysts in the chemistry of the spiritual life.

Pastors who are spiritual leaders do not blame their followers when they do not do what they should do. Instead, they work to improve their ability to influence. They hone their skills and keep trying. Many pastors, poor at pastoring, have left their parishes blaming their people for their own failures.

Pastors who are spiritual leaders can influence not just church people, but all people. Pastors are leaders in the church, but also in the civic community at large.

Pastors who are spiritual leaders work out of compassion and love, never anger and despair. A sure sign of failure in the spiritual leadership of a pastor is when he looks back and sees that no one is following him.

Pastors who are spiritual leaders believe so much in the intrinsic value of what they do that they keep working regardless of the outcome. As Mother Teresa put it, “We are called to fidelity, not results.”

Pastors who are spiritual leaders have integrity and transparency, knowing that they cannot achieve a noble goal by using ignoble means.  Pastors as spiritual leaders have private lives, but not secret lives. Secret lives drain energy away from the task at hand.  As their ordination rite as a deacon put it, they are to be heralds of the gospel who “believe what they read, teach what they believe and practice what they teach.”  They cannot serve two masters at once.

Pastors who are spiritual leaders do not demonize their adversaries. It is wise for them to entertain alternative points of view because there is usually a kernel of truth even in what their enemies affirm.  What they affirm is often a pastor’s blind spot. This kind of openness is where growth happens.

Pastors who are spiritual leaders lead for the sake of others, not for their own satisfaction or benefit. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church (#1535) says, if priesthood makes priests holy, it is in serving others that it does so. Pastors who are spiritual leaders know that it is in giving that they receive.  Pastors who are spiritual leaders know that they are helped through their helping.  A great spiritual leader always knows that he has received more than he has given.

Pastors who are spiritual leaders do not insulate themselves from the pain of the world. They know that “compassion” means “to suffer with.”  Pastor-priests are called from the laity, to live among the laity, so as to empower the laity. As they experience the pain of those they serve, they are more able to become better vehicles of transformation.

Pastors who are spiritual leaders rely on deep faith, God’s promise of victory over sin and darkness. They know that the kingdom will come, no mater what, and it is growing even now like a mustard seed or yeast in dough, regardless of their ability or inability.

In short, pastors who are spiritual leaders lift, inspire and call: lift people’s vision to God, inspire people to become better disciples and call people to become all God has called them to be.