CHURCH CHAT #21

 

THE CRUCIAL QUESTION FACING BOTH THE OLD AND THE YOUNG

 

"DO I GIVE UP OR KEEP PUSHING?"

The myth of Sisyphus has a lot of meaning even today. In that famous story, the god Zeus, fed up with Sisyphus' tricks and cunning as well as his arrogance - believing he was more cunning than Zeus - punished him to eternally push a boulder uphill. However, as soon as he would reach the top of the hill, the boulder, like a rolling stone, would roll off and Sisyphus had to push it back again. This daunting task, symbolizing the endless rolling of stones, represents the futile yet persistent endeavors that define the human spirit.

In his 1942 essay "The Myth of Sisyphus," French Algerian philosopher and journalist Albert Camus describes his philosophy of the absurd. The absurd is both a feeling and a condition of existence—it describes the irreparable tension between the human desire for meaning and purpose in life, and the inevitability of oblivion and death. Camus argues that humans should continue to live and try to derive as much fulfillment as they can from their brief existence.

As many of you know by now, I like to journal and write. In other words, I like to reflect on my condition, the direction of my life and the directions of the lives I see around me. When I turned 80, a couple of years ago, I started journaling and writing more about aging - something I was only able to recognize a few weeks ago. The basic question I wrestled with, both in journaling and blog posting, is this: do I give in to aging or do I fight it? That's when I remembered the myth of Sisyphus and his frustration of rolling a rock uphill knowing that he could never do it! I can almost hear him thinking my question to himself: "Do I give up on trying or do I keep pushing?" It was then that the idea for this post occurred to me. It was then that I realized that my question about aging is very similar question young people have about their youthfulness. They face the question: "Do I give in to destructive effects of popular culture or do I push against it?" I realized that, in our own ways, we are both pushing a rock uphill knowing that we will never be able to reach our goal! After all, Sisyphus was condemned to his fate pushing endlessly, so why should we choose this fate?  The answer, of course, is whether we choose what we do with ourselves or whether we let our situations choose it for us! 

THE QUESTION FACING OLD PEOPLE

"Do I accept my death and give up on living or do I push against death and keep on living?"

Some people who retire, take on the attitude of "why bother?" "I have done my duty and I have a right to rest, pamper myself and let others pamper me!" "I have no place in any organization so let the organizations take care of me!" 

I choose to follow another path! I believe in re-inventing myself over and over again each time my circumstances change. I may not be able to do everything I used to do, but I can still do some things, even some new things! I am a firm believer in Bob Dylan's advice who used to sing, "If you are not busy being born, you are busy dying! As Tom Peters, a favorite leadership guru, put it. "Unless you walk into the unknown, the odds of making a profound difference in your life are petty low!" Yes, I want to re-invent myself all the way up to, and including, my last day! 

THE QUESTION FACING YOUNG PEOPLE

"Do I give in to the destructiveness effects of  popular culture or do I push against it as long as I can? 

Popular culture is a very powerful drug and many young people (and not so young) today are addicted to it! Giving into it has destroyed many of them and crippled even more of them. They seem to be following the advice of Oscar Wilde who famously said, "The only way to get rid of temptation is to give into it!" Many follow the path of "if it looks, good, tastes good and feels good, do it!" "If everybody else is doing it, then why not do it too?" 

Seeing the disasters this has caused to so many of their contemporaries, there are, of course, many exceptions to this destructive path. Instead of choosing the path of "personal and spiritual suicide," these exceptions have radically, heroically and sometimes abruptly decided to choose "the road less traveled." Instead of joining the majority who "act out destructively to stand out," they join the minority who "act with integrity to stand out!"  I have heard about two cases recently that give me hope that more young people will join them and chose adventure over comfort, criticism over popularity, generosity over greed, difficulty over ease, obscurity over notoriety and life over death.  

IS PAIN AND SUFFERING ALWAYS BAD?

God looked over all he had made and saw that it was very good.

Genesis 1:31

Why would a good God allow good people to suffer? It is one of the oldest questions people have had throughout the generations. It occurred to me the other day that it has to be one of three reasons or "doors." 1. God is not really good. 2. People are not really good. 3. There is the possibility that something good could can come even from suffering.

If you have never experienced the goodness of God, then you might choose "door number one." If you believe that people are fundamentally bad and need to be punished, you might choose "door number two." If you are like me and believe that God is good and people are basically good, but you don't really know why good people suffer, then you might pick "door number three" and explore the fact that something good can come even from suffering.

1. I believe that some people suffer because of some of their own poor choices over a long period of time, as in the case of ruining their own health though smoking and drug abuse or going through great financial losses after much wasteful spending.

2. I believe that sometimes pain lets us know that what we are doing is not working. Pain can capture our attention and lets us know that change is necessary as in the case of touching a hot stove, sitting in the sun too long without sunscreen or engaging in risky sexual practices. Embracing that resulting pain can actually lead us to personal growth and transformation. Yes, pain can be a motivator for change, and that with the right attitude and mindset, we can transform our lives in meaningful ways. In the case of poor relationships choices, pain can signal that it is time to move on and learn new behaviors. Unfortunately, many of us sabotage this possibility by denying, numbing or backing away from such pain.

3. Pain gives us opportunities to be heroic. Heroic actions often arise from a desire to alleviate other's suffering because of what we have learned about our own pain. Our obvious efforts at overcoming challenges can inspire others to act courageously.

4. Pain often reveals our inner strength and resilience. Anyone can give up, it's the easiest thing in the world to do, but to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that's true strength.

5. Feeling pain and going through difficult experiences can actually foster empathy and compassion for others and motivate us to advocate for change and justice.

6. Pain and loss helps us wake up and realize how much good we had to lose. The more loss we feel, the more grateful we should be for whatever it was we had to lose. It means we actually had something worth grieving for! The ones we should feel sorry for, are the ones who go through life without ever knowing about grief!"

LOOKING FORWARD IN JOYFUL HOPE

“Did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?”

John 11:40

Jesus had a large circle of friends, both men and women. On the fifth Sunday of Lent, we get an inside glimpse of three of those friends: Martha, her sister Mary and their brother Lazarus from the little town of Bethany, on the outskirts of Jerusalem. It was that special place in the life of Jesus where he and his disciples could stop in, get some rest, enjoy a hot meal and then go on their way!  If you pay attention to the details of John’s gospel story about Martha, Mary and Lazarus, you soon realize just how close Jesus was to these people.  This is a story about intimate friends, affectionate friends.

First, we know that this Mary was the Mary who kissed Jesus’ feet in public, washing them with her tears, drying them with her hair, and rubbing them with perfumed oil.  (When was the last time anybody kissed your feet?  You must be pretty close to do that, not to mention doing it in public!)  Read down the text and you see that John underlines, again and again, just how intimate these people were with Jesus: “Lord, the one you love is sick.”  “Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus very much.”  “See how much he loved him!”  They are even so close that these two women can “chew him out” and get away with it: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would never have died.”  And finally, seeing Mary weep, we are told "and Jesus wept!" 

One usually thinks of this story as the “raising of Lazarus,” but Jesus’ raising of Lazarus actually occupies a very small part of this story.  Of the forty-four verses that constitute this story, only seven of them take place at Lazarus’ tomb.  The miracle of the raising of Lazarus is the climax of this story; it is not the center.  This is a dialogue between Jesus and the two women about God’s power in our lives.

In his gospel, John’s stories always have two levels:  one on the surface which is true and another below the surface which is truer still.  This intimate story is meant to reveal to us not only the depth of their friendship, but also how intimate is God’s relationship with us!  The pain of this family is the pain of God for his people.  By listening in to the dialogue, we are also taught what they were taught:  about the depth of God’s love for us, about God’s willingness to give us new life, and about God’s power over our worst enemy – death.

(1) We are taught about the depths of God’s love for us.  One of the biggest challenges I have faced as a priest is to convince people of God’s unconditional love for them.  Why is it that so many of us have been trained by people who have dismissed these intimate stories of God’s love and have combed through the Scriptures, piecing together condemning, judging, and damning messages that they turn into a religion?  Why did they, and why do we, find those negative messages more believable?  I have received more letters questioning my “too lenient notions of God’s love” than any other critical letters since I became a priest.  Jesus revealed the “true God,” not this “false mean god” that people have created since Adam and Eve.  Even in that story, God says to Adam and Eve, “Who told you that you were naked?” (Genesis 3:11).  In other words, “Who told you that you were bad, separated from me, and defective?  I certainly didn’t!”  Jesus came to talk us out of the mean God we keep creating in our own minds.  I can’t imagine trying to live my religion without being in love with God! I can’t imagine practicing a religion based on fear and dread!    

(2) By listening in on the conversation between Jesus, Martha and Mary, we are taught also about God’s willingness to give us new life.  This eternal life is on both sides of death.  Death does not have the last word.  Eternal life is not just some promise for the future; it is available to us right now.  We are in it, as we speak! Through Jesus and in Jesus, those of us who are “dead on our feet” can be resurrected now.  We can be born again.  We can act boldly on our own behalf to live purposeful lives, to help others, and to claim the powers that lie dormant within us.  One of my favorite old movies is Harold and Maude.  This is Maude’s message to Harold throughout the movie: “Oh, how the world dearly loves a cage!  There are a lot of people who enjoy being dead.” Jesus came, not just to bring a wonderful life after we are dead, but right now!  

(3) And, as this gospel teaches us, God has power over our worst enemy – death.  We live in a death-denying culture.  Some of our expensive funeral practices would leave outsiders with the impression that we believe that we are going to come up with a cure for death someday!  That makes about as much sense as leaving the runway lights on for Amelia Earhart.  We don’t even know how to die.  Modern medical technology robs us of the spiritual experience of “letting go” of this part of our life.  Through Jesus and in Jesus, we are able to see in death that “life is changed, not ended.”  I feel sorry for those who are conscious at death’s door without this faith. 

Over the years, I have had the awesome privilege of talking to some very conscious people getting ready to die: especially those with AIDS and with cancer.  Some were not pious people, but most were deeply spiritual.  Some were able to tell me that they accepted their approaching deaths and they wanted to “do it well.”  Some were extremely thankful for the “eternal life” they had experienced in this world.  Some looked with “joyful hope” for the “eternal life” ahead of them.  My brother, who died last week, had one of the most grace-filled exits from this life I have ever experienced. He died of a aggressive form of leukemia. He lived just five weeks and had no pain or need for morphine until the last day and a half. He was proud of the fact that he had reconciled with everyone he knew! He told me he was not afraid to die, that he was grateful for this life and that he "looked forward to going to heaven." You know, if you’re facing death, it doesn’t get any better than that!  I hope I can do half as well. I too pray for the ability to be conscious, filled with gratitude and ready to go when the time comes! Yes, I want to be conscious! I want to choose to let go and leap into that great unknown, to leap into the arms of God!

The message in this gospel is this:  God loves you very, very much.  He wants you to enjoy the eternal life that you can experience right now, and he wants you to know that death does not have the last word.  You can enjoy “eternal life” forever, yes starting right now!

WITH BOTH DEEP SADNESS AND GREAT JOY

 MY BROTHER, GARY, HAS DIED

My one-year-younger brother died peacefully at his home in Brandenburg on March 17 after a diagnosis five weeks ago of an aggressive form of leukemia. After consultation with his doctors, Gary decided against any hospitalization, intervention or resuscitation. He was pain-free and welcomed family and friends all the way up to the last two or three days. He was prepared, grateful, unafraid and ready to go when the time came. The way he handled his passing was wonderfully inspirational to his family, his siblings, his relatives, his friends, his neighbors and his fellow parishioners alike. We loved him very much! 

William Gary Knott

June 8, 1945 - March 17, 2026 

Obituary Below Submitted By Gary's Family

William Gary Knott, age 80 of Brandenburg KY entered eternal life on March 17, 2026, surrounded by his loving family.

Gary was born on June 8, 1945, in Rhodelia, KY son of the late Mary Ethel Mattingly Knott and James William Knott. Along with his parents, he was proceeded in death by, a sister, Kaye Ray, and 2 brothers-in-law, Paul Mattingly and Tom Wooldridge.

Gary graduated from Meade County High School in 1963. When Gary wasn’t in the log woods, he enjoyed the simple things in life like fishing and hunting.

Gary is survived by his 4 children, Lisa Knott of Brandenburg KY, Diane Pike of Caneyville, KY, Wesley (Laura) Knott of Brandenburg KY, and Danny (Pam) Knott of Payneville KY; 9 grandchildren, Derek, Tasha, Tiffany, Kari, Lawrence, Wesley Kyle, Corey, Haley and Dylan; 9 great-grandkids and one on the way; 4 siblings, Brenda Mattingly of Brandenburg KY, Father Ronald Knott of Louisville, KY, Lois Wooldridge of Brandenburg KY, Nancy (Randy) Smith of Brandenburg KY and Mark Knott of Rhodelia, KY; and brother-in-law, Richard Ray of Rhodelia, KY.

Visitation will be held Friday, March 20, 2026, at St Theresa of Avila Catholic Church from 9:30 A.M. until time of service.

A Funeral Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:00 A.M. on Friday, March 20, 2026, at St. Theresa of Avila Catholic Church with Father Knott, Father Ray, Father Martin, and Father Illikkal officiating, burial will follow in the church cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to St Theresa Family Life Center, (9245 Rhodelia Rd, Payneville KY 40157), where Gary went to school.

__________________

Alternative Expressions of Sympathy for Non-Local Readers of This Blog

If you would rather express your sympathy by helping finish furnishing the mission school project in Tanzania, in Gary's memory, you can make your tax-deductible gift to: Father John Judie Ministries and send it to: Father Ronald Knott, 1271 Parkway Gardens Court, #106, Louisville, KY 40217. 

 

Funeral Homily

for

WILLIAM GARY KNOTT

by his brother

Fr. J. Ronald Knott

Gary and Linda have four children: Lisa, Diane, Wesley and Danny. With their spouses, those four gave Gary and Linda nine grandchildren: Derek, Tasha, Tiffany, Kari, Lawrence, Wesley Kyle, Corey, Haley and Dylan. Gary and Linda have nine great grandchildren and one on the way, as well as a host of extended family members, friends, neighbors and fellow parishioners - some living and some deceased.  To all of you and all of them, welcome today, as we give Gary back to God who gave him to us!

Joining you today, are Gary’s siblings: his two brothers, me and Mark, and his four sisters: Brenda, Lois, Nancy and Kaye who has already passed on.  Altogether, we have twenty nieces and nephews. Just a year apart, Brenda, Gary and I, especially, grew up together. Lois, Nancy and Kaye were babies and young girls in my memories so I don’t have as many shared growing-up experiences. Mark was born after I had been in the seminary for several years. Brenda and I, as well as Gary and me, shared many childhood experiences, while Mark had some very different childhood experiences of his own - mostly a work relationship with Gary. I remember Gary’s and Linda’s family more when they were young (Diane and Lisa, Wesley and Danny) especially during those years when Gary, Mark and I used to host our annual “Uncle Parties” after Christmas. Gary’s and Linda’s grandchildren and great grandchildren I barely know because of my assignments as a priest, especially when I was stationed down in southern and central Kentucky.  To make up for me being my niece’s and nephew’s “missing uncle,” I am still sending Gary’s four kids, and their mother Linda, a birthday card every year, as far back as I can remember, as a way of staying connected.    

Because of mine and Gary’s shared experiences of growing up, and Mark’s more recently, my mind immediately went to the gospel parable of the Loving Father (sometimes mis-named “the Prodigal Son”) that Deacon Greg just read - only in reverse. My experience was more like the younger son in the story and Gary’s and Mark’s experiences are more like the older son. In the story, one son leaves home to experience the world while the other son stayed home to pick up the slack left by the other son.   

It certainly took courage for me to leave home at age fourteen, but it also took courage for Gary to stay home at thirteen and Mark who is still there!  There were blessings that came to me for leaving and blessings that came to Gary and Mark for staying close to home.

To be honest, we gradually grew apart, and like the two sons in the gospel, we probably had a few little aggravations about each other. Me, knowing that Dad obviously related to Gary and Mark more than me, and Gary and Mark knowing that I had more freedom than them. Growing up, it was obvious to everyone that Gary was the handsome one and I was the homely one and that Mark was a cute little boy, much more so than I had ever been at that age! In the big picture, all small stuff, really!

I am sure they both resented the fuss made over me as a priest for being so visible in the newspapers and constantly being talked about by people to whom I have ministered. I was like the younger son in the gospel who was always coming home to some kind of special fanfare and celebrations. I know that resentment to be true, especially, when Mark recently gave me a funny, but somewhat sarcastic, plaque and a tee shirt that says, “Father Wonderful!” I knew it to be true also when Kaye, who died a few years ago, once said about me, “I am so tired of being introduced as Father Knott’s sister – as if I don’t have a name of my own!”

I have always loved my sisters (Brenda, Lois, Nancy and Kaye), but Brenda, just a year older than me, had the greatest impact on my life, both when we were growing up next to the Rhodelia store, and especially when she and Paul took me in when I left home a second time and stopped coming home during the summers when I was still in the seminary so as to take jobs to support myself during my late seminary years.

I have some good memories of Nancy, always the one with the compassionate heart for other people’s hurts and the one who hosted many of our family Christmas “home Masses” and dinners. My favorite memory of Lois, during the time when I got to know her best, was when we were co-executors of Dad’s estate. One day, we went into one of the banks to do some of our required business. When we went in, Lois introduced us this way. “Good morning! We are Mr. Knott co-dependents!” Of course, she meant to say, “co-executors!” We still laugh about that day because there is always a little truth in humor!

One of the best parts of today’s gospel parable is the part about the reconciliation between the father and the son who left home. Like more families than you know, our family has some of our own reconciliation stories. Happily, and Gary was so proud of it, today all of us in the family are now reconciled with one another – me and Dad, Mark and Gary, Gary and Linda - just to name a few.   

Before this starts sounding like another TV episode of the Waltons, let me say that the gospel parable that was read today is not really about the Knott family, even though I tried to fit it into our family, but more so about how God loves all of us here today no matter what - no if, ands or buts about it! As another part of the Gospel of Matthew says, “God makes his sun shine on the bad and the good and causes his rain to fall on the just and the unjust!”

In today’s parable, the father loved both of his sons (meaning all of us, of course) whether we leave home, whether we stray and get in trouble, whether we stay home and follow all the rules and even whether we get jealous of one another sometimes!  (Chasing pigs, on the farm behind this church and behind our house in Rhodelia, was a sore spot for both Gary and me, so I won’t even mention the pigs in today’s parable!) This beautiful parable is really about God’s unconditional love and the importance of reconciliation among parents, siblings, relatives, neighbors – and, yes, even with our enemies!

With that said, let me speak directly to Gary’s family as well as all of you here today. As a priest, I know from fifty-five years of ministry that our families are not exceptional. Grudges, hurts, disappointments and misunderstandings are rampant in families - always have been and always will be! I have never met a family free of such problems.

Finally, let me tell you just a few things I have learned about forgiveness. (1) Taking offense can be just as bad as giving offense. Instead of forgiving my father for his faults, I sometimes fell into petty little attempts at paybacks which ended up eating me alive. (2) People tend to pass on what they know and what they learned from their families unless someone in the family decides to put a stop to it and takes the high road! (3) It took me three trips down home before I was able to sit down with my dad, even after I decided to try being reconciled. It was both the hardest and the most freeing thing I ever did in my life! Even at that, it was more of a favor I did for myself than it was a favor to him! Before I left that night, I gave him a hug, maybe for the first time in my life! I have had no hard feelings since. I am at peace and so is he! (4) It is hard to be the bigger person in such reconciliations, but I can tell you, that if you go into it “speaking the truth with love,” it will be easier than you thought and you will be doing yourself the biggest favor of your life! (5) Do it! Do it now! Do it before it is too late! If you can’t, do not even dare to pray the Our Father ever again until you do, because in that prayer you actually ask God “to forgive you - as you forgive those who trespass against you!”

In closing, I am very sad today to lose another one of my dear siblings – first Kaye and now Gary!  I also know that Gary’s family is just as sad – maybe even more so! As far as I know, Gary and I never had any real issues with each other. We just gradually drifted apart. In fact, before I even heard about his diagnosis, one of my New Year’s Resolutions for 2026, that I recorded in my journal back in late November, was to call Gary more often! I remember calling him back in November. When I hung up, I saw that we had talked for over forty minutes – the longest time since we were kids! Near the very end, we got to tell one another that we loved each other and that we were proud of each other. I got to anoint him and bless the rosary Nancy gave him. Lois got to drink coffee with him regularly and take him communion. At the end, we gave each other a hug, we apologized to each other for drifting apart a bit, we celebrated together the fact that his ending would be short and hopefully pain-free - and best of all, we got to give each other a goodbye hug. I got a good picture with him on my cellphone before I left. I am sure his family got to do the same! As, has happened so many times in my life, several good things have already come out of this bad situation!

Last Saturday night, I was reading about the first 15 year old “video gamer” saint who was canonized just last September – St. Carlo Acutis. Like Gary, St. Carlo died of an aggressive form of Leukemia back in 2006. After his diagnosis, he only lived about two weeks – Gary about five weeks! I was amazed at how many of the things Gary said to me sounded very much like what St. Carlo said to his family and friends. Here is just one of the things Gary told me – sometimes several times. “I feel good and I feel lucky. I am not afraid. I am not trying to impress people. These are my true feelings. I think I am reconciled with everybody I know. My goal now is to get to heaven. Nothing else matters. I used to worry about going to heaven, but not anymore since you anointed me and gave me absolution!” Later, I called him back and asked him ten questions in all and I made sure I wrote his words down as we talked on the phone. I will treasure them for sure!

Gary! Rest in peace, dear brother! Rest in peace, Dad, Grandad and great Grandad! Rest in peace, dear friend, fellow parishioner and neighbor! We are all going to miss you! May the angels welcome you to paradise! Know that we will love you and remember you always! From your place in heaven, please pray for all those of us who remain. Pray that we will be able to handle our departure from this life half as well as you did! You have inspired us all!

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

THE BIGGEST SHORTAGE IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.......

.......IS NOT PRIESTS OR MONEY, IT'S

IMAGINATION

"The biggest shortage in the Catholic Church is not priests or money, it's imagination!" I believe this so much that I have said it in innumerable homilies, various presentations and in over 140 priest retreats in 10 countries. Every time I have repeated it, I am reminded of a story in one of my favorite Harvard Business School books from 26 years ago, THE ART OF POSSIBILITY. 

"A shoe factory sends two marketing scouts to a region of Africa to study the prospects for expanding business. One sends back a telegram saying, "SITUATION HOPELESS! NO ONE WEARS SHOES!" The other writes back triumphantly, "GLORIOUS BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY! THEY HAVE NO SHOES!" 

In the situation mentioned above, for one the evidence he saw pointed to hopelessness, for the other the evidence he saw pointed to abundance and possibility.  Experiments in neuroscience have demonstrated that our understanding of the world comes into our consciousness as a construction of our own making. 

Maybe this is why some of us today turn to one of two possibilities as we look at the same reality in front of us. One group tries to go back in time to recover some former reality, while another sees shrinking the old construct to fit the new reality as the solution going forward. We see it when some see the solution to our shrinking Church in returning to the pre-Vatican II Church, while some see the solution in closing more and more parishes.  Neither see the future in terms of encouraging imaginative new solutions for passing on the non-negotiable essentials of the faith, "the great treasure inside the earthenware jar," as St. Paul put it! Both seem to fall into the idolatry of focusing more on handing on the jar that holds the treasure rather than the treasure itself!  Pope Francis frequently remarked that people who cling to certainty have created their own idol.  

I find the recent trend of nostalgia for an irretrievable past obviously fear-based with a misguided attempt to avoid fearful uncertainty. While it is true, that some of the attempts to "update" after Vatican Council II were childish and immature, they were good faith attempts without a map to go by, but their shortcomings are poor excuses for running back to some imagined "good old days." Half of my twelve year seminary training were pre-Vatican II. I lived in those days and, believe me, I certainly do not want to "go back" there! From observation, I also know that many of those who want to "go back" did not actually go through the days they want to "go back to" and many of those who want to "go back" do not always want to "go all the way back." They too have a tendency to pick and choose practices from the past actually becoming the "cafeteria Catholics" they condemn.  Besides, as an old quote puts it, “Tradition is not about preserving the ashes, but about passing on the flame.” Tradition has always been a living, developing dynamism.

I find the recent trend of simply closing parishes to keep an old church model alive just as distressing. I have noted and written about the fact that we keep producing fancy binders and suggestions on "how to close a parish," but never a pamphlet on "how to keep a parish from having to close." That trend seems to be more about how to downsize the old model to fit the priest shortage, rather than creating imaginative new models of how to expand the church's ability to "hand over" the "great treasure" inside the old jar. We ought to be growing, not shrinking, even in today's culture!

I have offered at least four ideas that have gone "nowhere" so far. (1) I suggested that we create a "diocesan missionary" program. It would be very similar to a "rescue team" whereby trained volunteer "missionaries" from a thriving parish become members of a struggling parish for a short period of time to help it "get back on it's feet." I believe it could "revive" both the struggling parish and the "volunteer missionaries." (2) I have suggested that one of the Annual Presbyteral Assemblies be designed as an "Idea Festival" where "bright ideas" on a range of subjects are presented by as many "volunteer presenters" as possible. The understanding would be that no idea would "have to be implemented," but one idea might trigger another idea that "would work." This idea could be adapted for other stake holders in the archdiocese. This would expand the "creativity pool" instead of having all the ideas having to come out of the Chancery Office (the old model). (3) I have suggested that the concept of a "Catholic Megachurch" be offered to (not forced upon) a region or area of the archdiocese that would welcome it. In a "priest-shortage," this could be led by one talented pastor and a large energetic lay staff able to offer more comprehensive programing, better music and life-long educational programs, as well as new energy efficient buildings. The Archdiocese could then, not only help it come to reality, but offer its services to help "make it work." (4) I established an Endowment at St. Meinrad Seminary to teach "Parish Revitalization" with the funds I made conducting over 140 Priest Retreats in 10 countries. I have learned the hard way that a few of these ideas were not necessarily useless and wrong-headed, they just needed some time to percolate or be presented again under somebody else's name!  

I have accepted the fact that some of my own ideas may not work, but I am convinced that there are hundreds and hundreds of unexplored ideas out there waiting to be heard! The problem may not be a "hopeless situation," but "hopeless talk and hopeless thinking!" The path forward is not 'preserving the ashes of past organizational thinking, but protecting the flame of faith for future generations' by facing the realities right in front of us with courage and imagination! 

Let me end this by saying that I am encouraged by the new Archdiocesan Parish Planning Process 2025-2026: Phase I, Phase II and Phase III. It's a sign, at least, that we recognize that we are in trouble! It's a good start, organizationally, but we need a lot more than an organizational shuffle. We need a dramatic infusion of bold, visionary and inspirational leadership that will turn us into a "missionary church" with a focus on "growing the faith" and with an ability to spark or rekindle the fire of faith in the hearts of Catholics in this diocese, not just salvaging what's left over from the past!