Friday, July 21, 2017

SVG MISSION TRIP SEVEN - PART TWO


BUSY DAY FOR SURE
Friday Morning



Desmond, project manager for our renovation project, and I shopped for small items for the renovation in downtown Kingstown. You had to see this funny mess up on the corner - a concrete truck, a taxi and several cars played "chicken" to see who would "give" first. 




The streets were crowded with vendors and shoppers all day. 


Friday Afternoon




Niel, maintenance man/gardener, finally got the blinds up in my bathroom and bedroom.
They just arrived today.



Friday Night


It has been a long time since I have attended a teen event. The youth ministry department of the diocese hosted a party in the lower level of the Pastoral Centre tonight. I went down to support the effort and to introduce myself. I knew some of the young people from various times I have been down.



Guests at the youth Party dropped by to talk to Martin (Irish volunteer) and myself who were out on the balcony.

They are Felicisia (left) and Pastoral Centre staff member, Catherine, on the right).



THE END OF ANOTHER BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE ISLANDS
Thursday Evening



DON'T BE MAKING FUN OF MY CAR! 
Thursday Most of the Day



Oh please no! Not that car! 



Des and I spent the day looking for small items for the renovation projects. 
Driving down here is an adventure, but so is riding shotgun when they drive on the left side of the road. This car squeaks, rattles and sometimes stalls at the most inconvenient times, but Martin (one of the Irish volunteers) swears by it. 

MORNING MASS AND EXPOSITION OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT
Thursday Morning



In the absence of Bishop County, I had morning Mass. At the end of Mass the Blessed Sacrament is exposed for adoration till noon. Several ladies come for that each Thursday. 

This is the old chapel - a big closet really.  There is only room for five or six people so the bishop and Pastoral Centre staff are looking forward to the dedication of the new Saint James Chapel in September when I come down again. 


PREACHING AT THE SOUP KITCHEN
Wednesday Night



I was invited to preach and lead a discussion of the Parable of The Sower and the Seed for the clients and volunteers at the new "soup kitchen."  The service took place in what we would call a new open air "picnic shelter" right outside the kitchen where "guests" can sit and eat. 




During the dialogue, the little girl in the blue dress with the white dots came up and gave a spontaneous little sermon on the Martha and Mary story from the gospel. About 25 people came to the service which  is held every Wednesday night. 




This photo was taken during the dedication several months back. 



A VISIT WITH FATHER MARK
 PASTOR
Our Lady Queen of the Universe Church
Town of Layou
Wednesday Afternoon



Father Mark lives in a little apartment above the small chapel/church. 
Father Mark is responsible for the landscaping around the Pastoral Centre. It is a hobby of his - maintaining plants and trees.  He is one of the most authentic priests I have ever met. 



Father Mark's Our Lady Queen of the Universe Church.

I had Mass for the deacon  formation class there a couple of years ago.



When this old retreat house was condemned because of structural problems, the diocese had to quit using it. Next door to Father Mark's church, there is a dream to someday have enough resources to reopen it.
It was a very popular place when it was able to be used safely. 



Because it has a small beach front, it was popular for youth retreats. Religious education groups still come and use the yard of the church and swim in the water, but the retreat house is too dangerous to use.  Maybe someday.........?



CELEBRATING THE END OF THE FIRST FULL DAY OF VOLUNTEER WORK
Tuesday Night



Irish volunteer Fergal and myself, enjoying a nice gin and tonic on the deck.




Fergal and Desmond (local project manager for the renovation project) joined us on the deck in having a gin and tonic to celebrate a long day of hard work.




Wednesday, July 19, 2017

SVG MISSION TRIP SEVEN - PART ONE








MADE IT DOWN TO THE ISLANDS AGAIN

THROUGH SIX AIRPORTS IN FOUR COUNTRIES 

Louisville 
Charlotte 
St. Lucia International 
St. Lucia Regional 
Barbados
St. Vincent





Finally arriving at the Argyle International Airport, SVG's New Airport.




I CAN'T WAIT TO MEET UP WITH
 MY FELLOW VOLUNTEERS

After theirs wives died back home in Ireland, they chose to volunteer full-time
in the Diocese of Kingstown, SVG. They are models of what I am trying to do in my own retirement and examples of the people I hope my Catholic Second Wind Guild will soon start attracting on a part-time basis. 


Mr. Fergal Redmond

Dependable Full Time Volunteer From Ireland 
Diocesan CPA and Multi-Tasker
My Regular Skype Contact and  Island Taxi Driver
Donation Coordinator
All Around Fun Person to Know
Like me, He Enjoys Gin and Tonic 
Drinks Hot Tea Several Times a Day
Likes to Swim in the Ocean
Lives in the Pastoral Centre on the Floor Right Below Me. 




Mr. Martin Folan



Dependable Full Time Volunteer From Ireland 
The Quiet Type and Faithful Servant of the Poor
All Around Good Spiritual Person
Sings to Himself Incessantly 
Drinks Hot Tea Several Times a Day
Likes to Swim in the Ocean
Lives Somewhere in that Pastoral Centre




MY NEW HEADQUARTERS
Catholic Second Wind Guild 

My friends down there have been working very hard to implement my vision for the new headquarters. I, for my part, have been working hard earning and raising funds. On this trip, I will get to see some of the amazing progress - how areas of the Pastoral Centre are evolving from sketches to reality. On this trip. with most of this particular part of the project done, I will get to sleep in my new bed and see my new headquarters all renovated for the very first time. 

FROM REALITY TO SKETCH TO SLOWLY BECOMING A REALITY 









FROM REALITY TO SKETCH TO SLOWLY BECOMING A REALITY











Design sketches by Tim Schoenbachler of Louisville








THE FINAL EFFECT











FIRST FULL DAY BACK
Making Plans for My Time Here



Fergal was busy setting up meeting for me with various people while I am here - from the Minister of Health, to a radio interview, to the medical container welcoming photo op, to Masses on the weekend. 



After an aborted trip to the airport to pick up a FedEx arrival (airport closed because of incoming storm), we hit a complete traffic stand still for a funeral procession. 




Des, who is overseeing the renovation project of the Pastoral Centre where my office/room is located, is the proud recipient of the used ipad that a friend gave me before I left. He was very happy to get it, always wanted one,  and will certainly use it. HE had it up and going in an hour. 

Monday, July 17, 2017

"EXTRA CRISPY TIME" AGAIN


CARIBBEAN MISSIONS HERE I COME





HOPEFULLY ARRIVING TONIGHT  
IN 
SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES

TRIP NUMBER SEVEN
July 17-26, 2017





Trip before last, the cook was off so I had a KFC lunch two days in a row with the local deacon candidates - unforgivable!



This location of  KFC in downtown Kingstown, SVG,  is the place to eat on Sundays. Notice how big it is! The busiest KFC in the world, however, is the next island over in Trinidad!



This is not the real Colonel Sanders, but actor George Hamilton who is famous for his dark suntans - so famous for his "burned to a crisp suntans" that KFC drafted him for their "extra crispy" commercials.



THE TOMB OF THE REAL COLONIAL SANDERS, FOUNDER OF KFC, NEAR MY HOUSE
Maybe I should pay a visit and pray for a safe trip before going down to get "extra crispy" again?



I always have to go through the Barbados Airport (shown here) before going on over to St. Vincent.
This time, I am going through St. Lucia as a practice run for trip eight in September when I lead their priest retreat, but I still  have to make a one-hour stop again in Barbados. I have learned to dread this airport.



A typical side-of-the-volcano scene.



The stunning view from the Pastoral Centre looking toward the island of Bequia.



Fergal, myself and Martin
The Three Musketeers of Volunteers




I am looking forward to a few gin and tonics on the deck after a hard day of "volunteering!"



Come to think of it, after a few gin and tonics, I'll probably be in the mood for some of Collitta's famous "chicken feet soup."




Sunday, July 16, 2017

OPEN TO RECEIVE THE WORD!




Some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit.
Matthew 13:1-23


In light of this parable, I thought I would say a few words about Catholic preaching. Hold on to your chair!

You might not know it, but according to Church teaching, preaching is the primary duty of priests!  I know this to be true - Catholics have been disappointed with Catholic Church preaching for so long, they are afraid to expect it any more. When Catholics do find a priest who can preach, or will spend some quality time preparing to preach, they tend to follow him from church to church like hungry puppies. Others learn to live without it. Some give up and join one of the Protestant denominations.

In the pre-Vatican II Mass, preaching was so undervalued in the Catholic Church that coming in late and missing that part of Mass did not even start counting as a serious sin until the priest uncovered the chalice and started the Liturgy of the Eucharist! The priest coming down off the altar to do readings in English and give a sermon was even called “an interruption” of the Liturgy.

Part of our problem, I believe, can be traced back to the Reformation, four hundred years ago. In that painful “divorce,” it was almost like there was a property settlement where Catholics took the altar and Protestants took the pulpit. That’s why most Protestant churches seem to have tiny little communion tables and huge pulpits, while most Catholic churches tend to have tiny little pulpits and huge altars. (I actually designed this pulpit and I deliberately wanted it to be wide enough to hold a big book and a homily. I wanted it to have some stature.)

Catholics who leave us for a Protestant pulpit sometimes don’t realize that, when they do, they are also going off and leaving the table of the Eucharist. What we Catholics need to do, what we have been working on over the last several years, is to have both: a powerful celebration of the Liturgy of the Word followed by a powerful celebration of the Liturgy of the Eucharist. We need to know how to value and use both pulpit and altar.

Preaching is being taken more serious than ever in our seminaries. I am no professional homiletics professor, but I taught homiletics (preaching) at St. Meinrad Seminary for a few years. The downfall of most preaching courses is that they focus way too much on public speaking techniques and not enough on the faith of the preacher. My belief is in line with William Faulkner’s who said, “If a story is in you, it has to come out.”  I always reminded my students that if the love of God was burning in their hearts, they would find an effective way to communicate it. If not, their preaching would probably just be another speech about God. A homily is not a speech. The insight of a homily is meant to turn on a light bulb, to help the listener make a connection with God, to help the hearer have an “ahaha” moment.  “Nemo dat quod non habet.” If you ain’t got it, you ain’t give it.

Both homilists and lectors must be the first to ‘humbly welcome the word” and “be doers of the word,” as the Letter of James puts it.  Preaching, especially, is an awesome responsibility.  The “well,” from which it comes, must be constantly fed!  The preacher must know himself, know the people he preaches to and know God - and be able to talk about it all three in a convincing way. Lectors, too, don’t just “read to people,” they “proclaim the good news” as well.

Some seed fell of the path, some on rocky ground,
some among the thorns, but some fell on rich
soil and produced abundant fruit.


The Letter of James is famous for its insistence that faith is lived, not just claimed and talked about. The writer says, “Be doers of the word and not hearers only.” The writer asks, “What good is it to profess faith without practicing it? If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and no food for the day, and you say to them, “Good-bye and good luck! Keep warm and well fed,” but do not meet their bodily needs, what good is that? So it is with faith that does nothing in practice. It is thoroughly lifeless.”

My fellow Catholics, we cannot be ignorant of scripture and, at the same time, carry out what God has asked us. As the Letter to the Romans puts it, “Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. But how can they call upon him in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe unless they have heard of him? And how can they hear unless there is someone to preach? Faith, then, comes through hearing, and what is heard is the word of Christ.” 

It would be wonderful if every one of us took the opportunity to study Scripture in a formal way. Scripture classes are offered in almost every parish these days. The diocese has many continuing education classes available on scripture. There are free Catholic online websites with commentaries. The simplest ways to study scripture, however, is to take advantage of our Liturgy of the Word each week. To get the most out of the Liturgy of the Word each week, if the seed is to fall on the rich soil of our hearts and produce abundant fruit in our lives, three things must happen. (1) Readers must read well. (2) Preachers must preach well. (3) People must listen well.  You have good lectors here, the Cathedral has been known for good preaching for the last several years and I know you to be an attentive congregation who appreciates, and expects, good preaching.  

(1) One of the hardest things to get across to lectors is that they are not just “reading to people,” but “proclaiming the word of God.”   That means they must, not just be able to read the words on the page, but to be the medium through which people hear God speaking to them. That means the reader must be familiar enough with the text to convey its meaning. If the reader does not know what the words mean, how can he or she read it with meaning? Lectors are not just readers. They proclaim the word of God behind the words of the text. The role of the lector, standing in the pulpit, should be taken as seriously as the priest standing behind the altar. Incompetence, sloppiness or carelessness in the pulpit or at the altar should never become acceptable in our churches. Good liturgy strengthens the faith of the people. Bad liturgy weakens the faith of the people.     

(2) As a priest, my primary role is to preach. I have a long way to go, myself, but of all the things I do, I take preaching most seriously.  I typically work a minimum of 10-12 hours a week preparing these homilies. As you know, not all priests do that. When I was the Vocation Director, for instance, I remember reading an evaluation one of our pastors wrote about one of our soon-to-be-ordained seminarians. He criticized the seminarian for “working too much on his homilies.” He went on to say that he “knew of no other priest, except for maybe the Vocation Director (that was me), who spent that much time on writing homilies.” This time the seminarian was right and the pastor was wrong! Preaching is not just one of many things a priest does, it is the single most important thing a priest does! 

(3) People must learn to listen well. The word “liturgy” means “the work of the people.” In reality, many Catholics still don’t get it. They come to liturgy and put the whole burden of a meaningful liturgy on the backs of the priest, the musicians and the liturgical ministers. Many Catholics sit with their arms folded, never singing or answering the responses or even mouthing the creed, with an attitude of “OK, now entertain me, impress me and inspire me and, if you fail, I’ll blame you and leave here to tell the world that “I don’t get anything out of Mass because of the boring priest and the lousy music.”

If the word, “liturgy” means “the work of the people,” we preachers, presiders, lectors and musicians are here to “help you pray,” not to “do your praying for you.” It is your job to pray over the readings before you get here, or at least sit up and pay close attention when God’s word is proclaimed, and respond appropriately in word and song.

“Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you.” Like the parable of the Sower and the Seed, it is now enough just to have good seed to sow (the word of God), not enough for the sowers to sow well (the lector and the preacher’s job), but the ground on which the word is sown must be fertile and receptive. That job, my friends, belongs to all of us - to be good at hearing the Word and to be good at putting it into practice after we leave here.