MISSION TRIP THIRTEEN - March 14 - 21, 2020

Flag of the country Saint Vincent and the Grenadines


DURING MY NEXT ISLAND TRIP  
#13
I WILL PRESENT CHURCH LEADERSHIP STUDY DAYS

FAN INTO FLAME THE GIFT OF GOD THAT YOU HAVE

The Radical Conversion of Heart, Mind and Habits Needed Within the Leaders of the Diocese of Kingstown to Build Diocesan Structures for Strengthening Intentional Evangelization and More Effective Spiritual Leadership 

Father J. Ronald Knott

Doctor of Ministry in Parish Revitalization

             

      

“Do not neglect the gift you have. Be diligent in these matters, be absorbed in them, so that your progress may be evident to everyone. Attend to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in both tasks, for by doing so you will save both yourself and those who listen to you.”

I Timothy 4:14-16

"I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God that you have. For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather of power and love and self-control."

II Timothy 1:6-7

I go at the invitation of Bishop Gerard County, C.S.Sp

PROPOSED SCHEDULE

PART I – Introduction

     1.Why am I here?

     2.What was my reluctance?

PART II – My Background – Who Is This Man Speaking to You?

PART III – The Vision – From Good to Great

                    Questions

PART IV – Start with the Tree

PART V – The Virtues of Leadership 

     1. The Virtue of Magnanimity: A Passionate Commitment to Personal Excellence 

     2. The Virtue of Humility: A Passionate Commitment to Vocational Excellence

     3. The Discipline of Translating a Dream into Reality

PART VI – Spiritual Leadership in General 

PART VII – A Passion for Pastoring: A Call Within a Call 

PART VIII – Preaching for Spiritual Leadership and Personal Sanctification 

     1. Claiming the Pulpit for Spiritual Leadership 

     2. Claiming the Pulpit for Personal Sanctification 

PART VIX – The Three Biggest Threats to Revitalization 

     (a) Lack of Imagination 

     (b) Downward Spiraling Talk 

     (c) Lack of Follow-Through

PART X – Some Practical Suggestions 

     (a) “Trust your camel first, then trust in Allah.” 

     (b) The Principle of Cause and Effect 

     (c) Some Examples of Cause and Effect 

     (d) Coordinator of Local and International Church Volunteers

CONCLUSION
QUESTIONS FOR JOINT SESSIONS

A New Hymn Written For the Occasion 

Participant's Note-Taking Binder and Reminder Cup

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT

CHOOSING WISELY

                           

       I have set before you life and death, the blessing

       and  the curse. Choose  life,  then, that  you  and

      your descendants may live, by  loving  the  Lord

      your God, heeding his voice and  holding fast to

                               him.                                

Deuteronomy 30: 19,20

Do you want what’s behind door number one, door number two or door number three? Do you want to keep the new kitchen appliances that you have already won or would you like to trade them for what’s behind the curtain on stage? Some of you may remember the still-running TV show, “Let’s Make a Deal.” 

Contestants in ridiculous costumes were offered choices between a bird in the hand for two in the bush, between what was certain and what was possible. Sometimes people would trade something like a plastic comb for a choice of doors. Sometimes they would end up with a Hawaiian vacation, a room full of furniture or a booby prize. 

The biggest winners were confronted with a second, more difficult choice. They were asked whether they wanted to trade their Hawaiian vacation for what was behind a curtain. They could win a shiny new car or they could end up with a live jackass.

The program was popular, I believe, because it was symbolic of the human predicament. We are constantly faced with a world of choices and sometimes those choices produce great blessings and sometimes they bring disasters. Sometimes we are better off because of our good choices and sometimes we are left to live in a hell of regret because of our bad choices, knowing that we brought ruin on ourselves because of those bad choices. 

I sat down two years ago and traced my own choices and how those choices have affected my life for good or bad. It is an autobiography of sorts that traces the choices I have made since I was six years old and how those choices have affected the way my life has turned out. I put it all in a book. It is entitled Between Courage and Cowardice: Choosing to Do Hard Things for Your Own Good. What I have learned from those reflections is that choosing to do hard things has more often than not brought blessings and growth to my life, while choosing the easy way has more often than not brought me pain and stagnation. 

In your first reading, the Israelites are about to enter the “promised land,” after an arduous trip across the Sinai desert. Before they start their exciting new lives in the land of plenty, Moses lectures them about the necessity of making good choices in a land filled with blessings. He reminds them that there are curses as well. Their happiness will depend, in a great measure, on what they choose. 

In many ways, you and I are still living in a “promised land, flowing with milk and honey.” In this land of freedom, we get to make choices. Our choices affect us, for good or for bad. We need that know that our freedom to choose, does not guarantee that we will make good choices. Making good choices requires, not just knowledge and freedom, but wisdom. We live in a world of unprecedented knowledge on one hand and unprecedented lack of wisdom on the other. The ability to choose from many choices does not guarantee that we will choose wisely. We live in a land full of smart people doing a whole lot of dumb things.  We know a lot of facts and we have been pumped full of information, but at the same time we live in a world knee-deep from the fall-out of people’s bad choices. The freedom to choose from a smorgasbord of choices does not guarantee that we will choose wisely.

My friends, it is important that you are not just smart, but wise. It is important that you choose wisely because your choices can bring blessing to you and those around you or they can bring ruin to you and those of us around you.

This brings me to another point. You were not created just for your own good. As Jesus says to his followers in the gospel reading last Sunday, “No one lights a lamp and puts it under a bushel basket or under a bed; he puts it on a lamp stand so that whoever comes in can see it,” and in another place, “You are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Your light must shine.” We don't make choices in a vacuum. Our choices affect other people. 

I would like to end this short homily by quoting Nelson Mandela in his first inaugural speech. He was quoting Marianne Williamson. I can think of nothing better to leave you with than these challenging words.

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel secure around you. You were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us. It’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

My friends, make good choices and let your light shine - for your own good and the good of the world in which you will live, work and raise your children, the world the rest of us have to live in as well! 

We hear a lot these days about our freedom to choose. However, that freedom does not guarantee that we will make good choices. We are all suffering from a "failure of wisdom" that is being caused by a lot of smart people making some very stupid choices.  Think before you decide because the easy thing to do is seldom the best thing to do! 

HAPPY SAINT VALENTINE'S DAY

There are numerous martyrdom stories associated with various Valentines connected to February 14, including a written account of Saint Valentine of Rome's imprisonment for performing weddings for soldiers who were forbidden to marry and for ministering to Christians persecuted under the Roman Empire. According to legend, Saint Valentine restored sight to the blind daughter of his judge, and he wrote her a letter signed "Your Valentine" as a farewell before his execution. The Feast of Saint Valentine was established by Pope Gelasius I in AD 496 to be celebrated on February 14 in honour of the Christian martyr, Saint Valentine of Rome, who died on that date in AD 269.

The day first became associated with romantic love within the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the 14th century, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. In 18th-century England, it grew into an occasion in which couples expressed their love for each other by presenting flowers, offering confectionery, and sending greeting cards (known as "valentines"). Valentine's Day symbols that are used today include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten valentines have given way to mass-produced greeting cards. 

CUPID BECAME ASSOCIATED WITH THIS FEAST

The mention of Cupid typically conjures up images of a cherubic winged infant wielding a bow and arrow, but this wasn’t always the case. Long before the Romans adopted and renamed him, Cupid was known to the Greeks as Eros, the god of love.

Armed with a bow and a quiver filled with both golden arrows to arouse desire and leaden arrows to ignite aversion, Eros struck at the hearts of gods and mortals and played with their emotions. In one story from ancient Greek mythology, which was later retold by Roman authors, Cupid (Eros) shot a golden arrow at Apollo, who fell madly in love with the nymph Daphne, but then launched a leaden arrow at Daphne so she would be repulsed by him. In another allegory, Cupid’s mother, Venus (Aphrodite), became so jealous of the beautiful mortal Psyche that she told her son to induce Psyche to fall in love with a monster. Instead, Cupid became so enamored with Psyche that he married her—with the condition that she could never see his face. Eventually, Psyche’s curiosity got the better of her and she stole a glance, causing Cupid to flee in anger. After roaming the known world in search of her lover, Psyche was eventually reunited with Cupid and granted the gift of immortality.

In the poetry of the Archaic period, Eros was represented as a handsome immortal who was irresistible to both man and gods. But by the Hellenistic period, he was increasingly portrayed as a playful, mischievous child. It is this chubby love-inducing putto that has persisted over time and has become our ubiquitous Valentine’s Day mascot.

A CATHOLIC SECOND WIND GUILD GATHERING

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Volunteer Dinner

On Sunday night, February 8,  I hosted a reunion of the volunteers who went down to the SVG Missions last summer. 

I gave them a report on the health status of fellow volunteer, Fergal Redmond (who is back in Ireland recuperating), as well as on the progress of various ministry projects in the islands.  I reported on the 16 boxes of supplies shipped just recently. 

I will be going down myself for the 13th time in mid March to lead a diocesan-wide workshop on "revitalization." When I get back, hopefully we can complete plans for their return mission trip this coming summer. 

One of the major developments, and one that could pave the way for more volunteers going down, is the hiring of a Coordinator of  Local and  International Volunteers. This person would be my local contact person down there who could assist in the recruitment and care of local and international volunteers, as well as the planning of the projects in which they will be involved. I have someone down there looking for suitable candidates for this job so that I can interview them while I am down there in March. This coordinator could definitely help propel the Catholic Second Wind Guild into its next growth phase.  




LEFT TO RIGHT
Karen Crook, Susan Sherman, Dr. Paul Sherman, Tim Tomes, Beth Kolodey and Bill Kolodey (husband of volunteer Beth Kolodey our kids computer teacher who helps us from here). 

YOU FIND WHAT YOU LOOK FOR

My fifteen year column in THE RECORD, called "An Encouraging Word," was written with these sentiments in mind. I decided that, in my column, I wanted to look for goodness to affirm, not evil to condemn. 



by
Kimber Simpkins

Have you ever noticed how as human beings, we tend to go negative?

Looking out into the world, we see the crumpled fast food bag in the street and the torn curtain in the window.

Looking into the mirror, we see the pores and dark circles under our eyes. We see the freckles and miss the dimple, or we hate the dimple and miss the smile.

Our eyes focus in on what’s wrong.

I’ve noticed it’s hard to undo this tendency in myself, though sometimes the veil drops suddenly, and I can see the beauty of the world around me.

Many years ago, a friend and I made a three-day visit to the Polish city where we were to live for a year while we taught English.

Arriving on the train, I was struck by the torn metal siding in the station and the crumbling rust of the ancient stair railings; as we walked along the sidewalk, how the entire city seemed one blocky stamped-out Soviet-era apartment building after the next.

Neither of us spoke, but I felt sure my roommate’s thoughts mirrored my own: This was where we were going to live? This worn foot sole of a town was going to be our home for a year?

Just as my mind headed in the direction of I don’t think I can live here, a tiny bird flew down a foot or so in front of my shoes, hopping a few inches here and there to nibble the tops of a tuft of grass poking out of the broken concrete.

I let my suitcase bump to a stop and watched. The bright saturated green of the grass, the pale orange stripe on the bird’s beak, the angle of sunlight against the cracked sidewalk… it was beautiful. And at that moment my heart gave a hopeful thump. There was beauty here, too. I only needed to look for it.

As humans, we have a built-in bias to see what’s not working, what needs fixing, what doesn’t measure up. In general, it’s not bad to see the negative… we avoid falling into pits by looking out for potholes. But seeing only the negative results in what I call “paper towel tube vision.”

When you look through the empty cardboard paper towel tube, you only see whatever shows through the little circle at the end of it, and nothing else. This is what we’re seeing when we see only the flaws on our cheeks and only the crumpled coffee cups on the curbs of life. We see whatever appears in that little circle and lose all perspective.

Seeing the good doesn’t mean we don’t see the bad, too. It means we throw away the paper towel tube and let our eyes take in what we don’t like and invite ourselves to see what’s good there, too. We let ourselves see it all, the big panoramic view that acknowledges that we are more than any mistake or flaw or misdeed.

Imagine letting your mind unfold like a vast, exquisite map laid out on a table. Seeing the bigger picture can be an awesome way to see yourself with more love.

Make a habit of looking for the good. Catch yourself looking at the world—or at yourself—with a narrow, negative view. Then step back mentally and spread out your awareness.

See with the eyes of your heart. Look for something that’s working, something sweet, something lovely, something that opens you up.

Look for the good in people, even people you wouldn’t want to sit over dinner with.

Look for the good in the mirror.

Let looking for the good become a new default for you, and give yourself credit when you’re able to hold whatever’s happening with that big perspective and big heart.