I am challenging the men of our parish to become a principle membership group of the Catholic Men’s Fellowship in representing Christ the Servant. If you look at the groups already participating – Christ the Servant – should be on the list - forming a group within the CMF. I also am inviting our Men’s Club – an active group of men – who are both leaders in faith and in service to the Church – to become active in the CMF. Some of the members of our men’s club represent other parishes – this need not change, as they would be representing their own parishes. However, I would hope that the Men’s Club members of Christ the Servant would serve as a catalyst. Likewise our leadership from Christ the Servant representing our Boy Scouts would be a welcome addition. The fraternity within our parish can become key players in contributing to the Catholic Men’s Fellowship as a powerful witness of faith and service within our diocese. I would like to see fathers and their high school age/college age son(s) represent the parish.
You may view more about the Catholic Men’s Fellowship by visiting http://www.cmfdoy.org/
"What we must Face"
What We Must Face written by Fr. John Kavanaugh, S.J., is for me a rather compelling editorial. I share his thoughts, “The mystery of Christ is the center, and it is to this that we should be calling former Catholics back. Just as leaders of a nation must call its citizens to a common good beyond any particular vested interest, so also leaders of our church must call the disaffected not merely back to the church but to the One without whom the church has no real legitimacy or mission… If we Catholics all return home to our true center, we will indeed have a bounty of “welcome-homes.” Coming back to a church focused on Christ rather than itself, some who have left us may discover what they are looking for when they left. And all of us might find ourselves newly empowered to challenge a disordered culture, just as courageously as our Lord did.”
Fr. Kavanaugh notes that the top three religious groups in the United States are Catholics, then Baptists, then former Catholics. He asks, “ Should this prod us, commissioned to pass on the faith, to ask some probing questions of ourselves?”
Perhaps some of these questions are applicable in reflecting on Catholic education. I have seen the values of Catholic education listed to incorporate: strong academics, dedicated teachers, discipline, safe environment, and included on the list- faith. Faith is perceived as one value choice among others. I do not believe that faith is one choice or option among others in choosing Catholic education. Faith in Christ is The Center – The goal of Catholic education is empowered and inspired by our faith in Jesus Christ – Christ is the reality of the Catholic Community – the Body of Christ.
Faith in Christ defines the mission – which in turn empowers our Catholic schools to become places of transformation, in which competent, courageous and compassionate leaders for the 21st Century are formed. It is the mission that will enable the formation of character and virtue as a goal – accomplished through excellence in academics; service to others built on the foundations of Catholic social teaching; healthy competition in athletics and the creative exploration of extracurricular talent – just to name a few. What we must face – is a defining moment for the Catholic Church – in a disordered culture.
[Fr. Kavanaugh’s editorial – is in the Jan.16 issue of America.]
The Cross of Christ in a Servant Community
St. Paul in Galatians says, “But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified and me to it.” As I get older the symbol of our faith that was “scandal to the Jews and folly to the Greeks” seems to take on a deeper meaning. I never want to give the impression that suffering is good –or- that the violence against another person can be dismissed as the will of God. However as St. Ignatius Loyola reminds us, “There is no wood better to kindle the fire of holy love than the wood of the cross whom Christ used for his own great sacrifice of boundless love.”
What I do want to emphasize is that there is a connection between the recent celebration of the Incarnation- Christmas, Jesus entire life, and the Cross. Only when we see the three together does it provide a horizon for us in the culture of our day. The incarnation tells us of God’s love for the world. Not a remote, distant power, but rather a God who loves us; a God who so wants to share the depth of human experience. One writer even changes the old catechism answer to the question of “Why God made us?” to “God made us so that God could know, love, and serve us , and to be happy with us forever.” This is self-giving love; this is the vulnerability of God, whose “power” is shown in “powerless – suffering love.”
In fact it has been said that Calvary was not merely in Jerusalem, but “Calvary is the heart of God”, and that the voice of God’s pain is found everyday in the voice of the poor, the oppressed, those marginalized and disenfranchised, the homeless and the forgotten. This fact is exemplified throughout the life of Jesus with all he encountered – just open the Gospels- “Whoever sees me, sees the Father.”
The danger for us in understanding the cross is that we can spiritualize our understanding of salvation – seeing salvation as totally removed from the social reality of this world and the pain and suffering of this world. Salvation and in fact Resurrection becomes a utopian dream that we desire to achieve without the cross. Is Alleluia easier to sing without a cross in the shadow?
Our attitude – disposition - must be that of Christ becoming more than a pious meditation. It means accepting the mission of Christ and the values of God’s reign – discerning carefully the values of our culture. Again, this has profound implications for us as a Church, and for our community of faith. The cross is the symbol of the servant Christ, into whose life we have been baptized. It should be impossible to look at the cross and remain detached – from the uniqueness of our journey within a servant community. LGaetano
Past Civilizations, Present Faith
Many years ago when I first visited Rome, I was able to visit the ruins of a past civilization: the remnants of the Roman Senate and the Coliseum. I learned that Roman practice was to cover the old buildings with earth rather than to demolish the buildings. The earth preserved the former ‘civilization’ buried beneath. Exploring the excavations was exciting seeing the ‘layers’ of the past buried beneath the surface.
Beneath the Vatican were the tombs, as well as the past manifestations of the church in the form of altars, statues, frescos, etc. In the Church of St. Clement, we explored three levels – the one immediately under the present church and the original. The herringbone design, in the floor of what was originally a home, was the first layer preserved by the earth over the centuries. Several years ago, when in El Salvador, I visited the ruins of the Mayan civilization – only the remnants of the indigenous people remain in artifacts and in population.
Following the New Year celebration of Mass here at Christ the Servant, I had the opportunity to travel north on Interstate 75 into Detroit. I drove past abandoned buildings -- corporate offices closed, factories with empty acres of parking, churches of all denominations closed, huge Catholic churches and schools for sale -- neighborhoods literally boarded up. In a very real sense past "civilizations" gone - only the remnants of once thriving communities.
I was reminded of the indigenous civilizations in Central America, the native American civilization here in the United States - with only remnants still on reservations; the African continent, once rich in identity, westernized - and in many cases abandoned, left struggling to survive famine, wars and AIDS, and mineral exploitation. Could it be that we have allowed the unrestrained quest for power, an unbridled trust in technology and progress, and the power of greed to leave these remnants of dying "civilizations" in our time?
Perhaps our desire for our own autonomy – our desire to live without reference to God, in our moral and ethical decisions and choices, in our politics and economics, at our family table and in our schools – has been granted by God. Our God loves us and respects our freedom to choose – even on our part – to remove God from our daily lives. Yet God continues to love us. We have many challenges before us as a Catholic people. Hopefully our faith will not become a remnant of a past “civilization,” but rather our faith will enable us to hear God speaking to us in our time and sharing with us a vision of a world that is compassionate, demonstrating respect and solidarity with others, and is a welcome home - where justice and peace reign unchallenged.
Vocation to the Priesthood and Religious Life: When you least expect it.
I remember the first time I ever thought of becoming a priest. I was in the third grade here at Our Lady of Peace School. My third grade teacher was Sr. Elizabeth Ann; the pastor was Msgr. Paul Marceau and the parochial vicar was Fr. John Summers. The day was a normal class day with the exception that Fr. Summers was teaching our religion class that particular day. Being my usual good self - for some unknown reason Fr. Summers called me to the front of the room. He told me to take a seat on the floor by the side of the desk. Again, I can’t even imagine what would have possessed him to single me out – it surely couldn’t have been that I was – not paying attention – or goofing off.
Anyway, I remember watching him from the side of the desk teaching – and it was then and there that I thought, “I want to be a priest like him.” From that day forward the priesthood was always in the back of my mind – sometime way in the back of it – but never really absent. There were times I tried to forget about it- in fact there were days I tried to bury it – but somehow the thought really never left for very long. In high school it resurfaced even in the midst of numerous distractions. Other vocation options were thought about, but the vocation to the priesthood was always present. Through it all I believe that the Lord was calling and leading me - sometimes along really crooked paths.
On the day of my ordination I remember walking up the aisle feeling at peace with where God had led me. Today, I still am at peace, and I can truthfully say that I have never regretted a day that I have been a priest. Each day has its challenges, but each day is filled with an inner joy and peace – not ever knowing what God has planned on any particular day. With our prayers and example as a community – maybe one of our young people here at Christ the Servant – will come to hear God’s call – and will find a similar peace and joy, in serving the Lord in the priesthood or the religious life.
Doing the World the Way it was meant to be done.
As we begin this New Year 2012 - the month of January named for the Roman god Janus, provides an image of looking toward the future, yet aware of the past. Janus has been called the god of new beginnings and transitions, being also the god of “middle ground.”
As we enter 2012, our local, national and global scene seems to be one of polarization. The divisions are found in politics, economics and in religion – just to name a few. Many representing each area seem to move to the extreme left or the extreme right - with little room for a center or middle ground. Economically, the growing gap between the rich and the poor continues to reduce in size the middle class; politically, conservative and liberal labels allow little room for developing partnerships of conciliation for the common good; religiously, the fundamentalist and relativist disregard a center meeting point. Economic crisis after crisis, political gridlock, and religious intolerance continue to create an environment of instability, suspicion, and incredulity within our world community. For those with religious sensibilities the issues are multiple, particularly those affecting the Roman Catholic Community.
I have always prided myself in being a centrist – a little left of center – but never seeing myself as either far left or right. Even that position is rather arbitrary depending on who defines the center point. I remember many years ago an African bishop commenting on the liturgical changes that were occurring in the western world – namely within our first world countries. The lines were being drawn concerning communion in the hand, kneeling or not kneeling, ministers of the altar, etc. His comment was that while these issues are major concerns for us – his concerns in his own country were issues of drought, famine, AIDS, lack of medicine and medical personnel, etc. It seemed to make our issues – or my issues – rather inconsequential. From my own experience it is easy to lose the focus and the center of our lives as a community of faith. What is that center and focus? Jesus Christ.
I referred a few weeks ago a statement from a theologian commenting that our job as Church is to “do the world the way it was meant to be done.” From the time I first read that statement it has been playing in my mind and heart. “Doing the world the way it was meant to be done”, certainly reminds me that the focus on the least and the lost of our world could enable our world to center itself. Finding our center in Jesus Christ does not negate our need for self-realization, self-fulfillment, and self-actualization; however it does require an emerging self-transcendence - being able to rise above the polarization. In that transcendence we can discover our reference to God, and even the forgotten Christ – in the voiceless poor, the nameless homeless, the hungry dying. Encountering Christ – can bring us to a center in 2012, in “doing the world that way it was meant to be done. “
A Way of saying “YES”
We believe that each child attending our Center for Early Learning and Our Lady of Peace School has the potential for becoming their truest self - as intended by God. Within those formative years of education, our children are provided the means of hearing the “Yes” that will echo throughout their lives. It is that “Yes” that enables each child, within a diverse community, to see themselves and others with respect and dignity, bringing to a greater fulfillment their inherent gifts and talents. Living and learning in a caring and safe place where each has the freedom to say “Yes” to the person emerging from deep within - is a lifelong project - that begins here.
The spiritual, social, creative and emotional lives of our children cannot be separated from the intellectual and physical development. Rather than limiting the goal of education to the objective standards of learning, the core values of Respect, Responsibility and Community combine to create an environment that says “Yes” to the integration and engagement of the whole child. Our goal is to say “Yes” so that our children not only to become good students but also become good people.
Our children are most truly themselves when they are able to say “Yes” to what is true and good. We believe that each child can say “Yes” in their ability to genuinely care for those at home and in school -affirming their goodness and the goodness of the others. Rather than competition becoming the criteria of interaction- our core values create an atmosphere of collaboration. Our students are invited to develop an attitude in which interdependence becomes the model of relationship, which in turn enables our children to understand the motives, values and reasons for their decisions and choices within a community of respect and responsibility. Building the foundation for good moral and ethical behavior consistent with Catholic social teaching is saying “Yes” to a future world that is also safe and caring.
Those for whom our Center for Early Learning and Our Lady of Peace School becomes home – are encouraged to say “Yes” to a unique way of living - a community of faith - where the circle of experience and the interdependence within the community continues to widen. It is our belief that given the opportunity of seeing themselves within a larger context - our students are enabled to say “Yes” in thinking, understanding, and communicating from the “inside out.” LGaetano