We bring our whole selves to prayer, to worship - to this Holy Week. And it's no secret that we bring with us the sadder chapters of our Catholic story, written over past seven years and more.
Vigilant efforts to insure that the tragic past be dealt with honestly and effectively sometimes keep us from the joy that life, prayer and ministry in the Church still offer in abundance. We've all known moments when a joyful moment in Church life or conversation is not allowed to pass without an obligatory nod to the negative.
It's an added sadness if the past starves us of the joy we need to serve, heal and nurture the life of the Church.
So it's a blessing that Bishop Terry Steib, SVD of the Diocese of Memphis (he of the joyful face above) has written a pastoral letter titled, Living Our Catholicism: That Our Joy May Be Complete. The letter is available as a PDF file on the internet edition of The West Tennessee Catholic.
I've only had a chance to take a quick look at Steib's text but I'll be giving it a closer reading after Easter. I know I need to hear this message in my own life and ministry and I'm sure I'm not alone in that.
-ConcordPastor
I too have given it a brief look- and I think that this may make me "outrageously happy."
ReplyDeleteWow.
A pastoral letter on joy - just wow.
I just read Bishop Steib's letter. What an extraordinary teacher and pastoral man he is! This letter would make an excellent addition to any RCIA program. And if we only could live the way Bishop Steib outlines, what a beautiful world it would be!
ReplyDeleteRosemary