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For a few days, I'm moving the widget for the Catholic TV video player to the top of my sidebar.

See it over there?

With that widget you can watch a variety of programming produced by CatholicTV right here on my page.

Try it out!

I've pulled that widget to the top of the sidebar to get your attention and invite you to help CatholicTV grow. Here's the invitation:

Join the team and help bring The CatholicTV Network not only into your home, but into the homes of your neighbors, friends and fellow parishioners. Fill out this simple form to join our list of supporters.

It doesn't cost a cent to sign up as a supporter and it won't take you more than a minute to complete the simple form.

When you follow the link to the form you'll see a menu there to help you find where CatholicTV is already available and you'll also find help for contacting cable and satellite providers to encourage them to add Catholic TV to their schedule.

(If you click on the last link in the previous paragraph, you'll find that CatholicTV director Fr. Bob Reed appears on your screen, walking around the sidebar, talking to you and pointing out features on the page. I just hope some day I'll be able to do the same thing on my blog!)

But until then, I've signed up -- and hope you will, too!


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Of barns and (not) preaching on them

Red Barn with Ramp by Casey Klahn

Not too late to prepare to hear the Word!

The readings for this Sunday's liturgy and commentary on them (plus tips for helping children prepare to hear the Word) can be found at this earlier post. For another image and a strong, bracing quote from St. Basil on filling barns and closets, see this post.

This is the annual weekend when my parish will host a mission preacher who will speak at all the weekend Masses. It's one of those rare times when preparing a Sunday homily hasn't colored my whole week's experience. It's nice to have the time provided when a homily doesn't need to be prepared, but it also leaves a certain emptiness...

I realized this week how my homily preparation prompts me to post through the week on the coming Sunday's scriptures - and how posting keeps me focused on preparing a homily: a win-win, for sure!


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Link of the Day: Today's Parish Blog

It's good to know that Pope Benedict recognizes the importance of the Internet in the ministry of parish priests and recommends that pastors make use of the media available to them.

Priests are thus challenged to proclaim the Gospel by employing the latest generation of audiovisual resources (images, videos, animated features, blogs, websites) which, alongside traditional means, can open up broad new vistas for dialogue, evangelization and catechesis.

(Message for World Communications Day 2010)

Yesterday I came across this article by Nick Wagner on Why Pastors Must Blog. I was struck that the title used the word "must" and not "should." Nick answers two important questions here that many pastors might have: Does a pastor have enough time to blog and what would a pastor blog about? His responses are sound and helpful. Non-blogging pastors reading this post should definitely follow the link to this piece.

Nick's fine article led me to explore Today's Parish Blog, a service of Today's Parish Magazine which Nick serves as its editor. This is a great resource for folks in parish ministry. Just-the-right-size posts that won't take an hour of your time but will benefit you and those you minister with and to. Here's an example: Twelve Questions for Spiritual Growth, a dozen question that would be great conversation starters for any parish staff.

Take a look and I'll bet you'll agree that my choice of Today's Parish Blog as Link of the Day is a good choice. From now on you'll find Today's Parish Blog on my sidebar.



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On building barns and filling closets...

Photo by Tom Fritsch

H/T to Joseph Komonchak via Deacon Greg for this quote from St. Basil the Great

Were you not naked when you came out of the womb? Will you not be naked when you return to the earth?

Where did the things you now possess come from?

If you say they just appeared spontaneously, then you are an atheist because you do not acknowledge the Creator and show no gratitude towards the one who gave them to you.

But if you say they are from God, tell us the reason why you received them.

Or is it that God is unjust because he unequally divides among us the things of this life?

Why are you rich while that other man is poor? Is it not perhaps so that you might receive wages for kindheartedness and faithful stewardship and so that he may be honored with great prizes because of his endurance?

When you hoard all these things in the insatiable bosom of greed, do you suppose that you do nothing wrong in cheating so many people?

Who is a greedy man? Someone who is not content with what is sufficient. Who is a cheater? Someone who takes what belongs to others. And are you not a greedy man, are you not a cheater, when you take the things you received for the sake of stewardship and make them your own?

Anyone who takes a man who is clothed and renders him naked would be termed a robber; but does someone who fails to clothe the naked when he is able to do so deserve any other appellation?

The bread you are holding back belongs to the hungry; the coat you keep in your closet belongs to the naked; the shoes moldering in your closet belong to the shoeless; the silver you hide in a safe place belongs to the needy. Thus, the more there are whom you could help, the more there are whom you are wronging.

- St. Basil's Homily on the saying of the Gospel According to Luke, “I will pull down my barns and build bigger ones,” and on greed), §7 (PG 31, 276B – 277A)

Basil's words can brace us for pondering the scriptures for this coming Sunday's liturgy:

There was a rich man who said,
"I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones to store all my goods..."

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And it shall be opened unto you... UPDATED

Window and Ladder:Too Late for Help by Leandro Erlich
Image source: Illusion360

Over at Blue Eyed Ennis, Phil relates an interesting story to go along with the image above, musing further on the text in last week's gospel: Knock and it shall be opened to you.

The image above shares some similarities with one I used in a post here last week.

UPDATE:
Take a look at the posts in Phil's series: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4.


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Back to School Prayers 2010

.

.

For an UPDATED version 

of this post, 

click HERE!

A warm welcome from ConcordPastor to readers searching for "Back to School Prayers" for students, parents of students, and teachers. I hope you'll visit again or: Subscribe to A Concord Pastor Comments

Many students, teachers and school personnel are now returning to the classrooms while others won't be at their desks until after Labor Day. Checking the "search words" that bring readers to this page indicates that folks are looking for prayers related to the opening of schools and a new academic year. Here are some prayers I hope you'll find helpful. The first three are from my keyboard, the last two from Diana Macalintal, Director of the Office of Worship for the San Jose, CA diocese and author of the blog, Work of the People:


• A Student's Prayer
• A Parent's Prayer for Students
• A Teacher's Prayer
• A Parent's Prayer When a Daughter Leaves Home
• A Parent's Prayer When a Son Leaves Home

You might think of praying the Student's Prayer with your children on the first day of school. Some families pray these words every Monday morning as a new school week begins. And the prayers for parents? Well, I know some moms and dads who pray those words just about every day!

In addition to backpacks and lunch kits, the refrigerator door makes a good home for these texts. In my parish we have the Student's Prayer printed as a bookmark which we distribute at Mass along with a blessing for students and school personnel at the beginning of the new academic year.

Parents, grandparents, godparents and aunts and uncles: share these prayers with the ones you love and with anyone you think would benefit from them.

Parish personnel: please feel to copy and use these prayers. Diana and I ask only that you include the credit line as indicated after each prayer below.

+ + +

A Student's Prayer

Help me remember that you’re always by my side
at school and all day long.
Help me be the best student I can be,
using all the gifts and talents you’ve given me.
Help me study well and often
– especially when I don’t feel like studying at all!
Help me finish all my homework – on time.
Help me listen to my teachers and coaches.
Help me play fair and play safely,
Help me be honest when I’m tempted to cheat.
Help me always tell the truth.
Help me be kind to everyone at school
and to treat others as I’d want them to treat me.
Help me make good friends
and help me be a good friend to others.
Help me know how I can help others
and to ask for help when I need it myself.
Help me love and respect, trust and appreciate my parents
- and to be honest with them.
Help me remember that you’re with me always, Lord,
and that you’ll never leave my side.
Amen.

ConcordPastor.blogspot. com

+ + +

A Parents' Prayer for Students

Dear Lord,
As my children leave for school,
I pray that you will keep them in your care.
Send your Spirit to open their minds
to all that is true and beautiful and good.
Help them to see the gifts and talents
you have given them and to use them well.
Help them to grow in knowledge and wisdom.
Help them to be kind to others
and lead others be kind to them.
Give their teachers patience and understanding
and help them teach what is just and true.
Send your angels to guide and guard my children
and to keep them from all harm.
Open their young hearts to your presence
and enfold them in your peace and protection.
Hold them in the palm of your hand
and bring them home safely at day's end.
Amen.
ConcordPastor.blogspot.com

+ + +

A Teacher's Prayer

Dear God,
A new school year is about to begin
and my classroom door will soon open
to the students you've assigned to my care...
Open my mind and heart to each of them
and especially to the ones
who will challenge me the most...
Help me challenge my students, all of them,
to study, to learn, to grow in knowledge
and even a little wisdom...
Help me remember, Lord,
how young my students are:
give me patience to help them grow up
and insight to know the help they need...
Help me to understand that sometimes
my students may not understand me:
may I be clear in the things I say and do,
and in how I say and do them…
My students don't know the burdens and worries
my heart brings to the classroom,
so help me remember, Lord,
how anxious and heavy my students' hearts may be...
Keep me from favoring any particular students, Lord,
except for those who most need my help...
Let my decisions in the classroom
be fair and just, honest and true...
Send your Spirit to fill me with gifts
of knowledge and understanding, counsel and wisdom…
Lord, open my mind and heart to my students' parents,
especially those who will challenge me the most...
Help me challenge parents to challenge their children
to study, to learn and to grow...
Help me to teach as you would, Lord:
help me be understanding when I need to be firm,
gentle in all things,
and patient until the last bell rings…

A new school year is about to begin, Lord,
and I wonder,
what will you teach me today?

Amen.
ConcordPastor.blogspot.com

+ + +

Many mothers and fathers are sending sons and daughters away to college. For both parents and children, this rite of passage is often moistened with tears and burdened by aching hearts. Here's Diana Macalintal's Empty Nester's Prayer in two versions: one for a daughter, one for a son.

+ + +

A Parent’s Prayer When A Daughter Leaves Home

Gracious God, you blessed me with the gift of my child
and entrusted me with her care.
Now she leaves this home and begins a new life apart from me.
Surround her with good people and watch over her each day.
And let her know that I will always be near
whenever she may need me.
Heal any hurts we may harbor with each other
and forgive our failings
as we learn to be in a new kind of relationship with each other.
And when the sight of her empty room
pierces my heart with sadness,
may I find comfort in knowing that my child is your child too,
filled with your grace and sheltered by your love.
Amen.
© 2009 Diana Macalintal: TeamRCIA.com

+ + +

A Parent’s Prayer When A Son Leaves Home

Gracious God, you blessed me with the gift of my child
and entrusted me with his care.
Now he leaves this home and begins a new life apart from me.
Surround him with good people and watch over him each day.
And let him know that I will always be near
whenever he may need me.
Heal any hurts we may harbor with each other
and forgive our failings
as we learn to be in a new kind of relationship with each other.
And when the sight of his empty room
pierces my heart with sadness,
may I find comfort in knowing that my child is your child too,
filled with your grace and sheltered by your love.
Amen.
© 2009 Diana Macalintal: TeamRCIA.com



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Prayer for a warm summer's day

Like Butter

Morning sun pours
through wide open windows
warming my legs,
loosening my limbs

A golden mercy
melting, softening me
like butter
for batter, for baking

Fold me into your arms,
sweet morning Jesus,
fold me into your arms,
sweet Jesus man!

Image source


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Word for the Weekend: I shall build bigger barns!

Ends of Barns by Georgia O'Keefe
It's never too early in the week to look ahead to the scriptures for the following weekend's liturgy. On the weekend of July 31/August 1 (can it be August already?) we'll be celebrating the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

You'll find the readings and commentary on them here and those of you escorting children to Mass will find hints for helping them prepare to hear the Word here. (And adults may find help at that children's site as well!)

The first lesson comes from Ecclesiastes and reminds us that "All things are vanity!" That's to say: much of what we prize is really futile and useless. These ancient words will not fail to touch us in this cyber age. Ecclesiastes prepares us to hear from Luke's gospel where Jesus reminds us of the folly of storing up all our stuff (in bigger and bigger barns!) while remaining poor in what matters to God. Again, these 1st century words have something important to speak to our hearts today.

The second lesson sounds a similar message: "Think of what is above, not of what is on earth... for Christ is all and in all." Writing to the Colossians, Paul teaches us about the new person we become in baptism: how we must put the old self and its practices to death and put on the new self which is being renewed in the image of its creator.

Are you baptized? Want to see what St. Paul believes you need to put to death that you might renewed in the Creator's image? Here's his list.


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Celebrating Jesus' grandparents!

On the liturgical calendar today is the feast of Saint Joachim and Saint Anne: parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary, grandparents of Jesus and St. Joseph's in-laws. (That's all of them to the left!) Yes, Jesus had grandparents and Joachim and Anne are fitting patron saints for our own grandparents - and for our in-laws, too. The scriptures tell us nothing of Mary's parents but legend and tradition assign them the names this day celebrates.

It was in the womb of her mother, Anne, that Mary was immaculately conceived. Although many Catholics are confused on this point, the Immaculate Conception refers to Mary's conception in Anne's womb, not Jesus' conception in Mary's womb.

I have a particular affection for St. Anne and her holy family for a number of reasons. When I was a child, my parents brought my sister and me to the shrine of St. Anne de Beaupre, just outside of Quebec city in Canada. It was a memorable trip on which we also visited Notre Dame du Cap.

My first assignment after ordination (1973) was to St. Ann Parish in the Wollaston section of Quincy. The people of there warmly welcomed a newly ordained priest who made plenty of mistakes in his first years in ministry! After five years in Wollaston, I went to study and work at the University of Notre Dame, returning in 1978 to begin nine years of campus ministry at Northeastern University and Emerson College at St. Ann University Parish in the Back Bay. Having been assigned to two parishes under the patronage of St. Anne, interrupted by four years at the University named for Anne's daughter, Our Lady, I was not surprised to be assigned in 1991 to St. Joseph Parish in Medway, named after Mary's husband.

From there I was assigned to another parish under Mary's watchful care, Our Lady Help of Christians, and then to Holy Family, a parish named after Mary, Joseph and Jesus! No small coincidence: St. Bernard Church is named for a saint who had a particular devotion to Mary and to whom is attributed the beautiful prayer, the Memorare.

Happy feast of St. Joachim and St. Anne to you all!

The icon above, Whole Holy Family, is by Bro. Michael McGrath depicting Anne and Joachim, Mary and Joseph, the Christ Child, the Holy Spirit and a couple of pets from the Holy Household!


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Monday Morning Offering - 103

Image: George Mendoza

Good morning, good God!

Yesterday morning at Mass,
the lyrics were so beautiful,
drawing me in, Lord,
singing me into your presence:

Sing God a simple song,
lauda, laude
Make it up as you go along,
lauda, laude
Sing like you like to sing,
God loves all simple things
for God is the simplest of all...

You are the simplest of all, Lord,
but when I come to you in prayer,
or even think about coming to you in prayer,
I can make things so needlessly complicated...

I try to "make time" for prayer
-- as though there are many things in my life
more important than spending some time with you...
I forget that unlike busy old me
you're always ready to meet me in prayer,
never too busy to sit down with me
or take a walk;
your calendar is always open for me,
you're never too busy to get together for a while
or just to meet, quietly, in the world behind my eyes,
closed for just a moment..

What an amazing grace, Lord!
I finally "make time" to pray,
I'm not even sure what to say -
and you're simply pleased
that I've come to you...

Remind me that finding time for prayer is simple, Lord:
the time is there for the taking...

I worry about what to say when I pray,
forgetting that you're always ready
to pick up our conversation where we left off
even if I've forgotten when last we spoke
or what we talked about...

While I worry about what to say
you're simply happy that I've showed up again!
You're pleased with my prayer
even when it has no words -
you're pleased with the prayer of my presence...

I make prayer a complicated affair
when I worry about what to say,
and how to say it and the right way to say it -
as if you might possibly turn down my prayer
because I stumbled in finding the "right words"
(or found no words at all)
to speak all my heart had to say...

I forget that you understand completely
the prayer of my tears, the groans of my pain,
the shivers of my fears, the silence of my sorrow
and the peaceful sigh of finding myself,
finally, again, in your presence...

I don't need special words, Lord,
and I know you're pleased
when I "make it up as I go along"
for those are the words that come
not from a book but from my heart...

Remind me that finding words for prayer is simple, Lord:
I need only speak your name, or sit in peaceful silence...

I forget that it's you who calls me to prayer, Lord,
that you know what's on my mind and in my heart
even before I think to pray...

Your love for me is simple, Lord:
you wait for me always,
even when I've been away a long time;
you welcome me warmly
even when I've strayed from your Word;
you look me in the eye
even when I can't look back into yours;
you open your arms to me
even when I've been unfaithful;
you are there for me, everywhere,
even when I've ignored your presence...

I don't need the words and wisdom of saints
to come to you in prayer, Lord:
I need only simple things:
to thank you for my blessings,
praise you for your glory,
ask pardon for my failures,
help in my troubles
and the grace to be, even a little,
as simple as you are, Lord...

Remind me that meeting you in prayer is simple, Lord:
it's like meeting and speaking with an old friend,
a good friend who loves me as I am...

Help me, Lord, to "sing like I like to sing"
and to pray like I like to pray
and to find myself in your presence
whenever your Spirit moves me to pray...

I offer you my uncomplicated prayer, Lord,
and ask you to receive me
into the simplicity of your presence and your heart...

Open me to the simple ways in which those around me
remind me of your presence and call me to prayer...

Make simpler my ways that others might find in me
the simple peace you share with us all...

Remind me, Lord, that in my spiritual life the rule is,
"The simpler the better!"
You love all simple things, Lord:
show me how you love my simple self and my simple prayer...

This is my simple Monday morning prayer, Lord,
I offer it today and all through the week ahead...

Lauda, lauda, laude
Lauda, lauda, di da di day,
all of my days...

Amen.




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Sing God a simple song, lauda, laude...

At Mass this morning, while the gifts were presented and the altar prepared, our cantor sang A Simple Song from Leonard Bernstein's MASS: A Theatre Piece for Singers, Players, and Dancers. It's one of my favorite pieces of music and it was beautifully sung and accompanied on the piano. It's a piece that brings me to a place where I might sit in the Lord's presence and "sort out" with him what's on my mind and in my heart. Since this piece followed my homily (one post down) I thought to offer it to you here. This morning we heard it from a soprano voice, but the recording here is from baritone Alan Titus who sang the role of the "Celebrant" in the original production in 1971.




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Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door...

Image: Embody

Homily for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time(Scriptures for today's liturgy)

Audio for homily


Have you ever prayed for something and got just what you asked for?
Or have you ever prayed for something and didn’t get what you asked for
- or worse - you got something you didn’t want at all?

Have you ever bargained back and forth with God,
(as Abraham did with the Lord in the first scripture)
hoping to sweet-talk God into doing or giving you what you want?

Abraham’s plea-bargaining ends with the Lord pledging
to spare the city for the sake of 10 innocent persons.
That’s where the 18th chapter of Genesis and our first reading end.
But you’ll remember from 19th chapter of Genesis
that 10 innocent persons were NOT found.
Only Lot and his wife and their two daughters escaped
and the city and everyone else in them were destroyed.

Makes you wonder, doesn’t it…
What if Abraham had dickered the Lord down to 3 innocent people?

But the story is much more about persistent familiarity with God
than it is about getting what you want.
Jesus counsels the same in the gospel today,
urging us to petition God just as we might nag a best friend --
and to trust that God, like a good mother or father,
will never give his children anything bad or harmful
but will always give us the power of his Spirit
to help us through whatever hard times we face.

Still, as true as I know these teachings of Jesus to be,
I also know the pain (my own and others’),
the pain of praying persistently for something good
but not having that prayer answered as we had hoped,
as we had prayed, it might be.

Especially when times are tough
and what we’re praying for is something good and even selfless,
it’s hard to understand why an all-powerful God doesn’t act,
doesn’t intervene as we pray he will.

Now, I have no inside info on the mind of God,
on how and why God chooses to respond to our prayer as he does.
But there is something to be said about how we pray.
Just recently I read this short description of prayer:

Prayer is the place where we sort out our desires
and where we ourselves are sorted out
by the desires we choose to follow…*

Our wants, our needs, our desires are many - and we pray for them.
Some of our desires are very good - and others not so good.
Some desires are selfless and some are selfish.
Some desires shape our lives for the better and others - not so much.

In so many ways our lives are shaped by what we desire, what we long for,
what we believe we need and can’t do without.

It’s certainly a good and commendable practice to pray for particular needs,
and for the needs of particular persons.
But what of our prayer outside the times of need and crisis?
Do we have a way of praying that prepares us to pray in the hard times?
A way of praying that helps us face the hard times when they come?
A way of praying that helps us face the times
when God doesn't answer our prayers as we had hoped?
• What if we were to sit down with the Lord, regularly,
and ask him to help us sort out our desires, our wants,
our fantasies and dreams, our needs?

• What if we were to ask the Lord, in prayer,
to help us see how our desires and choices are shaping us and our happiness?

• What if we were to pray,
“Lord what do you ask of me? What do you seek from me?
What do you need from me? What do you desire for me?”

• Suppose, in prayer, we were to ask the Lord to help us ask only
for what will truly make us happy,
for what will shape us to be the persons he made us to be...

• Suppose, in prayer, we were to ask the Lord to help us seek only
whatever will help us grow in his love and grace...• Suppose, in prayer, we were to ask the Lord to help us know
which doors to knock on? to seek only those doors
that open to what is truly good for us and those who depend on us?

If that’s how we regularly prayed,
then how differently might we hear Jesus when he says,“Everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds;
and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”

What are we asking for?
What are we seeking?
What doors are we knocking on?

“Prayer is a place where we sort out our desires
and where we ourselves are sorted out
by the desires we choose to follow…

“Prayer enlarges our desire
until it receives God’s desire for us.
In prayer, we grow big enough to house God’s desire in us…*

And God’s desire in us is his Spirit,
the Spirit he promised to those who pray...

The place where we’ve gathered to pray is a place for “sorting out…”

Once a week we set aside our own desires and needs to come here,
to gather with our brothers and sisters in prayer.

We began by praying for God’s mercy and forgiveness,
forgiveness for the times we chose to seek and ask for the wrong things,
to knock on the wrong doors.

We listened then to God’s Word, hoping that the Lord’s wisdom
might help us sort out our own lives and the choices we make
that shape us and our happiness.

And in a few minutes we'll go to the Lord’s Table,
praying that our hearts have grown large enough
to house God’s desire dwelling within us,in the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist.

So let us pray...that the Lord will help us receive what we truly need to ask for;
that he will help us seek what we truly need to find;
that he will open for us the doors that lead us deeper into his heart.

*Ann and Barry Ulanov in: Primary Speech: a Psychology of Prayer Subscribe to A Concord Pastor Comments

Shabbat Shalom!

Image source: Liz

I know I'm on the wrong end of the weekend for wishing you Shabbat Shalom but I didn't want to wait until Friday to post this.

H/T to my friend, KPD, for sending along a link to this fine NYT article on the Sabbath. And don't miss the comments following the article!

Judith Shulevitz does a fine job here of raising the question of the Sabbath in what might be called a post-Sabbath culture. The article prodded me to do some thinking about the Sabbath, how I keep 0r fail to keep) it and how Christians might think of reappropriating the Sabbath rest in times which seem to know no rest.

Follow the link - it's worth the trip and the article is not lengthy. I'd be interested in hearing from you...
- In what if any ways is the Sabbath a day different than the other 6 in your life?
- Is worship a constant in your Sabbath experience?
- Are your Sabbath practices supported by others in your household?
- Is the Sabbath a day of rest for you? how so?
- If the Sabbath is not markedly different from the rest of your week, would you like to see that change?
- How would you describe the Sabbath you'd like to be part of your week on a regular basis?


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Knock and the door will be opened to you...

Sunny Depression by Yoko (click on image for larger version)

The image above is a good one to ponder as we prepare to hear the Lord tell us this weekend:

And I tell you, ask and you will receive;
seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks, receives;
and the who seeks, finds;
and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened...

What doors am I knocking on? Is it closed? locked? ajar?
What's behind the door? What do I hope to find behind the door?
Are there other doors open to me?
What keeps me on this side of the door? Is it locked? Have I tried the handle?
Who will open the door? Is it a door I can open?

For this weekend's readings, commentary on them and other images, read here and here.


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Our absent brothers and sisters...

The Archdiocese of Boston has announced plans for implementing a program used in many Catholic dioceses: Catholics Come Home:

Catholics Come Home is an outreach initiative of the Archdiocese of Boston seeking to communicate the immense love of God, especially to those Catholics whose connection with the Church has become weak or has been broken.

This evangelization outreach will be conducted in conjunction with CatholicsComeHome.org, a national Catholic lay apostolate. There are two broad aspects of this effort of the New Evangelization

• Television commercials that convey an inviting and positive message about living as a Catholic
• Parish outreach and welcome by which Catholics reach out with a more personal invitation to friends, neighbors and family members and parishes provide opportunities to help people establish or re-establish a relationship with Jesus Christ in the body of believers that is the Catholic Church.

Linked with other projects of the Archdiocese of Boston such as ARISE Together in Christ and The Light Is On For You, Catholics Come Home will assist active Church members to grow in their spiritual life. It will also help us to reach out and invite those whose connection to the Catholic faith community, especially at our worship at Sunday Mass, is weak or missing altogether.

I look forward to the harvest such a program might yield. I don't know a pastor in the archdiocese who hasn't witnessed an exodus of Catholics from his parish. If you think that statement is an exaggeration, consider these statistics from from the 2010 Boston Catholic Directory. The Directory publishes comparative statistics for the past 10 years. Below, I've culled the numbers from 10 years ago, 2004 and 2009, the last year for which stats were available when the Directory was published. I've also calculated the % increase/decrease in each category between 2000 and 2009.

General Population in the Archdiocese of Boston
(2,465 sq. miles in the counties of Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk, Suffolk and Plymouth)
2000: 3,816,410
2004: 3,970,026
2009: 3,682,558
4% decrease 2000/2009

Catholic Population in the Archdiocese of Boston
2000: 2,017,451
2004: 2,077,487
2009: 1,681,533
17 % decrease 2000/2009

Mass Attendance in the Archdiocese of Boston (average/weekend)
2000: 376,383
2004: 321,908
2009: 286,951
24 % decrease 2000/2009

Parishes in the Archdiocese of Boston
2000: 373
2004: 305
2009: 291
22 % decrease 2000/2009

Child Baptisms in the Archdiocese of Boston
2000: 28,682
2004: 22,863
2009: 15,718
46 % decrease 2000/2009

Confirmations in the Archdiocese of Boston
2000: 15,752
2004: 16,050
2009: 14,842
6% decrease 2000/2009

First Communions in the Archdiocese of Boston
2000: 24,623
2004: 21,632
2009: 18,643
24% % decrease 2000/2009

Marriages in the Archdiocese of Boston
2000: 8,007
2004: 6,143
2009: 3,716
54 % decrease 2000/2009:

Deaths in the Archdiocese of Boston
2000: 18,950
2004: 18,498
2009: 15,642
18 % decrease 2000/2009

Bishops in the Archdiocese of Boston
2000: 8
2004: 8
2009: 7
12 % decrease 2000/2009

Priests of the Archdiocese of Boston
2000: 930
2004: 859
2009: 744
20 % decrease 2000/2009

Permanent Deacons in the Archdiocese of Boston
2000: 215
2004: 239
2009: 249
14 % increase 2000/2009

Women Religious in the Archdiocese of Boston
2000: 2,748
2004: 2,601
2009: 1,945
28 % decrease 2000/2009

Brothers in the Archdiocese of Boston
2000: 110
2004: 142
2009: 144
24 % increase 2000/2009

The numbers tell a bleak story.

In my heart of hearts I believe those numbers will turn around but I won't be surprised if they get worse before they get better. I believe there will be a new springtime in the life of the Church but whether that happens in my lifetime, or to what degree it might happen - I simply do not know.

I hope and pray that a program like Catholics Come Home and other archdiocesan and local parish efforts will, with the power of the Holy Spirit, open peoples' hearts to the Church and the Church to the hearts of those who have been away. I hope and pray that the tide will turn.

I just remembered a classmate in the seminary who had a poster on the wall of his room which read, Come Holy Spirit - come soon!

As you ponder the numbers above, take a look at Paul Snatchko's good essay, Absent Friends: Skipping Mass, Losing Community.


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Seek and you will find...

In the gospel this weekend, the Lord says some remarkable things:

Ask and you will receive;
seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you...

Ask, seek, knock...

As we prepare for the Lord's Day, reading, studying and praying over those words, each of us might well consider this important question...




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Correction!

When Rocco is kind enough to link to this page from Whispers in the Loggia I'm always grateful and my stats get a good shot in the arm. Today Rock linked to an earlier post of mine and credited this page with first mention of the USCCB's Social Media Guidelines. But that's not the case.

Over a week ago I came across a link to the bishops' new Guidelines and after reading them I reported on them here. Unfortnately, I don't remember where I found the link - it was on another blogger's page - and my search efforts have not turned up the page to whom the scoop belongs. If that blogger steps forward, I'd be more than happy to give credit to whom the credit is due!


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Enjoying the gift of summertime...

Video by Rachelle Steinberg

Beautiful images and a delightful poem for celebrating summertime and a tall, cool glass of Vivaldi for toasting this season!

The Sun Grows In Your Smile

When you smile, the air grows warm and soft,
the earth is watered with gentle mists,
seeds sprout and spread leaves above the dark, damp soil,
earthworms pierce the crust and frolic across the surface
to the delight of fat, happily hunting robins,
lilies of the valley unfurl beside purple, grape-scented irises,
fat pink and maroon peonies, and gay California poppies,
damask roses hurl their rich fragrance to the wind,
the crazy-with-sheer-joy song of the Northern mockingbird
echoes above other chirps and sweet winged notes,
gardeners join the worms in the warm, rich dirt,
children gallop across yards and grab handfuls of dandelions
to present to mothers who will set them in glasses of water
in kitchen windows or on dining room tables, weeds
glorious after the dark of winter with the color of the sun
that grows and warms and heals in your smile.

- by Linda Rodriguez, from Hearts Migration



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Word for the Weekend: July 25

Image source: Aaron Parker

This coming weekend finds us celebrating Eucharist on the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time.
You'll find the scriptures for the day and commentary on them right here and if you're coming to Mass with children, here are some hints for helping youngsters to prepare to hear the Word. (And adults might find those same hints helpful, too!)

This Sunday's scriptures focus us on prayer. Another story from Genesis about Abraham finds him prayer-bargaining with the Lord to determine for how small a group of innocent folk the Lord will spare Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham gets the Lord to pledge he'll spare the cities for the sake of 10 but although the pericope ends there, we know that 10 innocent citizens were not found and the cities were destroyed. In the gospel passage from Luke, the Lord, at his disciples' request, teaches them how to pray: Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come... This is followed by a lesson with Jesus instructing his followers in the value in persisting in prayer. And between these two major texts, Paul writes to the Colossians and to us of our sharing in Christ's dying and rising in baptism and how baptism frees us from the debt of sin.

If you pray, or used to pray, or try to pray, or want to pray... take a look at the first and third readings for Sunday and see how they speak to you - and prepare to hear them proclaimed on the weekend.

Any thoughts... on the image above in relationship to this Sunday's gospel?


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Three Years!

Three years ago today I tried my hand at putting a blog online and, to my surprise, I'm still at it.

This post is my 2,556th and over 290,000 visitors from around the globe have ticked the meter on my sidebar over these three years.

Eric Sammons over at Divine Life recently listed the 200 most popular Catholic blogs. His calculations were based on Google subscriptions and I'm pleased that this page tied for the 148th spot on the list. (How to subscribe to this blog? At the end of every post you see this link: Subscribe to A Concord Pastor Comments. Just click on the link and enter your email address!)

I'm grateful for the opportunity to do this work and equally grateful for all of you who take the time to read and comment. I doubt that Pope Benedict has time to read any blogs but he definitely has an interest in ministry on the Internet. As the Church's online presence grows I'm pleased to be a small part of it.


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Eternal Father, Strong to Save

Photo: RT

I wrote recently on my experience of celebrating my uncle's funeral Mass. A cousin from Texas who was here for the funeral just posted the photo above on her FaceBook page and I thought I'd share it with you.

The sanctuary is at St. Mary Star of the Sea Church in Beverly, MA where my uncle was baptized, received the Eucharist for the first time and was confirmed beginning 85 years ago.

The photo was taken before the Mass while I was preparing things at the altar. I'm pleased that the ceiling lights reflect in his picture because years ago, as a carpenter, he worked on the ceiling of that church. His crucifix and rosary accompany the wooden container holding his cremains and to the side his the US flag, a reminder of his service to his country in the Navy. The closing song at the Mass was the Navy Hymn: Eternal Father, Strong to Save




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