A Word from Your Pastor October 13

Dear Parishioners:

We are in the midst of the annual “October Count.”  If our first weekend is any indication, we are headed for more sad news.  There were almost 50 fewer people present for the weekend Masses than we had last year.  Saturday’s count was up, but all the Sunday Masses had substantially fewer present. 

Even as I report this information, I will comment on a couple of things I find positive: There are more babies present at our Masses than there were in the past.  Younger families are finding a welcome at our parish.  Secondly, I notice that as I leave the church at the end of Mass, there are fewer folks rushing to leave ahead of me.  I find people still singing in the back pews. In years past, often the back half of the church was cleared out before the priest departed.  That suggests to me that more are willing to give God first dibs on their time on Sunday mornings.  People are choosing to stay, I hope, because they have a greater understanding of the full meaning of the Mass.  Welcome, Word, Sacrament and Mission are the four parts of the Mass.  Heading out before the Mission is given leaves us with just a bit less power as we go to share the gift we have received with the world.

As our ranks thin out, due to the pull of the world and a loss of understanding of the Faith, the ones who stay are better able to shine in the darkness because those who are still with us are persevering in the Faith by a real choice and not by mere habit.  Why are you here?  Because I choose to throw in my lot with Jesus Christ and His Church.  That choice has a real power to light up the world.

Faith truly has the power to save.  There is nothing beyond God’s grace, but hearts must be open for grace to be received.  This involves letting go of the reins.  When we learn to do things God’s way, we discover that the Faith that we have been taught is true.  Seeing it change us and strengthen us, the Faith becomes more attractive to the world.  Our hope is that especially those who have walked away will see this and choose to rediscover what they have lost.

Our culture is meant to be a Culture of Life, respecting life in this world from the first moment of conception and opening to Life Eternal through a sharing in the grace of Jesus Christ offered to us through the Sacraments.  May we come to believe ever more strongly and may our witness reveal to the nations God’s saving power.