What is the point?
The question of where we are going and what is the point of what we are doing amid Beacons of Light has come to the fore for many people. It is a good and valid question. There are two ways of looking at the question. First, how will life be different for me? Will my Mass time be the same? Will the expectations I have of priests, parish staff, and parish life in general be affected by all of this? This way of approaching Beacons is a way for us to see what we may be losing or changing; and we become focused on self-preservation, maintaining our worldview, ideas, and ways of thinking. Let me propose a second way of looking at the opportunity of Beacons. Ask yourself how could the Church and our parishes be better? In what ways could we use the adjustments that Beacons is necessitating to recalibrate people’s perspectives and challenge those in the pews to become missionary Saints? To not just fulfill an obligation, but be set aflame? Or as my current catchphrase says, “I don’t want butts in the pew, I want hearts on the altar.” Maybe we can look at our current situation as an opportunity to remind people why they should want to be Catholic and what it means to be Catholic. Hint: it is not to belong to a particular parish. It is instead to first and foremost give worship to almighty God and then to sanctify ourselves and the world around us. This is what we were made for.
As we journey through the month of Mary, I encourage you to pray the Rosary for our Family of Parishes, your priests, and your family members who no longer practice the Catholic Faith. Mary desires for each of us to be saved by her Son as this is her recurring message in numerous apparitions: that humanity must turn back to her Son, Jesus Christ, if we are to experience true joy and peace of heart. Please also ask for Mary’s guidance as you make your nominations for a patron for the NW-7 Family of Parishes. Choosing our patron will be a big step for our Family of Parishes. This will allow us to develop an overarching identity and help us to move forward together and seek to the put the Lord at the center of our parishes. Also, I hope that next weekend we will have more information regarding the Witness to Love marriage preparation model in the bulletin. Again, this model is focused upon using the people we already have in the pews to help guide our engaged couples through the process of marriage preparation and give these couples a resource they can rely upon throughout their marriage. So, it serves to connect our engaged couples to the parish through friendships and show them that we are invested in their faith journey with Jesus Christ.
Thank you to my staff who must learn how to work with me. I know that I have many shortcomings as a leader and boss. The staff of NW-7 has done a great job of making up for my shortcomings and each other’s shortcomings. Thank them for the great job they are doing.
Peace in Christ,
Fr. Jarred Kohn