Dear Beloved Parishioners,
So a few things on this Tuesday evening.
On the practical side, Marie will be on vacation from tomorrow (May 3rd, returning on May 15th) so we will be a bit short staffed in the interim. Karen Wood is here on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. You will get the best service on those days. (Fr. Chris and I will try, but as you all know, it is the secretaries who run parishes…) 😉
And, as you will read in this Sunday’s pastor’s pen, we are hoping to make the transition from the current office location to the (former) chapel beginning next week. For the interim, you can still enter via the front doors of the rectory. Eventually, we will make the transition to entering via the side entrance ramp door.
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Congratulations to our 2nd Grade and 8th Grade classes for their sacramental milestones this weekend – 1st Communion and Confirmation. They were wonderful celebrations, both here for first communion and at the Cathedral for confirmation. We look forward to your continued growth in faith and love of the Lord.
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All Things New – the third and final draft model maps are out, and able to be seen on the Archdiocesan website. (Allthingsnew.archstl.org) We are unchanged from the last models. Fr. Chris Martin sent the following update for publication.
UPDATE ON ALL THINGS NEW
From Fr. Chris Martin, Vicar for Strategic Planning
We are grateful for all the parishioners and parish ministries who have provided feedback, gathered, reviewed, and synthesized data, volunteered in many ways, and most importantly who continue to pray for the success of All Things New.
The All Things New planning committee, which includes priests, deacons, parish life coordinators, lay leaders and religious from across the Archdiocese, has reviewed the parish feedback summaries, parish workbooks and financial data of every parish in the Archdiocese of St. Louis. All are posted on allthingsnew.archstl.org. Using that information, the planning committee has refined the draft models to one recommended model per planning area. As is required by the Church’s law, these recommended models were the subject of consultation that was undertaken by the Archbishop with the Archdiocesan Presbyteral Council. These recommended models are also available for all to see at allthingsnew.archstl.org.
The recommended models consist of some parishes that are proposed to remain unchanged in any way and other parishes which are proposed to share the same pastor. During the consultation which the Archbishop undertook with the Presbyteral Council, and as the Archbishop continues his own prayerful discernment after that, it is possible that the data which represents the current circumstance of a parish and its potential viability for the next 10-15 years may be discerned to present just cause for a possible merger or suppression (closure).
As is required by the Church’s law (Canon law), the Archbishop consulted the Presbyteral Council (which is a group of priests elected from each deanery, appointed, or otherwise ex officio to advise the Archbishop in the governance of the Archdiocese) to review all of the data pertaining to each parish that is a part of any of the recommended models involving any potential change. Each council member was duty bound in conscience to provide the Archbishop his prayerfully discerned advice regarding each parish situation. There were 137 parishes that are to be considered in this canonical consultation process.
Canon law does not permit a parish to be altered in its juridic structure (i.e., suppressed, merged with another parish, or combined in some other juridic grouping) except for a just cause. A just cause is required because the Church’s law prioritizes, as of paramount importance, the duty of safeguarding the rights of Christ’s faithful. Foremost among these rights is the assurance of access to pastoral care provided in a stable manner. The parish is the main place where the faithful have access to pastoral care. Therefore, the diocesan Bishop has to assure that parishes are established and that churches are erected in a way that is equitable throughout the diocese. In all such matters, the church’s law favors preserving the stability of parishes (leaving them as they are).
A just cause is never required for leaving a parish as it is. A just cause is always required for changing its juridic structure (i.e., merging or suppressing it or combining it into some other juridic grouping).
All of these requirements of the law seek to assure that the diocesan bishop makes well-informed, prayerfully discerned decisions for the spiritual well-being of the archdiocese, taking into account the needs of the faithful for pastoral care as well as the overall needs of the archdiocese.
After consultative input from the Presbyteral Council, Archbishop Rozanski will study and prayerfully discern the proposals before announcing a final decision on May 28, the Solemnity of Pentecost.
Please continue to pray for the wisdom of the Holy Spirit to guide us and help us spread the Good News of Jesus Christ.”
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A reminder that our day of service is fast approaching. Sign up at this link
https://forms.ministryforms.net/viewForm.aspx?formId=255901ae-2a31-4fe9-84b5-7c3a71b19067
Order Pizza for the “after party: (after the 5pm Mass)
https://forms.ministryforms.net/viewForm.aspx?formId=624f9977-5443-4189-ac07-6d529a1523cc
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And our SAJE Senior ministry is still looking for three volunteers to help with their HOUSEFIT “exercise class for the not faint of heart.”* (*my description, not theirs…) This 13 week advanced exercise program will be held at St. Thomas/Holy Spirit on Monday and Wednesday morning (either 10 or 11:30am – tbd) from June 5 to November 27 in partnership with HouseFit. If interested, please contact Fr. Bill (314-635-2505) for further details, by this Friday, May 5thst.
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Thanks already to so many who have made their pledge to the Annual Catholic Appeal. You have been amazingly generous already. Thanks so much. So, here is the report to date:
2023 Published Goal $101,755
Challenge Goal $164,787
New Donor Goal 50
Total to Date $107,209
Total Parishioners 854
Returned to Date 101
# New Donors 5
# Increased Contributions 30
Net Increase $7,335
# Maintained Contributions 45
# Decreased Contributions 17
Net Decrease $-3,943
Signed Refusal Cards Returned 4
Pledges Percent 11.36%
Prior Year Pledges Percent 35.00%
Cards Returned Percent 11.83%
Matching Gift Cards Returned 1
Matching Gift Total $250
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The Deeper Dive into the Sunday Scripture… …is actually a reflection from Fr. Richard Rohr about change. I thought it appropriate as we approach Pentecost Sunday…
New Beginnings
Richard Rohr honors how painful transformation can be and reminds us to be patient with ourselves and the process:
The word change normally refers to new beginnings. But the mystery of transformation more often happens not when something new begins, but when something old falls apart. The pain and chaos of something old falling apart invite the soul to listen at a deeper level, and sometimes force the soul to go to a new place. Most of us would never go to new places in any other way. The mystics use many words to describe this chaos: fire, dark night, death, emptiness, abandonment, trial, the Evil One. Whatever it is called, it does not feel good, and it does not feel like God.
We will normally do anything to keep the old thing from falling apart, yet this is when we need patience and guidance, and the freedom to let go instead of tightening our controls and certitudes. Perhaps Jesus is describing just this phenomenon when he says, “It is a narrow gate and a hard road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matthew 7:14). Not accidentally, he mentions this narrow gate and hard road right after teaching the Golden Rule. He knows how much “letting go” it takes to “treat others as you would like them to treat you” (Matthew 7:12).
Spiritual transformation always includes a disconcerting reorientation. It can either help people to find new meaning or it can cause people to close down and slowly turn bitter. The difference is determined precisely by the quality of our inner life, our practices, and our spirituality. Change happens, but transformation is always a process of letting go, and living in the confusing, shadowy, transitional space for a while. Eventually, we are spit up on a new and unexpected shore. We can see why Jonah in the belly of the whale is such an important figure for Jews, Christians, and Muslims.
In moments of insecurity and crisis, shoulds and oughts don’t really help. They just increase the shame, guilt, pressure, and likelihood of backsliding into unhealthy patterns. It’s the deep yeses that carry us through to the other side. It’s those deeper values we strongly support—such as equality and dignity for all—that allow us to wait it out. Or it’s someone in whom we absolutely believe and to whom we commit. In plain language, love wins out over guilt any day.
It is sad that we settle for the short-term effectiveness of shaming people and shutting them down, instead of the long-term life benefits of true transformation. But then, we are a culture of productivity and efficiency, not terribly patient or even open to growth. God is clearly much more patient—and, finally, much more effective, patiently supporting our inner transformation through all of life’s transitions.
Adapted from Richard Rohr, The Wisdom Pattern: Order, Disorder, Reorder (Cincinnati, OH: Franciscan Media, 2020), 84–85.
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In a bit of a throwback to the original daily missives, here is the ‘first iris of spring’ in our SJM gardens…
Easter Blessings,
Fr. Bill