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April 10, 2021Over the Sacred Triduum and Easter season so far our Mass attendance and services on Good Friday were well attended and I wanted to thank everyone who participated. As you can well imagine, Easter along with Christmastime and Palm Sunday, Good Friday and Ash Wednesday are the biggest gatherings the Church sees over the course of the liturgical year.
This is important for many reasons not the least of which is that people remain connected to their faith to and their God as they express it by the public practice of their faith. This has been negatively impacted during the pandemic, understandably so. It is important, I would say vitally and eternally important that the Catholic faith does not become a Eucharist-free faith, that people just go to a “service” and not feel the need for the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of God in their lives as some Christian churches have become. Sadly, it is more about community—though very important—and less about the Lord; we are after all a community that is comprised of His Mystical Body of Christ are a sacramental Church. We must remember that. It is also import that we gather to “act.” Acting is the lived experience of faith. We act as we feed the hungry, pray in community, become what we receive from the altar—the Body of Christ—and serve others in need through the arms of the Church proper.
When we gather together we see the church in action and we come to better understand the importance of a lived faith, a people who under the direction of God Himself make the Lord present in the world. At our Confirmation interviews this past week I spoke to an impressive young man who talked about his service work, particularly his work as part of the leaf rake team from our parish. He noted how much this work in the community made him feel good and how it put into reality his faith—helping others. That week the founder of the leaf rakes here in our parish, Mike Reilly, died. Mike may not have ever known how his actions years ago impacted a young man and drew him closer to the church. We should all consider how our actions may inspire or repel someone from faith. Words are important, actions even more so. Someone once said, “Preach often and sometimes use words.”
When we gather together we see a community of like-minded believers become a sign of the power to move forward. That’s what a community can do—motivate others to become part of it and be the prime mover of our actions, in concert with the Lord of course. It also reminds us that the Church is here—even when we are not—and she continues to do the work of God whether we are part of it or not. The Church will be here always, she will be baptizing and marrying, she will be confirming our youth and building up a desirable youth ministry and faith formation program, and praying for the sick and other needs; she will feed the hungry, provide for Malta House of Care, and she will be here to anoint our sick family members, hear their last confessions and bury them as they return to God. It is more than a building, though that is important too. We must remember to take care of her totally—body, mind and spirit—so that the Mystical Body is at work praising the Lord in word and deed (action) and Baptizing, making First Holy Communions, Confirmations, Marriages, and burying the dead and more. It is my hope, based on what I am seeing here at St. Catherine of Siena, that this will go on and on and on as people return in prayer and continue their support of the many standing ministries complete with people to build our parish as a vibrant and powerful sign of Christ among us.
I thank you for all that you do and are, in both word and deed, sacrificing and being Christ to one another. Kindly continue to register for Masses, classes and program activities by going to www.stcatherine.info / Faith Direct in support of the continuation of the legacy that is Christ and His Church: St. Catherine of Siena Parish. God Bless!
