Ser Celoso de la Generosidad de Dios

Por Ron Rolheiser
“El gallo cantará cuando se rompa tu propio ego, ¡hay muchas maneras de despertar!”

John Shea me dijo esas palabras y las entendí un poco mejor recientemente mientras hacía cola en un aeropuerto: me había registrado para un vuelo, me acerqué a seguridad, vi una gran fila y acepté el hecho de que tomaría al menos 40 minutos para superarlo.

Padre Ron Rolheiser, OMI

Estuve bien con la larga espera y me moví pacientemente en la fila, hasta que, justo cuando llegó mi turno, llegó otro equipo de seguridad, abrió una segunda máquina de escaneo y toda una fila de personas, detrás de mí, que no habían esperado los cuarenta minutos, obtuvieron sus turnos casi de inmediato. Todavía tuve mi turno como lo hubiera hecho antes, pero algo dentro de mí se sintió menospreciado y enojado: “¡Esto no fue justo! ¡Había estado esperando durante cuarenta minutos y les llegó su turno al mismo tiempo que a mí! Me había conformado con esperar, hasta que los que llegaron más tarde no tuvieron que esperar nada. No me habían tratado injustamente, pero algunos otros habían tenido más suerte que yo.
Esa experiencia me enseñó algo, más allá del hecho de que mi corazón no siempre es enorme y generoso. Me ayudó a entender algo sobre la parábola de Jesús sobre los trabajadores que llegaron a la hora undécima y recibieron el mismo salario que los que habían trabajado todo el día y lo que significa el desafío que se le da a los que se quejan de la injusticia de esto: “¿Tienes envidia porque soy generoso?”

¿Somos celosos porque Dios es generoso? ¿Nos molesta cuando a otros se les dan regalos y perdón inmerecidos? ¡Apuesta!

En última instancia, esa sensación de injusticia, de envidia de que alguien más haya tenido un descanso es un gran obstáculo para nuestra felicidad. ¿Por qué? Porque algo en nosotros reacciona negativamente cuando parece que la vida no está haciendo que los demás paguen lo mismo que nosotros.

En los Evangelios vemos un incidente en el que Jesús va a la sinagoga un sábado, se levanta para leer y cita un texto de Isaías, excepto que no lo cita completo sino que omite una parte. El texto (Isaías 61:1-2) habría sido bien conocido por sus oyentes y describe la visión de Isaías de lo que será la señal de que Dios finalmente ha irrumpido en el mundo y cambiado irrevocablemente las cosas. ¿Y qué será eso?
Para Isaías, la señal de que Dios ahora gobierna la tierra será la buena noticia para los pobres, el consuelo para los quebrantados de corazón, la libertad para los esclavizados, la gracia abundante para todos y la venganza para los malvados. Nótese, sin embargo, que cuando Jesús cita esto, deja fuera la parte de la venganza. A diferencia de Isaías, no dice que parte de nuestro gozo será ver castigados a los malvados. En el cielo se nos dará lo que se nos debe y más (don inmerecido, perdón que no merecemos, alegría inimaginable) pero, al parecer, no se nos dará esa catarsis que tanto deseamos aquí en la tierra, la alegría de ver a los malvados castigados.

Las alegrías del cielo no incluirán ver sufrir a Hitler. De hecho, la comezón natural que tenemos por la justicia estricta (“Ojo por ojo”) es exactamente eso, una comezón natural, algo que los Evangelios nos invitan a superar. El deseo de estricta justicia bloquea nuestra capacidad de perdón y por lo tanto nos impide entrar en el cielo donde Dios, como el Padre del Hijo Pródigo, abraza y perdona sin exigir una libra de carne por una libra de pecado.

Sabemos que necesitamos la misericordia de Dios, pero si la gracia es verdadera para nosotros, debe ser verdadera para todos; si nos es dado el perdón, debe ser dado a todos; y si Dios no venga nuestras fechorías, Dios tampoco debe vengar las fechorías de los demás. Tal es la lógica de la gracia, y tal es el amor del Dios con el que debemos sintonizarnos.

La felicidad no se trata de venganza, sino de perdón; no de reivindicación, sino de abrazo inmerecido; y no sobre la pena capital, sino sobre vivir más allá incluso del asesinato.

No es de extrañar que, en algunos de los grandes santos, veamos una teología que bordea el universalismo, es decir, la creencia de que al final Dios salvará a todos, incluso a los Hitler. Creían esto no porque no creyeran en el infierno o en la posibilidad de excluirnos para siempre de Dios, sino porque creían que el amor de Dios es tan universal, tan poderoso y tan atractivo que, en última instancia, incluso los que están en el infierno verán el error de sus caminos, tragarse su orgullo, y entregarse al amor. El triunfo final de Dios, sintieron, será cuando el mismo diablo se convierta y el infierno esté vacío.
Tal vez eso nunca suceda. Dios nos deja libres. Sin embargo, cuando yo, o cualquier otra persona, estamos molestos en un aeropuerto, en una audiencia de la junta de libertad condicional o en cualquier otro lugar donde alguien recibe algo que creemos que no merece, tenemos que aceptar que todavía nos falta mucho, de comprender y aceptar el reino de Dios.

(El padre oblato Ron Rolheiser es teólogo, maestro y autor galardonado. Se le puede contactar a través de su sitio web www.ronrolheiser.com. Ahora en Facebook www.facebook.com/ronrolheiser)

Love and support catechists

Journeying Together
By Hosffman Ospino (Catholic News Service)

Catechetical programs have resumed activities or will soon start in most Catholic parishes in the United States. Children, youth, young adults and adults prepare to return to sessions where they will learn and reflect about their faith.

Just as we speak of the sacraments, particularly the Eucharist, as essential to nurture our spiritual life, catechesis is essential to nurture our love for our faith and for God’s word.

Central to the work of catechesis are the many women and men of all ages who exercise their discipleship by serving their communities as catechists. They are missionary disciples who understand the importance of passing on the faith.

Dr. Hoffsman Ospino

Although the first and most essential catechists, especially for children and youth, are the parents and other adults who live in a household, catechists expand and enhance that first catechesis by sharing their faith in small groups.

In many cases, catechists play a remedial role, mindful that many parents fall short in sharing the basics of the faith at home with the younger ones.

If you look at the catechists in your parish, you will notice that there is not necessarily a specific profile that restricts this important ministry to a narrow group. We want catechists to be witnesses of what they believe, do their best modeling their faith through their actions and share the faith with joy.

However, these expectations apply practically to all the baptized. We all are called to be catechists.
Stay-at-home moms, teachers, doctors, nurses, lawyers, farmworkers, administrators, retirees, young adults, grandparents, tour guides, hotel and factory workers, taxi drivers, academics, cooks, nuns, priests, deacons, married couples, single people, among many others, join the ranks of catechists in our parishes every year.

What do all these people have in common? We all love our faith and we all are passionate to share it with others! Nearly all of us do it as volunteers. This is what makes being part of a faith community exciting.
The Holy Spirit moves the hearts of the baptized, regardless of our background or social location, and inspires us to build the church as catechists.

While there are many Catholics who love to share our faith as catechists, the numbers are not always enough. We need many more catechists and thus we have a responsibility to encourage one another to serve our faith communities in this capacity.

At the same time, we should avoid taking our catechists for granted. Our faith communities need to cultivate a permanent culture of support for our catechists. Here are four practical ways in which we can support this important group.

Pray for our catechists. This is perhaps the easiest way of supporting them. Pray for their wisdom and wellbeing. Pray for their families. Pray for their holiness.

Second, approach a catechist in your faith community and say, “Thank you.” It does not take much effort or time. A word of gratitude is always the best way to encourage others to move forward in what they are doing.  

USCCB poster for Catechetical Sunday 2022.

Third, sponsor a catechist or your parish religious education program. Catechists are very generous with their time and expect nothing in return. Yet, we can be gratefully supportive.

Buy a book for them, bring a gift certificate, contribute to a fund to buy coffee or tea when they catechize. Make an annual or monthly donation to support their meetings and retreats.

Fourth, support the continuing education of your catechists. Catechists need constant training. Support a formation program for catechists in your parish or diocese. Some may be ready to study theology at a local seminary or university, and they need scholarships. You can help.

(Hosffman Ospino is professor of theology and religious education at Boston College.)

The rest of ordinary time

On Ordinary Times
By Lucia A. Silecchia

Whenever someone asks how I am, one of my most frequent replies is “Good, but busy.” That is rarely more true than it is in September’s back-to-school season.

For those whose lives ebb and flow with the school year, as does mine, autumn bursts into our lives with a rapid increase in the events, activities, gatherings and obligations that will again fill our days.

For those whose days are not directly driven by school life, there is still something about the fall that brings a rapid new rhythm to life as parish activities, clubs, sports teams and community events get underway after a hiatus. Indeed, after the past two years, this return to community life seems to have an extra urgency about it.

Lucia A. Silecchia

The rapidly filling pages of my calendar are welcome to me since I like the busy-ness of life. Yet, there is also much to be said for the wisdom of rest.

The commandment to “keep holy the Sabbath,” and the Biblical traditions of sabbaticals and jubilees are reminders that time is sacred. In a particular way, they are a reminder that there are certain times that deserve to be safeguarded from the demands of our daily lives.

The Catholic Church proclaims the dignity of the work, the value of labor and the importance of treating workers with respect and concern for their well-being and that of their families. A critical demand of church leaders through the decades has been ensuring that workers are free on the Sabbath to worship God and to be with their loved ones. As St. John Paul II wrote in Laborem Exercens, his encyclical on human work, workers have a “right to rest” that “involves a regular weekly rest comprising at least Sunday.” This Sunday rest from work would allow the worker to meet obligations to God on a day of worship.

He went on to say that “man’s work too not only requires a rest every seventh day, but also cannot consist in the mere exercise of human strength in external action; it must leave room for man to prepare himself, by becoming more and more what in the will of God he ought to be, for the rest that the Lord reserves for his servants and friends.“

These words are worth considering as life fills up again. As demands on our time increase, it is tempting – and can often even feel necessary – to treat Sunday just like any other day. This would let us catch up in a fast-paced world and not fall behind in what seems to be a constant seven-day whirlwind of shopping, working, answering emails and doing the work that just did not get done in the six workdays of the week.
School sports and similar activities – good as they may be in their own right – split families apart on Sundays as they race in different directions. Sunday can all too easily become merely the start of the new work week.

Yet maybe the start of the new season of busyness is a time to resolve to keep Sundays holy, to keep them sacred, and to appreciate the wisdom of a God who rested on the seventh day.

In a paradoxical way, this season of new busy-ness is launched with Labor Day, the civic (but not meteorological!) end to summer. Since 1894, when President Grover Cleveland signed a bill establishing our national Labor Day, it has been celebrated as a federal holiday honoring the contributions of workers to the social and economic life of the nation. One of the most significant achievements of the secular labor movement was the drive toward the 5-day work week. This should, in theory, free modern laborers for the worship and re-creation of a Sabbath rest. Yet, in a sad irony, we often surrender this freedom to the temptations to many things that creep into our Sundays.

Maybe this year, as I watch the pages of my calendar fill up, I will take a special look at those things with which I fill my Sundays to see if they honor God and serve my loved ones. I also hope to do so with appreciation for the ability to do so … something that I know so many do not have.

I hope you will have the chance, too, to celebrate Sundays as a slice of the extraordinary that comes to each week of our ordinary time.

(Lucia A. Silecchia is a Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Faculty Research at the Catholic University of America. “On Ordinary Times” is a biweekly column reflecting on the ways to find the sacred in the simple. Email her at silecchia@cua.edu.)

In memoriam: James Joseph Tomek

CLEVELAND – James Joseph Tomek, 76, passed away Aug. 30, 2022, at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. The youngest of three children, he was born in Hoboken, New Jersey, to Joseph and Anne Tomek. Raised in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, his parents afforded him a private school Jesuit education, sending him to St. Cecilia High School and St. Peters College in Jersey City. His love of literature drew him to study at Duke University where he received a Ph.D in French literature and philosophy. His specialty was 20th Century and his dissertation on the films of Jean Cocteau was directed by Dr. Wallace Fowlie. During that time, he met and married Yvonne Bryan Tomek in Durham, North Carolina, and then embarked upon a career of teaching French and English at Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi in 1972 and served until his retirement in 2015.

At Delta State, he was the recipient of the University Foundation Teaching Award and also Teacher of the Year Award in the Division of Languages and Literature and was awarded membership into ODK, a Leadership Honor Society. He received grants to study French literature at summer long NEH Colloquiums in Stony Brook, Dartmouth, Iowa City and Chicago. Writing and delivering numerous papers at national conferences was of interest to him, and he collaborated in writing the books, Windows After Matisse with Terry Everett and Mary Anne Rosse and Fast French with Anne-Marie Bryan and Yvonne Bryan Tomek, a grammar book that he used for several years in his teaching. A philosopher, sports enthusiast, and poet, he often contributed to the literary journal, Tapestry, enjoying the fellowship of annual Fall unveilings and readings in Dockery, Mississippi.

Having always been interested in theology, he decided to pursue a Master’s Degree in Theology from Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama, while still teaching French and English. He would attend classes in Jackson, Mississippi every Saturday for six years, while arduously contending with a battle of cancer. He graduated in 2009, receiving highest honors in his Oral Exams, which were open to the public for attendance. He was a devout life-long Catholic, and often attended daily Mass and served as lector and assistant in the RCIA program for incoming Catholics at Our Lady of Victories Church in Cleveland. He often led Little Rock Bible studies for those who wished to study the Bible in depth. He was a life-time member of the Knights of Columbus.

In 2010, he was invited by the Bishop Latino to lead Sacred Heart Church in Rosedale, as the Lay Ecclesial Minister every Sunday morning, where he would deliver scriptural breakout reflections, administer Communion and handle business affairs of the church. He enjoyed this mission very much as well as the relationship he made with the parishioners. With fondness for movies, harking back to his dissertation days, he wrote a column for Mississippi Catholic newspaper, entitled “Theology at the Movies” that explored religion as it is evidenced in international movies.

His greatest joys were with his family and friends with whom he loved to play golf, tennis, baseball, go swimming, play cards and watch sports. He was particularly fond of watching New York Yankees baseball, reminding himself of the many afternoons he attended Yankee Stadium during his youth with his family. If he had not had a career in literature, he could have very well loved being a professional baseball announcer.

He lamented having outlived many of his best friends which included Bill Sullivan, Terry Everett, Martin Bond, Ted Solomon, John Tatum, Leroy Morganti, Diane Stewart, Bonnie Horton and his trusted lawyer, Robert Johnston.

His is preceded in death by his parents; his sister Barbara Tomek Maffei; his brother, Joseph Tomek; and nephew Thomas Tomek.

He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Yvonne Bryan Tomek; son Matthew Tomek (Renee) of Memphis; daughter Genevieve Tomek of Cleveland, Mississippi; and his grandsons, Jacob Jones and Renny McKnight of Cleveland, Mississippi.

He also leaves behind his sister-in-law, Jean Tomek, his brother-in-law Stephen Maffei, as well as his nephews and nieces, Richard Tomek (Sherri), Laura Tomek Campbell (Doug); Nancy Tomek Deasey (Bob); Stephen Maffei (Janet), Matthew Maffei (Lori), Joseph Maffei (Stephanie), and their beloved children.
In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made in his name to Our Lady of Victories Catholic Church in Cleveland.

St. Vincent de Paul – Stewardship way of life

Artwork: Saint Vincent de Paul; Jean Leon Gerome; c. 1847; Public Domain

Stewardship Paths
By Julia Williams

JACKSON – St. Vincent de Paul’s holiness had a heart for the poor and was dedicated to the service of those suffering from poverty. He founded the Vincentians and the Daughters of Charity, and over the course of time established many local charitable groups, urging members to see Christ in the poor and attain holiness in their service.

St. Vincent placed service to the poor above nearly every activity in his life. He would maintain: “When you leave your prayer to care for a sick person, you leave God for God. To care for a sick person is to pray.”

His humility and generosity have propelled Christians to greater charity for centuries. Many parishes today have a St. Vincent de Paul Society, or other parish ministries, which carries on the work for the poor.

The feast day of St. Vincent de Paul is Sept. 27, which is the date of his passing in 1660. He is the patron saint of all charitable works.

St. Vincent practiced the seven Corporal Works of Mercy, which are obvious expressions of stewardship.
• Feed the hungry
• Give drink to the thirsty
• Clothe the naked
• Welcome the stranger
• Heal the sick
• Visit the imprisoned
• Bury the dead

A life lived in concern for others is perfect stewardship. Taking care of all God’s creation is the stewardship way of life.

Excerpts: simplycatholic.com

Beyond a synod process to a synodal church …

Kneading Faith
By Fran Lavelle

I have been calling for a lay revolution for years. Before anyone calls the Vatican to have me arrested for inciting an insurrection against the church let me be very clear about what I mean.

I am not asking for a lay revolution against the church; rather one within the church in collaboration with the ordained and consecrated. For generations upon generations religious sisters and brothers catechized our children, Father made sick calls to the hospital and nursing homes. Father gave instructions for those seeking to come into the church. He also prepared couples for marriage. Lay people had roles as cooks, housekeepers and janitors, but the heavy lifting of ministry was undertaken by clergy and religious.

In the past nearly 60 years since Vatican II we have seen a sharp decrease in the number of clergy and religious serving the church. Perhaps the laity has not been empowered or encouraged to do so, but it the Synod made it clear that everyone must take part in undertaking the work of the church. The ordained and religious can no longer shoulder that responsibility alone. The lay revolution I am speaking of is for us, the laity, to step up to the plate and take responsibility for our faith and the ministries of the church in a transformational way. We have looked to the leadership of the church to tell us what to do.

The listening sessions for our Synod demonstrated that we, the laity, know what is needed to move beyond a transactional faith. People around this diocese asked for better faith formation of both youth and adults, you asked for an end to partisan politics, you asked for greater unity, you asked for healing. You asked that we do a better job keeping the young church engaged and active.

All that we heard, all that the faithful are seeking is within our grasp. There are more programs, podcasts, video series, websites and resources than one could ever have imagined. We do not need better resources. We do not need a better textbook for education our children in the faith.

We need to call on the Holy Spirit to fill us with a passion to use the resources and tools that we have been given and become leaders within our parishes and communities. What we are in need of are doers of the Word. We need people to say in earnest, “Here I am Lord, I come to do your will.”

How do you become a transformational leader in the church? If you see a need, talk to others in your community about what they see. Get input from people who do not look like your or think like you. If the need is validated, develop a plan. Take your plan to the parish council or your pastor/LEM.

Often parishioners come to the church office to bring up a need to the pastor but do not have constructive ideas on how to address the issue. I am not advocating that we all act like urban cowboys and bust up the pastor’s office hell bent on doing what we want. I am suggesting that when we see a need, develop solutions, seek input, listen to others and present a well-formed plan for addressing the issue. We have clutched our pearls for far too long. We have looked to the clergy or someone else to address the issues facing the church.

I have a plaque in my office that says. “Teamwork divides the task and multiplies the success.” If we want vibrant, dynamic, communities of faith we have to be dynamic and vibrant people of faith. Multiply the success of your parish community. Be a part of the solution. Step up. Show up. Share the journey.

(Fran Lavelle is the Director of Faith Formation for the Diocese of Jackson.)

Seeing what lies near our doorsteps

IN EXILE
By Father Ron Rolheiser, OMI

Henri Nouwen once suggested that if you want to understand the tragedy of the Second World War, you can read a hundred history books about it and watch a thousand hours of video documentaries on it, or you can read the Diary of Anne Frank. In that single memoir of young girl imprisoned and later executed by the Nazis you will see, first-hand, the tragedy of war and what war does to the human soul.

The same might be said about the refugee crisis now taking place everywhere on borders around the world. According to statistics from the United Nations, there are now over eighty million refugees, displaced, homeless, nationless, frightened, and often hungry people on our borders around the world. Two-thirds of these are women and children, and the vast majority are not there by choice, seeking a better economic opportunity in another country. The vast majority of them have been driven from their homes and their countries by war, violence, famine, hunger, ethnic and religious cleansing, and by fear for their lives.

Father Ron Rolheiser, OMI

For many of us, this is a faceless, abstract problem. We have a generic sympathy for their plight but not one deep enough to keep us awake at night, unsettle our conscience, or make us willing to sacrifice some of our own comfort and security to do something for them or to pressure our governments into action. Indeed, too often we are over-protective of our borders and the settled, comfortable lives we live inside our nations. This is our country! Our home! We worked hard for the things we have. It is unfair to us to have to deal with these people! They should go back to their countries and leave us alone!

We need a wake-up call. A recent book, a novel, by Jeanine Cummins, American Dirt, gives us a fictionalized account of a young Mexican woman who because of violence and fear of death had to leave her life behind and flee with her young son in an attempt to reach the borders of the United States as an undocumented immigrant. Full disclosure, the book has been heavily criticized by many because it doesn’t always measure up to the exact facts. Conversely, it has also been highly praised by many others. Be that as it may, the bottom-line is that this is a powerful story and a wake-up call, one meant to wake us up to the real tragedy of those who for reasons of poverty, violence, famine, fear and hopelessness are forced to flee their countries in search of a better life (or any life at all!) elsewhere. Whatever the book’s imperfections, it helps shatter the abstractness we can lean on to protect ourselves against having to look at the issue of refugees today.

Admittedly, the issue isn’t simple. There are extremely complex issues involved in protecting our borders and in having millions of people freely enter our countries. However, as men and women who share a common humanity and a common planet with these refugees, can we remain callous to their plight?

Moreover, as Christians, do we accept the fundamental, non-negotiable principle within Christian social doctrine that tells us that the world belongs to everyone equally and we may not adhere to any nationalistic belief that says, explicitly or implicitly, that our country is ours and we have no obligation to share it with others. To espouse this is unchristian and goes against the clear teaching of Jesus.

We might all, I submit, contemplate a certain parable of Jesus (Luke 16:19-31) where he tells the story of a rich man who ignored a poor man sitting at his doorstep and refused to share his food with him. The poor man dies and finds himself in the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also dies and finds himself tormented by thirst in Hades. He begs Abraham to send the poor man, whom he had ignored during this lifetime, to bring him some water to quench his thirst, but it turns out this is not possible. Jesus tells us that there is an “unbridgeable gap” between the two of them. We have always simplistically assumed that this unbridgeable gap is the gap between heaven and hell, but that is not exactly the point the parable is making. The unbridgeable gap is the gap that already exists now between the rich and poor, and the lesson is that we had best try to bridge that gap now, in this life.

Notice that Jesus does not say that the rich man is a bad man, or that he didn’t earn his riches honestly, or that he wasn’t an upright citizen, or that he wasn’t going to church, or that he was unfaithful to his wife, or that he was a bad father to his children. It only says that he had one fault, a mortal one – inside his richness he did not respond to a hungry man sitting on the borders of house.

(Oblate Father Ron Rolheiser is a theologian, teacher and award-winning author. He can be contacted through his website www.ronrolheiser.com.)

Called by Name

This month we will be welcoming parents of priests and seminarians and religious sisters to the Cathedral of Saint Peter the Apostle for our first ever meeting of POPS, which stands for (you guessed it), Parents of Priests and Seminarians/Sisters.

Father Nick Adam
Father Nick Adam

Rhonda Bowden was the driving force behind this initiative which we hope will help our parents build community as they support their sons and daughters who are on a unique path in life. Rhonda certainly has lots of experience after walking with her son Andrew for eight years in the seminary while also supporting her husband Mark in deacon formation and her daughter Laura as she graduated from Millsaps and is now a full-time teacher. I hope that this group provides some good community and fraternity for our parents.

I know that it is both a joy and a challenge to support a child who is discerning priesthood and religious life, and as we try to normalize that experience for our young people we want to make sure that parents are not excluded. As we get more seminarians, we want to build up our network of support for parents as well. I hope that this dinner is the first of many opportunities for parents to network. One of the greatest sources of vocations is family support and consistent encouragement of children to consider priesthood and religious life, and we want our parents to know how much we appreciate their encouragement and support.

       Please promote the possibility of priestly and religious life consistently to your children. This truly is the only way we will have a thriving church in the future. When we normalize vocations in the home, we provide our children with an opportunity to imagine the possibility of being a priest or nun just like they imagine the possibility of being a doctor or lawyer. This is so vital, and I ask for each parent to be intentional and courageous in presenting this possibility to your children. I know that it’s a little scary, but the church is here to support our young men and women, and I encourage you to speak with parents of seminarians/priests/sisters that you know and ask them how their children are doing. They certainly have challenges in their state in life, but they also have great joy and experience great triumphs, and most importantly, all of them believe that the Lord has called them to this task.

       It is probably more difficult in our current culture than ever before to encourage a child to enter ministry. We have been discouraged in many ways, both within the culture and within the church, but still, there are great men and women who are stepping forward and families that are supporting them. Please follow their example. The devil would love for us to believe that our situation cannot be helped, and that vocations have simply “dried up” here in the states, but this is not true. We can always trust that God will provide, but we must be co-workers with the Lord. I am grateful for the parents of our priests, seminarians and sisters, and I ask that you offer prayers specifically for these families after reading this article.  

Father Nick Adam

If you are interested in learning more about religious orders or vocations to the priesthood and religious life, email nick.adam@jacksondiocese.org.

El resto del tiempo ordinario

Por Lucía A. Silecchia

Siempre que alguien me pregunta cómo estoy, una de mis respuestas más frecuentes es “Bien, pero ocupado”. Eso rara vez es más cierto que en la temporada de regreso a clases de septiembre.

Para aquellos cuyas vidas van y vienen con el año escolar, como la mía, el otoño irrumpe en nuestras vidas con un rápido aumento de eventos, actividades, reuniones y obligaciones que volverán a llenar nuestros días.

Lucia A. Silecchia

Para aquellos cuyos días no están directamente motivados por la vida escolar, todavía hay algo en el otoño que trae un nuevo ritmo rápido a la vida a medida que las actividades parroquiales, los clubes, los equipos deportivos y los eventos comunitarios comienzan después de una pausa. De hecho, después de los últimos dos años, este regreso a la vida comunitaria parece tener una urgencia adicional al respecto.

Las páginas de mi calendario que se llenan rápidamente son bienvenidas porque me gusta el ajetreo de la vida. Sin embargo, también hay mucho que decir sobre la sabiduría del descanso.

El mandamiento de “santificar el día de reposo” y las tradiciones bíblicas de sabáticos y jubileos son recordatorios de que el tiempo es sagrado. De manera particular, son un recordatorio de que hay ciertos momentos que merecen ser resguardados de las exigencias de nuestra vida cotidiana.

La Iglesia Católica proclama la dignidad del trabajo, el valor del trabajo y la importancia de tratar a los trabajadores con respeto y preocupación por su bienestar y el de sus familias. Una demanda fundamental de los líderes de la iglesia a lo largo de las décadas ha sido garantizar que los trabajadores tengan libertad en el día de reposo para adorar a Dios y estar con sus seres queridos. Como escribió San Juan Pablo II en Laborem Exercens, su encíclica sobre el trabajo humano, los trabajadores tienen un “derecho al descanso” que “implica un descanso semanal regular que comprenda al menos el domingo”. Este descanso dominical del trabajo permitiría al trabajador cumplir con las obligaciones con Dios en un día de adoración.

Continuó diciendo que “también el trabajo del hombre no sólo requiere un descanso cada siete días, sino que tampoco puede consistir en el mero ejercicio de la fuerza humana en la acción exterior; debe dejar espacio para que el hombre se prepare, haciéndose cada vez más lo que en la voluntad de Dios debe ser, por lo demás que el Señor reserva para sus servidores y amigos”.

Vale la pena considerar estas palabras a medida que la vida se llena de nuevo. A medida que aumenta la demanda de nuestro tiempo, es tentador, y a menudo incluso puede parecer necesario, tratar el domingo como cualquier otro día. Esto nos permitiría ponernos al día en un mundo acelerado y no quedarnos atrás en lo que parece ser un torbellino constante de siete días de compras, trabajo, respuesta de correos electrónicos y hacer el trabajo que simplemente no se hizo en los seis días laborales del semana.

Los deportes escolares y actividades similares, por muy buenas que sean por derecho propio, separan a las familias los domingos mientras corren en diferentes direcciones. El domingo puede convertirse fácilmente en el comienzo de una nueva semana laboral.

Sin embargo, tal vez el comienzo de la nueva temporada de actividad sea un momento para decidir santificar los domingos, mantenerlos sagrados y apreciar la sabiduría de un Dios que descansó el séptimo día.

De manera paradójica, esta temporada de nuevos ajetreos se inicia con el Día del Trabajo, el final cívico (¡pero no meteorológico!) del verano. Desde 1894, cuando el presidente Grover Cleveland firmó un proyecto de ley que establece nuestro Día Nacional del Trabajo, se ha celebrado como un feriado federal en honor a las contribuciones de los trabajadores a la vida social y económica de la nación. Uno de los logros más significativos del movimiento obrero secular fue el impulso hacia la semana laboral de 5 días. Esto debería, en teoría, liberar a los trabajadores modernos para la adoración y recreación de un descanso sabático. Sin embargo, en una triste ironía, a menudo entregamos esta libertad a las tentaciones de muchas cosas que se deslizan en nuestros domingos.

Tal vez este año, mientras veo que se llenan las páginas de mi calendario, le daré una mirada especial a aquellas cosas con las que lleno mis domingos para ver si honran a Dios y sirven a mis seres queridos. También espero hacerlo con aprecio por la capacidad de hacerlo… algo que sé que muchos no tienen.

Espero que también tengan la oportunidad de celebrar los domingos como una porción de lo extraordinario que llega a cada semana de nuestro tiempo ordinario.

(Lucia A. Silecchia es profesora de derecho y decana asociada de investigación de la facultad en la Universidad Católica de América. “On Ordinary Times” es una columna quincenal que reflexiona sobre las formas de encontrar lo sagrado en lo simple. Envíele un correo electrónico a silecchia@cua.edu.)

Más allá de un proceso sinodal a una iglesia sinodal…

By Fran Lavelle
He estado llamando a una revolución laica durante años. Antes de que alguien llame al Vaticano para que me arresten por incitar a una insurrección contra la iglesia, permítanme ser muy claro sobre lo que quiero decir.

Fran Lavelle

No estoy pidiendo una revolución laica contra la iglesia; más bien uno dentro de la iglesia en colaboración con los ordenados y consagrados.
Durante generaciones y generaciones, Hermanas y Hermanos religiosos catequizaron a nuestros hijos, el Padre hizo visitas por enfermedad al hospital y a los hogares de ancianos. El Padre dio instrucciones para aquellos que buscaban entrar a la iglesia. También preparó parejas para el matrimonio. Los laicos tenían roles como cocineros, amas de casa y conserjes, pero el trabajo pesado del ministerio lo realizaban el clero y los religiosos.
En los últimos casi 60 años desde el Vaticano II, hemos visto una fuerte disminución en el número de clérigos y religiosos que sirven a la iglesia. Tal vez los laicos no hayan sido empoderados o alentados a hacerlo, pero el Sínodo dejó en claro que todos deben participar en la realización del trabajo de la iglesia.
Los ordenados y los religiosos ya no pueden asumir esa responsabilidad solos. La revolución laica de la que estoy hablando es para nosotros, los laicos, dar un paso al frente y asumir la responsabilidad de nuestra fe y los ministerios de la iglesia de una manera transformadora. Hemos mirado al liderazgo de la iglesia para que nos diga qué hacer.
Las sesiones de escucha de nuestro Sínodo demostraron que nosotros, los laicos, sabemos lo que se necesita para ir más allá de una fe transaccional. Las personas de esta diócesis pidieron una mejor formación en la fe de jóvenes y adultos, pidieron el fin de la política partidista, pidieron una mayor unidad y pidieron sanación.
Usted pidió que hiciéramos un mejor trabajo manteniendo a la iglesia joven comprometida y activa. Todo lo que escuchamos, todo lo que buscan los fieles está a nuestro alcance. Hay más programas, podcasts, series de videos, sitios web y recursos de los que uno podría haber imaginado.
No necesitamos mejores recursos. No necesitamos un mejor libro de texto para educar a nuestros hijos en la fe. Necesitamos invocar al Espíritu Santo para que nos llene de pasión para usar los recursos y las herramientas que se nos han dado y convertirnos en líderes dentro de nuestras parroquias y comunidades.
Lo que necesitamos son hacedores de la Palabra. Necesitamos personas que digan en serio: “Aquí estoy Señor, vengo a hacer tu voluntad.”
¿Cómo te conviertes en un líder transformador en la iglesia?
Si ve una necesidad, hable con otros en su comunidad sobre lo que ven. Obtenga información de personas que no se parecen a usted ni piensan como usted. Si es válida la necesidad, desarrolle un plan para presentar al consejo parroquial o a tu párroco/LEM.
A menudo, los feligreses acuden a la oficina de la iglesia para plantear una necesidad al párroco, pero no tienen ideas constructivas sobre cómo abordar el problema. No estoy abogando por que todos actuemos como vaqueros urbanos y destrocemos la oficina del pastor empeñados en hacer lo que queremos. Sugiero que cuando veamos una necesidad, desarrollemos soluciones, busquemos aportes, escuchemos a los demás y presentemos un plan bien formado para abordar el problema.
Nos hemos aferrado a nuestras perlas durante demasiado tiempo. Hemos recurrido al clero o a otra persona para abordar los problemas que enfrenta la iglesia.
Tengo una placa en mi oficina que dice. “El trabajo en equipo divide la tarea y multiplica el éxito. “
Si queremos comunidades de fe vibrantes y dinámicas, tenemos que ser personas de fe dinámicas y vibrantes. Multiplique el éxito de su comunidad parroquial. Sé parte de la solución. Aumenta. Esté presente. Comparte el viaje.
(Fran Lavelle es directora de Formación de Fe.)