KNEADING FAITH
By Fran Lavelle
I have spent the past year working closely with the Pastoral Reimagining Process for the diocese. Each phase of the process opened up opportunities for lay leaders to contribute to the conversation including their own wisdom and best practices as well as personal struggles.

One common comment that was shared was the difficulty in getting people to volunteer for ministry opportunities at the parishes. Perhaps it is part of the rebuilding after the pandemic or something more systemic, but many leaders noted that they are struggling to maintain a volunteer pool for catechesis as well as other ministries.

Volunteerism across the board is in decline in other denominations as well as civic and service organizations. The percentage of the U.S. population that volunteers on an average day has declined by 28% in the past decade, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Studies suggest many attributing factors such as aging workers working past traditional retirement age. Whatever the cause, the effect is hurting the church’s ability to fulfill Catechetical and formation, as well as other volunteer opportunities at the local level.

We are charged with reimagining how to engage the people in the pews to want to give of their time and talent to our faith communities. One of the best ways to increase interest in giving back to the parish or community is to celebrate the people who are serving in voluntary ministry positions. It might sound silly or perhaps even a bit contrived, but we need to carve out times within the year to highlight the efforts of the lay people who are serving in ministry. And we need to celebrate everyone!

Celebrating everyone can be as simple as having a donut reception after Mass to recognize lay leaders and volunteers or creating a space in your bulletin to highlight the work of your parish’s volunteers. It is also helpful to share success with the community. A Flocknote or bulletin to everyone about the progress of a project or highlights of what the young people in religious education are doing creates opportunities for connection. Cross pollinate ministry opportunities like bringing different parish groups together for fun activities like doing a supply drive for the local animal shelter in conjunction with the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi and the blessing of the animals. People love to give, especially when they see the collective impact of the whole parish. Above all – make it fun! There is nothing worse than people coming to an event to volunteer and the day feels like drudgery. Faith and works can also include fun.

You may have been at a parish where one person or one group does everything. On its face it looks great. Things are being “taken care of.” But are they? One person or one group cannot do everything and if they do how well is it being done? When a parish does a time and talent survey but never calls the people who volunteered to help with specific ministries, we not only lose out on a volunteer, but we lose out on the gifts of those individuals could have shared with our parish family.

One simple idea to help your parish increase the pool of doers is to name a volunteer coordinator for the parish. They would work closely with the pastor, parish staff, ministry leaders to keep their finger on the pulse of what activities are happening at the parish. They would be able to recruit volunteers long in advance of the event. A Flocknote or bulletin announcement of upcoming events and an easy way for people to express interest would help streamline the process. At the end of the day it is about getting everyone involved with passing on the rich story of our faith. Many hands make light work.

Taking a note from my own advice, I want to thank all of the lay leaders, catechists and other volunteers that contributed to all of the formation ministries at our parishes this year. Keep your eye on the prize as you continue to animate the Good News. The fruits of your labor are evident in the young people we encounter at diocesan events and in everyday people we meet in our parishes. Keep doing your very best. We see you!

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

By Lucia A. Silecchia

“If you become a teacher, by your pupils you’ll be taught.” So goes a line from the prelude to “Getting to Know You,” one of the songs that punctuates the classic musical “The King and I.”

After many years as a teacher, I can vouch for the truth of this observation. I am particularly reminded of it during this time of year. Invariably, as I watch my students prepare for final examinations, they teach me much about how we should and could be companions to each other on our journeys through this life.

Anyone who has been to school will remember final exam season as a time in the semester that is fraught with work, worry and the desire to perform well on the examinations that will determine course grades. (Students may not realize that this season can also be one of equal stress for their teachers!)

Each semester, I am pleasantly surprised when I see my students navigating this season together. I see them working together in study groups, coming to my office hours with friends, and lingering after class to continue discussing the material we covered amongst themselves or with me. When I meet with them on Zoom, there are sometimes two, three or four on the screen, bringing to me their debates and their questions – or asking me to resolve a friendly dispute they have had about the correct resolution to a problem. I see them gathered around tables in our student lounge or our courtyard deep in discussion and notice that they share their notes with each other when one seems to grasp some of the material better than his or her peers.

In one sense, this is not what many would assume to be rational behavior. After all, there is a temptation to don blinders during the final weeks of the semester and focus solely on individual preparation for the exams that lie ahead. It can be tempting not to “waste” time helping others in the hope that all will cross the finish line together. To cynics, it might even seem counterintuitive to share wisdom or understanding with others out of fear that this will propel them to outperform the one who first shared that wisdom.

Yet, each semester I see my students traveling this final stretch of the semester together, and I am both proud of and grateful to them.

I am proud of them because they have not let the stress of exam season distract them from the opportunities they have to be of help to each other, to support each other, and to share the highs and lows of their common adventure.

I am also deeply grateful to them because the way they treat each other during exam season teaches me something about living the Christian life.

As human beings made in the image and likeness of God, we are made to live in community with each other and to share our lives with those entrusted to us and to whom we have been entrusted. We are not made to travel through this life to the next life alone. Rather, we are called to a faith that we do not keep to ourselves, but that we share freely with others.

 We are called to help each other through the seasons of doubt and to rejoice with each other in the seasons of fulfilment. We are called to wrestle with the challenging questions of life together and help each other bear the burdens of difficult times. We are called to share freely “the reason for our hope” with those who ache to hear it. We are called to pray alone, but also to gather with our parish families, our friends and family, and even strangers to pray as a community.

My students show me this. In the mundane ways they walk together through exam season, they show me a glimpse of the more glorious way we are to walk together through this life and enter the next one in the company of each other. They show me what it means to be companions for the journey through ordinary time.

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

FROM THE HERMITAGE
By sister alies therese

You might remember that I am fond of desert monastics for both inspiration and correction. Having recently left the hospital and rehab after five long months, I’m back home hoping to share with you a little nourishment.

There are all sorts of deserts that these stories might be applied to and hospitals, nursing homes, rehab, jails are among a few. Don’t forget the homebound.

Desert monastic stories might be ‘true’ or not … in any case, the messages they bring are well worth at least devotional reading. Let’s consider two for ‘correction’ and one for inspiration.

“Abba Zosimas used to say: Take away the thoughts and no one can become holy. One who avoids the beneficial temptations is avoiding eternal life. It is like I always say: inasmuch as God is good, God has given us to profit from everything. However, we become attached and misuse God’s gifts, and so we turn these very same good gifts to destruction through our evil choice and are therefore harmed.”

I learned a lot from being so sick and I offer this reflection for those of our readers who are. Even when you are sick you can profit. Even when you have lost a good deal of control over your life, you can still profit. Bitter or better? You still choose. So, when opportunities come our way to be strengthened by adversity … let’s choose God for profit. This is often worked out by how one interacts with nurses, doctors and staff. Learning to listen beyond what we think is a real challenge. Learning to give up, give in and trust strengthens our resolve to love God alone.

What we value is often brought out when we are ill or restrained. I thought many times about how fortunate I was to be where I was (five hospitals and rehab). Would I die? Would I live? Who knew? Many medics were sure of the former (a scary time), but I kept trying to choose the latter.

Mentally I was stretched so my values got mixed up. Maybe I lost my temper, got angry? Or maybe I didn’t eat or I ate everything I could find? Our values come into bright relief when we are not in charge. Would seem that the things we have identify those values … but really it is who we are (in Jesus) that says a whole lot more.

“An old man said: If you have lost gold or silver, you can find something in place of what you lost. However, if you lose time you cannot replace what you lost.” Can we profit then from everything God sends … even those things we are sure are so important? What do we value? What do we share? What do we learn from difficulties?

Finally, I love a story about judgment and how we treat each other. I saw more than I would have liked of people left behind, uncaring professionals, and wrestling with my foibles. Judging others or ourselves is a slippery slope and one who has come to love God has learned this truth.

“Some old men came to Abba Poemen and said: Tell us, when we see brothers/sisters dozing during the sacred office, should we pinch them so they will stay awake? The old man said to them, ‘Actually if I saw a brother sleeping, I would put his head on my knees and let him rest.’”

I can be quick to judge what is right or wrong in any given situation and often I am completely off base. The tenderness of this story reminds me that we are flesh, and we are bound to fail, be weak and give in to ourselves. But here is a brother who understands this well and holds in his hands, as God does with us, the very flesh that this youngest or elder seems to be withholding. Oh no, God gives to His beloved in sleep the Psalmist reminds us and the beauty of this act reminds me to treat others and myself as God would have it. It is the heart of course that makes our awesome God smile and that is a treasure we can never lose and can always profit from. At the core of this heart, we develop that love that loved us first.
Maybe this anonymous little poem helps when we try to explain how great that love is. In A Nonny Mouse Writes Again we hear: “I know you little, I love you lots, my love for you would fill ten pots, fifteen buckets, sixteen cans, three teacups and four dishpans.”

What we learn to profit from will fill all that is around us and we become willing and able to put that love everywhere. So, when you encounter someone ill or left behind, offer them your hands and your knees, and let them rest. And when fear overcomes you, remember that love drives it out. The Russian author Ivan Turgenev in The Sparrow reminds us: “Love, I felt, more than ever, is stronger than death and the fear of death.” Rest, trusting that you are loved and cherished … and pass it on!

(Sister alies therese is a canonically vowed hermit with days formed around prayer and writing.)