Let's Be On Mission

Dear Parishioners,

Last weekend, I read parts of Pope Francis' Apostolic Exhortation, "Joy of the Gospel." May of you asked me where they could buy it. We don't have any copies at the church for sale, so I encourage you to go to your local bookstore or go online and order it for yourself. But, in lieu of that, here are the paragraphs I read to the community. Read them again and ponder on how you can be more evangelical and mission orientated. Note the numbers before the paragraphs are the Church's way to organize her published texts. In my homily, I skipped from paragraph 28 to 32 in order to shorten my homily. Also note that I included the footnotes in the text, marked by brackets:

25. I am aware that nowadays documents do not arouse the same interest as in the past and that they are quickly forgotten. Nevertheless, I want to emphasize that what I am trying to express here has a programmatic significance and important consequences. I hope that all communities will devote the necessary effort to advancing along the path of a pastoral and missionary conversion which cannot leave things as they presently are. “Mere administration” can no longer be enough.[21] Throughout the world, let us be “permanently in a state of mission”.[22]

26. Paul VI invited us to deepen the call to renewal and to make it clear that renewal does not only concern individuals but the entire Church. Let us return to a memorable text which continues to challenge us. “The Church must look with penetrating eyes within herself, ponder the mystery of her own being… This vivid and lively self-awareness inevitably leads to a comparison between the ideal image of the Church as Christ envisaged her and loved her as his holy and spotless bride (cf. Eph 5:27), and the actual image which the Church presents to the world today... This is the source of the Church’s heroic and impatient struggle for renewal: the struggle to correct those flaws introduced by her members which her own self-examination, mirroring her exemplar, Christ, points out to her and condemns”.[23] The Second Vatican Council presented ecclesial conversion as openness to a constant self-renewal born of fidelity to Jesus Christ: “Every renewal of the Church essentially consists in an increase of fidelity to her own calling… Christ summons the Church as she goes her pilgrim way… to that continual reformation of which she always has need, in so far as she is a human institution here on earth”.[24]

There are ecclesial structures which can hamper efforts at evangelization, yet even good structures are only helpful when there is a life constantly driving, sustaining and assessing them. Without new life and an authentic evangelical spirit, without the Church’s “fidelity to her own calling”, any new structure will soon prove ineffective.
27. I dream of a “missionary option”, that is, a missionary impulse capable of transforming everything, so that the Church’s customs, ways of doing things, times and schedules, language and structures can be suitably channeled for the evangelization of today’s world rather than for her self-preservation. The renewal of structures demanded by pastoral conversion can only be understood in this light: as part of an effort to make them more mission-oriented, to make ordinary pastoral activity on every level more inclusive and open, to inspire in pastoral workers a constant desire to go forth and in this way to elicit a positive response from all those whom Jesus summons to friendship with himself. As John Paul II once said to the Bishops of Oceania: “All renewal in the Church must have mission as its goal if it is not to fall prey to a kind of ecclesial introversion”.[25]

28. The parish is not an outdated institution; precisely because it possesses great flexibility, it can assume quite different contours depending on the openness and missionary creativity of the pastor and the community. While certainly not the only institution which evangelizes, if the parish proves capable of self-renewal and constant adaptivity, it continues to be “the Church living in the midst of the homes of her sons and daughters”.[26] This presumes that it really is in contact with the homes and the lives of its people, and does not become a useless structure out of touch with people or a self-absorbed group made up of a chosen few. The parish is the presence of the Church in a given territory, an environment for hearing God’s word, for growth in the Christian life, for dialogue, proclamation, charitable outreach, worship and celebration.[27] In all its activities the parish encourages and trains its members to be evangelizers.[28] It is a community of communities, a sanctuary where the thirsty come to drink in the midst of their journey, and a centre of constant missionary outreach. We must admit, though, that the call to review and renew our parishes has not yet sufficed to bring them nearer to people, to make them environments of living communion and participation, and to make them completely mission-oriented.

32. Since I am called to put into practice what I ask of others, I too must think about a conversion of the papacy. It is my duty, as the Bishop of Rome, to be open to suggestions which can help make the exercise of my ministry more faithful to the meaning which Jesus Christ wished to give it and to the present needs of evangelization. Pope John Paul II asked for help in finding “a way of exercising the primacy which, while in no way renouncing what is essential to its mission, is nonetheless open to a new situation”.[35] We have made little progress in this regard. The papacy and the central structures of the universal Church also need to hear the call to pastoral conversion. TheSecond Vatican Council stated that, like the ancient patriarchal Churches, episcopal conferences are in a position “to contribute in many and fruitful ways to the concrete realization of the collegial spirit”.[36] Yet this desire has not been fully realized, since a juridical status of episcopal [37] Excessive centralization, rather than proving helpful, complicates the Church’s life and her missionary outreach.

33. Pastoral ministry in a missionary key seeks to abandon the complacent attitude that says: “We have always done it this way”. I invite everyone to be bold and creative in this task of rethinking the goals, structures, style and methods of evangelization in their respective communities. A proposal of goals without an adequate communal search for the means of achieving them will inevitably prove illusory. I encourage everyone to apply the guidelines found in this document generously and courageously, without inhibitions or fear. The important thing is to not walk alone, but to rely on each other as brothers and sisters, and especially under the leadership of the bishops, in a wise and realistic pastoral discernment.

[21] Fifth General Conference of the Latin American and Caribbean Bishops, Aparecida Document, 29 June 2007, 201.[22] Ibid., 551.[23] Paul VI, Encyclical Letter Ecclesiam Suam (6 August 1964), 9, 10, 11: AAS 56 (1964), 611-612.[24] Second Ecumenical Vatican Council, Decree on Ecumenism Unitatis Redintegratio, 6.[25] John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Ecclesia in Oceania (22 November 2001), 19: AAS 94 (2002), 390.[26] John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Christifideles Laici (30 September 1988), 26: AAS 81 (1989), 438.[27] Cf. Propositio 26.[28] Cf. Propositio 44.[29] Cf. Propositio 26.[30] Cf. Propositio 41.[31] Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Decree on the Pastoral Office of Bishops Christus Dominus, 11.[32] Cf. Benedict XVI, Address for the Fortieth Anniversary of the Decree Ad Gentes (11 March 2006): AAS 98 (2006), 337.[33] Cf. Propositio 42.[34] Cf. Canons 460-468; 492-502; 511-514; 536-537.[35] Encyclical Letter Ut Unum Sint (25 May 1995), 95: AAS 87 (1995), 977-978.[36] Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, 23.[37] John Paul II, Motu Proprio Apostolos Suos (21 May 1998): AAS 90 (1998), 641-658.

I hope our Holy Father's words offer you something to pray with and reflect upon in your heart. Are you a disciple of Jesus? Are you a disciple on mission or just a pew potato? These are questions we all need to ask in light of Pope Francis' challenging words. Let us receive his message with joy and strive to live it out in every moment of our lives.

Blessings,

Fr. William Holtzinger
Pastor

A Renewed Mission

Dear Parishioners,

We Catholics are people of Mission. It is what drives us, directs us, and gives us a sense of meaning. According to the Second Vatican Council, the Catholic Church’s mission is to proclaim the Gospel and establish among all people the kingdom of Christ and of God (Lumen Gentium 5). Essentially, the mission of he Church is that of Christ’s. So, you see, the mission begins with our Lord and is extended through each of us. When we were baptized, we were called to live out this mission.

In each parish, the mission is expressed in different ways given their particular gifts, ethnicity, geography, size, and history. Such a mission statement is critical to pastoral planning of any organization. So in order to understand and review who we are as St. Anne’s, we need to regularly review and evaluate how we are living out our mission through our Pastoral Plan. So, it was decided that we needed to spend time reflecting, first, on our mission statement. Last Saturday, the Pastoral Council gathered to begin the first step and found our previous mission statement to be unknown to most and too long to quickly grasp. So, after reflecting in prayer, reading of Scripture, brainstorming our goals and hopes, the result was a new and concise mission statement:

“We are St. Anne Catholic Church. A welcoming community, inspired by the Holy Spirit, we seek to proclaim Christ’s loving mission.”

Our mission statement is intended to be very short and broad. It is something we can all remember and even quote. It states what we claim to be and strive to live out in the future. We do not live it out perfectly, but it is a wonderful goal for which to strive. It succinctly brings together an awareness of our previous mission statement as well as new ideas and goals which we hope will move us into the future. From this mission, we will continue to discern goals and objectives which are more specific. We will review the good work of the previous Pastoral Plan and renew and adjust it in light of our new situation.

Please read this mission carefully. Not only commit it to memory, but let it be a prayer on your lips when you come to Mass, walk on the campus, spend time in adoration, or are simply about your daily tasks during the week. I am very proud and excited about this new mission. How does it speak to your heart? Does it create questions? Does it challenge you? How might you strive to live it out? Let us all set this on our hearts so that we may all more actively live as Christians who proudly call themselves St. Anne Catholic Church.

Blessings,

Fr. William Holtzinger
Pastor

Mission: Life

Dear Parishioners,

In last week’s homily I offered an invitation and challenge for each one of us. I asked each one of us to claim our baptism and live as a Disciple with a mission. For many, I imagine, this may seem foreign. What mission? Each one of us have been created for a purpose, and at our baptism and confirmation our Father gave us his Holy Spirit so we may have the grace to live that life for which we were called. I don’t know what you mission may be, but I can say that it is not simply to come to Mass for an hour, fulfill your obligation, and forget about your faith for the rest of the week. At the same time, most of us won’t be the next Sts. Therese or John of the Cross.

Seeking out one’s mission in life requires prayerful listening. Listening in order to hear God’s small still voice speak in our hearts and prayer that we may ask for the courage to do whatever we have been called to do. The discernment process then involves personally getting involved in things that strike an interest in us. In the course of time, we will be able to whittle down where our gift reside. Don’t let fear prevent you from trying out something new. You might be surprised that what you fear most is the place where you will find your mission and subsequent joy.

This Sunday, we have one of those opportunities to discern our mission. At 1:00 PM many will be gathering at the county courthouse for the annual March for Life. This event, whose cause is to end abortion through raising public awareness, is an excellent way to participate in one’s faith, make a difference in our culture, and reveal the evil that is perpetrated upon our most vulnerable, our unborn children. As Catholics, being pro-life is not an option. However, the way in which we participate in changing our Culture of Death into a Culture of Life is varied. Among all the various pro-life issues abortion is the most lethal of them all.

Another way to be active as Disciples in mission is by acting on the U.S. Bishop’s call to write our political leaders regarding the ongoing health care reform. The concern is again one of life. The bishops are guiding us to reject any legislation that would promote federally funded abortions while promoting affordable healthcare for all. I recently wrote to Sen. Jeff Merkley regarding this issue. He consequently sent me a form letter back disagreeing with me. So, I sent a response back which was recently published in our local paper. You can go to http://www.usccb.org/healthcare/ and learn more about ways you can help. Check out the flyer insert in this week’s bulletin as well. We will also put a link on our web site to help you easily send an e-mail to Congress.

Many of us are afraid to stand up for our faith. We are afraid of being called radicals or divisive. I agree that we can gather more bees with honey than with vinegar. But do not worry. Standing up for moral health care reform and the peaceful March for Life are loving ways to reveal the truth about our culture of death. These are ways to stir in your heart the Spirit who came upon you at baptism and called you to mission. Your participation in these events is also a way to do the same for others. Take a stand for the thousands of children who are killed every day through abortion. Help increase the opportunity for health care for all. Let God stir your heart. Consider the mission of the lives of the sick and innocent and act in solidarity with your fellow brothers and sisters for causes worthy of a few hours.

Blessings,

Fr. William Holtzinger
Pastor