Last issue, I promised that, with advance notice, I would mention various upcoming Community activities in this space. Jane Smith has given me the opportunity to fulfill on that promise.

Jane wrote an article detailing the various events the Spiritual Development Committee is planning for Lent, and beyond. For example, there will be a one-person dramatization of Mark’s Gospel put on by Patrick Creek, and a day-retreat directed by Rick Crow, among other things. See Jane’s article for the details. A lot of work goes into these events and they deserve the Community’s support, which is not to mention the personal benefits you will get from them. Please try to attend. (Would anyone like to volunteer to report on them for Communio?)

Paul Kunkel tells me about 45 people attended the day-of-recollection for liturgical ministers on Sunday, Feb. 2. The group included musicians, Eucharistic ministers, ushers, lectors, and sacristans, among others, and of course Fr. Tony. Paul said it was a very positive experience for all and a lot of valuable sharing went on.

Keep Paul in your prayers, as he will be going to Mexico from Feb. 22 to March 23. He will be in Cuernavaca for a total immersion language program. He has promised to E-mail us —-- in English, hopefully.

The wheels have started to turn for our annual Community elections. The big meeting is scheduled for Sunday, April 13, two weeks after Easter. The Nominations Committee, chaired by Peggy Connell (321-4589), hopes to have a slate of nominees together by Easter, if not before. Paul Kunkel said there are likely to be several openings, including the Hospitality and Finance committees —-- Bruce Wacker is stepping aside after a long and distinguished run as Treasurer. Other possibilities may be the Social Action and Membership committees, depending on whether people step forward.

So it’s time to start thinking, praying and discerning if you are being called to serve the Community in one of these roles, or in an at-large Council position.

Speaking of all that, John Lucic has asked me to mention that if there is someone out there who feels they could bring more to the position of Communications Chair, please step forward. The history on this is, John took the job two years ago without a specifically communications-related background. Since the editing of the newsletter was covered, we needed someone to take care of representing the Committee on Council and to make sure that the newsletter got produced and distributed —-- not small tasks.

John believes someone with a stronger background in communications might be able to do a better job. I disagree, but print this out of respect for his wishes. The operational side of the newsletter/Communio has run exceptionally smoothly under John’s watch, while his "Council Reports" have kept us all informed on what goes on at the meetings. Plus he’s done a good job navigating some tricky waters as we attempted to draw up some policies and procedures for Communio. I hope he will stay on for a third and final year (in accord with the term limits in the Charter).

On the global front:

As I reflected on the article I wrote last issue about Fr. Tissa Balasuriya, the Sri Lankan theologian who has been excommunicated for his "heretical" writings, there was an important aspect of the story I did not address. Here is a 72-year-old priest who has given his life to the Church, who is now cut off for reasons that many find difficult to understand. Then there is the possibility of Fr. Balasuriya being ousted from his order —-- the Oblates of Mary Immaculate. Some may not appreciate the gravity of this. It is more than being kicked out of a club of some kind. For religious, their order is are the family that takes care of them as they near the end of their lives. There is a cruelty involved in this decision out of proportion to just about anything that could have been written. And, in the view of many, Fr. Balasuriya’s ideas are not that extreme. From a Christian perspective, there is something real wrong with the handling of this situation.

Another note, in case you missed it -- it was (buried deep in the Plain Dealer article).: In announcing a new comprehensive document setting out the Vatican’s position on not ordaining women, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger said that those who support this concept are not heretics, and not subject to excommunication. They are, however, making a serious error, one that is "incompatible with the faith," he said.

Thus chastened —-- and in a backward kind of way, encouraged —-- we begin Lent.

Leading to the new millennium, the Church has asked us to focus on Jesus, baptism and the virtue of faith in 1997.

There are some wonderful opportunities for personal growth during Lent this year. So many times during the year we find ourselves busy, doing, going and planning, that finding time for quiet reflection and prayer is pushed to the end of day. O, or maybe we find it while we drive here and there, ride a bus, or wait in the doctor’s office. But now you can have an opportunity to be ‘`busy’ with God.

This coming Lent, there will be extra events planned besides the usual evening prayer services and Stations of the Cross.

Patrick Creek will present the "Gospel According to Mark," a one-person dramatization on Friday, Feb. 21, at 7:30 p.m. in the church. Pat has been doing this for many years at different churches as an opportunity for others to experience Christ in their lives, a chance for them to want to know Christ more personally. I’ve seen his presentation and I was really moved by it. His ability to take on the different people represented in Mark is amazing. During the dialogue, you may feel what it might have been like to be present at some of the events at that time. I hope you will put this date on your calendar. Come with family or friends, or maybe with your small faith sharing group. (Note: Please try to carpool as there is another activity in the church hall that evening.)

Rick Crow, known to many of us around Malachi’s, has accepted an invitation to direct a day retreat for us in the very near future. Once I receive confirmation on the location, a flyer with information and a reservation form will be put out. So keep reading the newsletter and don’t miss out. Reservations will be limited. (Scholarships will be available.)

The "Help Wanted" sign is out! First, put Edwina Gateley on your calendar for May 2-4. We are blessed that she will be here at St. Malachi’s for that weekend. Edwina founded a lay missionary group in England and has more than 1,000 people serving Christ’s poor all over the world. She also started Genesis House in Chicago as a ministry to prostitutes. It involves half-way houses and many other programs for that enable them to start new lives.

Edwina will do a presentation open to all on Friday, May 2 —-- we are hoping for a full house. Then she’ll direct a retreat for the Community on Saturday, May 3. She’s been asked to spend Sunday, May 4, with the women from our neighborhood who are served by Transitional Housing, Malachi Center and West Side Catholic Center.

Now about that "Help Wanted" sign. A few areas of need are publicity, hospitality, reservations and tickets, ushering, among others. If you have a talent, call us. If you want to meet new people, call us. Maybe your small faith group may want to take on an area. Please call Mary Laubenthal at 278-2658 or Jane Smith at 226-8531. (P.S.: I’m sure you’ll have fun helping!)

Most of all, I ask you to hold these and all ministries of St. Malachi’s in your prayers. Without spiritual support, we work in vain.

I hope you had a chance to meet the nice people from Wellspring today at Coffee Hour. They’ll be back on Feb. 23. I hope you enjoyed this, as well as the Heartbeats sale in Advent. While Wellspring is here, check out the new Henri Nouwen books: Can You Drink From the Cup? and Bread for the Journey: A Daybook of Wisdom and Faith. I’ve only heard only rave reviews like "powerful," "moving" and "I won’t lend this book out."

One more note, if you see Rebecca Rocco, stop her and say thanks. Rebecca goes to a lot of trouble to make sure we publish the scripture readings in the newsletter in advance so you can reflect on them during the week preceding the Sunday liturgy.

The events of today’s gospel reading are from the part of Mark’s gospel thatwhich has been called "A Day in Galilee" or "The Eventful Day in Capernaum" (Mark 1:21-45). W, what we might call a representative "Day in the Life of Jesus." Part of the beginning chapter of Mark, it lays out some of the major themes to be developed throughout the gospel. Jesus has just called four of the apostles (Simon, Andrew, James and John) away from their fishing boats to follow him and "fish for people" instead (1:16-20). "Immediately" they left their nets behind and followed him into Capernaum, a city on the Sea of Galilee thatwhich would be the center for Jesus’ Galilean ministry. It was the Sabbathsabbath, and Jesus went into the local synagogue and taught there. Jesus did not need rabbinicalrabbinic "ordination" to be allowed to do this; it was customary for anyone with sufficient learning to be invited to teach in the synagogue. Nonetheless, his hearers were "astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority" (1:22).

While in the synagogue Jesus also healed an individualman with an unclean spirit. This exorcism prepares us for the fact that an essential part of Jesus’ ministry will involve him in conflict with the spirits of evil. As a result of his authoritative teaching and the healing of the possessed personman, Jesus’ fame began to spread from that moment on, not only in Capernaum, but "throughout the surrounding region of Galilee" (1:28).

Upon leaving the synagogue, Jesus and the four apostles repaired to Simon’s house, where they found Simon’s mother-in-law ill with a fever. Jesus cured her, and she began to serve them. Scripture scholars tell us that the primary purpose for this last detail is to indicate the suddenness and completeness of her cure. The word used to describe her service ("diakonia") is the word usually used to describe serving at table. Remember, it was the Sabbathsabbath, and doubtless Jesus and the disciples were taking part in the Sabbathsabbath meal.

But the word "diakonia" also has another meaning in Mark’s gospel, where it is used to designate the attitude proper to discipleship. Later, when Jesus catches his disciples in an argument about "who is the greatest" among them, he tells them, "Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all": (9:35). And when James and John ask to be seated at his left and right hand in the coming kingdom, Jesus reads the apostles the riot act, so to speak: "You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be servant of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (10:42-45).

This ideal of leadership as service willingly assumed out of love is one of the hardest lessons the apostles have to learn in Mark’s gospel. A, and, quite frankly, they never get it right. When they realize the extent that "service" might mean, at the time of Jesus’ crucifixion, they all run away. But here, at the beginning of Mark’s gospel, is a personwoman who gets up from her sickbed to serve Jesus and his companions. Is it reading too much into this little incident to suggest that what she has done is a kind of model for what the disciples will need to learn throughout the gospel? Simon’s mother-in-law, nameless aside from her relationship by marriage to the head of the apostles, seems to have understood from the beginning what discipleship as service means.

After the meal, at sundown, the "whole city" gathered at the door where Jesus was. They brought "all who were sick or possessed with demons." And Jesus healed "many" among them. The next morning Jesus arose while it was still dark to pray "in a deserted place." Eventually, the four apostles found him, and Jesus proposed that they journey on "to the neighboring towns" so that he may proclaim the good news throughout Galilee (1:32-39).

In this short "day-in-the-life" segment, Mark has encapsulated for us the essentials of Jesus’ mission: 1) teaching about the good news "with authority" so that people’s hearts are touched by his word; 2) coming into conflict with the powers of evil and ordering them to be gone; 3) healing many from all sorts of illnesses. There is also a hint about discipleship as service.

This is the last Sunday of "ordinary time" we will observe for a while, for this coming Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent. This opening section of Mark’s gospel might provide some good reflection for how to live Lent this year. Instead of planning to "give up" something during this holy season, it might be worthwhile to ponder what I truly need from Jesus. Maybe I could put myself imaginatively back into the Capernaum scene, and allow myself to meet Jesus anew. Can I hear him preach the good news? What teaching do I most need to hear afresh? Can I be like the possessed individualman and bring to Jesus the conflicts and evils in my life that need to be addressed and healed? Can I allow myself to be healed by Jesus as was Simon’s mother-in-law? What "fever" in my life needs his gentle, cooling, soothing touch? Would it be possible during this coming Lent to "cast my cares upon Christ" more consciously, more conscientiously? A short time for prayer at the beginning of the day, perhaps, such as Jesus himself observed, might remind me to place my troubles in God’s hands through Jesus. Can I express in prayer my longing to be taught and come to a greater sense of peace about the cares and concerns of my life?

And what about service, exemplified by Simon’s mother-in-law? How is my service of others? Is it freely offered or done grudgingly? Women, especially, need to ask a further question: do I care adequately for myself in the midst of my care for others? There is a great difference between loving service of others willingly assumed and mere servility, which can only be destructive. Let us approach Lent this year as a time for taking stock of our lives, a time for "meeting Jesus again for the first time." Let us travel with him daily, learning from him, expressing our daily need for help and healing. As a result, perhaps our service

of others will become more genuine and heartfelt.

THE COMMUNITY OF ST. MALACHI is a lay-directed, non-territorial personal parish of the Diocese of Cleveland. Although separate from the Parish of St. Malachi, we join together for many worthwhile activities. All are welcome to worship at the 11:00 a.m. Community liturgy on Sunday. Community members are expected to actively contribute of their time, talent and treasure.