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The Malachi File The Malachi File Mark your calendars for Sunday night April 29. The high school Christian Formation class has been working really hard on a production of "Godspell" they plan to put on that night at 8 p.m. in the church. Along with a heavy rehearsal schedule and a mini-retreat spent down at Malachi's, they also have been studying the Gospel of Matthew, which the play is based on. The Christian Formation team, led by Director of Religious Education Karen Duffy, has gone way beyond the call of duty working with these teens and the result will be a performance I know we all will enjoy. Meanwhile the kids have enjoyed a very special learning experience and are building a strong sense of community. See the following article by Karen for her perspective on the experience, as well as a list of kids and the adults who are supporting the effort. Please come as it promises to be a very special night for all involved. We are still waiting for someone to step forward to shepherd the Community's E-mail efforts. Contact me or Peter Toomey or anyone on the Communications Committee (see the back of Communio for details). There's some good news on this front: thanks to the hard work of Mike May and his brother Bob, the rectory now has e-mail. Here's the address: malachirectory@catholic.org. Please add it to your address book. This is an important step for our ability to stay in contact with each other in this digital age. Through continued conversations, I'm aware that not everyone has been pleased lately with what has been printed in Communio. We've received quite a few articles in response to various articles, and wish we had more. I was asked this week about our editorial policy: it is to run everything written by Community members that relates to our journey together in faith. And we interpret that broadly. Our goal is the free flow of communication, not to promulgate or to deny the promulgation of any viewpoints. We have yet to receive anything so problematic that we have had to consider not running it, and we will deal with such matters on a case-by-case basis if and when they arise. If you don't like something we've run in Communio, the appropriate response is in writing t o both Dan Alaimo Alaimo@bigfoot.com and Luis Gutierrez redcuban@bigfoot.com.Thanks to Karen Duffy, Debbie Mihalik, Frank Schiros, Helen Brinich, Bishop Pilla, Diane Brinich, Hal Place, Geoffrey Polk and Peter Toomey for contributing material this month. The next issue of Communio is May 11 with a deadline of April 29. -Dan Alaimo (Dan co-chairs the Communications Committee with Peter Toomey.) In Awe Of Our Young People In August, when the high school Christian Formation team met to decide our focus for the school year, we had several objectives in mind:
The idea of studying the Gospel of Matthew in the light of the music of "Godspell" was new and uncharted territory for me. I know very little about directing a stage production. I had prayed most of the summer for an idea that would meet our objectives and this was the answer God gave me so I took a deep breath and jumped right in. What I didn't expect was the incredible gift that God had in mind for me. As we slowly muddled through the process of bringing this scripture to life, I became more aware than ever of the talent, faith, and enthusiasm of the teens in Christian Formation. I became the student as I watched them first work on a "play" and then one by one, at different times, realize that this was much more. I was in awe as I watched them discussing what was happening in each scene, leading each other in stage direction, song, and dance, and cheering for each other when they were able to get past a part that was giving them problems. I found myself saying over and over again, "this is so cool." The dedication of the teens and their families has been incredible. Support and ideas seemed to be coming from everywhere. The many obstacles I anticipated seemed to melt away. The highlight of the preparation was the retreat on March 23rd and March 24th. During this time we all poured ourselves into both the production and the meaning behind it. God does wonderful things and this year God brought an already close-knit group closer to each other and closer to God. This love for each other and for God shines through in every aspect of this production. I was moved to tears several times during our final run-through at the end of the retreat. I am always grateful for the opportunity to work with the incredible families in this community and I am excited that the whole community will have a chance to catch a glimpse of the Spirit's work when we present our version of "Godspell" on Sunday, April 29th, at 8:00 p.m. in the church. -Karen Duffy (Karen is the Director of Religious Education at St. Malachi.) Who's Who In "Godspell" (Karen has provided us with a complete list of everyone involved in the performance and production of "Godspell." Included is a listing of who will be singing what songs. Thanks Karen!)
Letters To The Editor Community Building It was so good to read the responses to the education debate in the latest issue of Communio by Karen Duffy and Helen Brinich. In that same issue Frank Schiros responded to my response in the previous issue of Communio. I feel quite comfortable that these other women have done a very excellent job of presenting information and if the interest for a community time of sharing on this subject is something that Frank wishes to pursue then he could discuss this with whatever committee would be appropriate. I recently had the opportunity to attend a day conference held by the Federation for Community Planning that was held at the Cleveland Convention Center on March 14th. I attended breakout sessions that were given by a pastor from a church in a very poor section of Cincinnati called "Over the Rhine." This is the poorest area of the city with the highest rates of crime, homelessness, and substance abuse, and all the classic needs that our social service systems try to "fix," "help," or "make better." The topic of these sessions was ABCD - Asset Based Community Development. The pastor talked about all the many programs to "help" those in need - the soup kitchens, the free meals, the clean up the street programs, the dollars that are poured into this area to try and assist people in bettering their lives and "fixing" their state of life. There never seems to be enough money, food, or help to "fix" the problem. The basic tenant of the Asset Based approach is not to go out to fix, feed, house, or in any way fill up the need of another person. It is based on the basic belief that every person is valuable and every person has something to give. When we stop looking at people as their problems and begin looking at people as their gifts we see them differently and they see themselves differently. The pastor shared example after example of people's lives that have been transformed because they were able to give of themselves and their giftedness to their community. I can't help but wonder here at Malachi's if we don't need to look at our "service" to the poor. We are feeding many people through the back door ministry and the Monday night meals. We are filling their bellies but are we touching their souls? How many of the local people do we find in our pews on Sunday? There are people out there with the gifts of hospitality, of cooking, of serving, of cleaning, (who knows what other talents exist) and of the many many tasks that it takes to run a Church community. Where are these gifts expressed in our community? We feel good when we can say we "feed the poor" and give numbers as to how many people we serve through the back door ministry or the Monday night meal. Why is it that we feel good about what we are doing? The good feeling comes because we are giving of our gifts, our talents and our time. Do we take the time to discover the "assets," the gifts of those who come to the back door and to the Monday night meal and then give these people the opportunity to contribute to the community? Many people who have overwhelming needs in their lives have lost the ability to see their giftedness - it takes a lot more work to sit and listen and help someone discover their gifts and talents than it takes to cook and serve them a meal. I work with people with developmental disabilities. It is much easier to plug them into services than to sit with them and listen and discover their dreams, their interests, their talents, their experiences, and their gifts. My challenge is to not focus on their deficits - they are there for anyone to see - but to focus on their "assets," their gifts, talents, interests, and dreams; to help them discover the gifts that are within, for it is from there that they can build their life. The deficits remain, and services have their place, but it is not the focus of their life. I can't help but see this relate directly to the people that St. Malachi's serves. I know that this type of ministry has existed at St. Malachi's at some point in time, for I am very blest by the assistance with parking from Ken on Sunday mornings. He has a talent for greeting people, watching out for their safety and the safety of their vehicles, and he is able to utilize this gift with his service in the parking area on Sundays. In my life and experience with people with disabilities and supporting them in creating a life that they love, ABCD thinking has been invaluable. The shift in attitude that occurs when you focus on assets and the results in people's lives are undeniable. I hope that my sharing may have encouraged those who participate in the Back Door Ministry, the Monday Night Meal, and the many other ministries to the "poor" to look at their ministry in the light of ABCD and ask themselves, "So, how are we doing?" -Debbie Mihalik Frank Fans The Flames I applaud the responses to my articles on parochial versus public education. Education today has become a critical issue in this nation and needs to be free from all the political rhetoric that goes nowhere; it requires serious dialogue and examination on the part of the public both Catholic and non-Catholic alike. I must hasten to correct the perception anyone has that I have a desire to trash Catholic education - I truly do not, having been a product of Catholic middle school (St. Rose) and college education (John Carroll University). However, I draw on a comparatively more extensive background than most people regarding parochial and public education - through academic studies, through 38 years of practice and a lifetime of being Catholic. I believe most Catholics and other faiths are out of touch with the transitions and transformations that both systems - parochial and public - have undergone. I'm afraid that the statistical rebuttals provided are "out of context" and "choose to ignore realities," regarding, in particular, Catholic education. On the one hand, I understand any parochial teacher's vested interest, commitment to their students and loyalty to their job, but on the other hand, it would be interesting to hear from middle and lower income Catholic families who either cannot or will not enroll their children in Catholic schools. It would also be interesting to hear from Catholics, particularly those with families, who teach in public schools and are not teaching in Catholic schools. The realities are that 1st through 8th grade tuition may be around $2000 - which is a lot for most families. High school tuition ranges from a low of $5,460 (St. Augustine) to a high of $7,300 (St. Ignatius). That's on the West Side; it gets worse on the East Side. The best discount one can get is about $200. If you have 3 daughters as I do, you get a $400 discount, but you pay $15,580 at St. Augustine; and if you have 3 sons you pay $21,600 at St. Ignatius. If that's too stiff, you can apply for financial aid. The quoted median income in Lakewood (taken from the 1990 census) was $28,791 and today it may be around $35,000. Think about it. If you're around the median income level and have sons and daughters to educate, can you really afford a pricey education? At one time it may have once been possible, but today it almost requires too much sacrifice to afford these elite prices. Not all Catholics, or Christians, are CEOs, MBAs, lawyers, or Silicon Valley millionaires. Another reality is that parochial teacher work conditions can not be dismissed as easily as some people would have us believe. A single teacher may not understand the family economics of a Catholic breadwinner. Catholic schoolteachers are "not a happy lot." They are underpaid, and they are underrepresented. Although they maintain their commitment to their students, parents send their children to their school at their expense. Admittedly there are teachers with M.A.s and Ph.D.s, but a parochial system cannot hope to compete for most top quality teachers with most suburbs. It's like the Peace Corps. Well meaning and spiritually directed teachers may start out in Catholic schools but eventually the economics of the outside world intrude on one's ideals, and unless you stay single or join an order or join the Peace Corps, you have to find a job that will allow you to pay the everyday bills of living. Another reality in education is that suburban public schools are excellent schools with public yardsticks that measure and identify their excellence - no such public yardsticks are available for parochial schools. The good suburban schools have become the "new" catholic schools because, by definition, they accept and serve all students, rich or poor, bright or slow, regardless of race, ethnicity, or special needs. And it doesn't cost parents an "arm and a leg," just their taxes. Also, many of the special education and enriched services used by parochial schools are made available through public school districts and facilitated by public school teachers. The Church once had compelling reasons to run parochial schools. The social/cultural climate was once prejudiced against Catholics and to preserve our religious culture parochial schools were encouraged and supported. However, as often happens in any bureaucracy, the Church has not reassessed parochial education in light of a changed climate. Keep in mind that I could be talking about any church supported school system - Jewish, Protestant, Muslim, whatever. But look around, Catholics have moved into the mainstream; remember we elected a Catholic president! The first amendment of the Bill of Rights states that, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." In my mind, that means that no religion shall be made a state religion, but it does not prohibit the support of religious exercises like parochial education as long as the schools submit to the same criteria of examination and evaluation as public schools. If the government were ever to make the mistake of making this sensible interpretation, and really wanted schools to be competitive and for children to have a good education, it would fund all schools, both public and parochial, equally and allow the best schools to survive without the stigma of dollar signs. European school systems have done it, why can't we? -Frank Schiros
Fr. Paul Hritz On Mission The four Catholic Churches in Lakewood collaborated on a series of Lenten programs, each featuring a highly respected keynote speaker. The series was a great success. Such collaboration might well be emulated by St. Malachi and the parishes of the near West Side. The service at St. Luke on March 23rd featured our own Fr. Paul Hritz as the keynote speaker. He addressed the topic of "mission" in its theological foundations and how it applies to the Christian in today's world. He recognized that the sorry state of the world today and in the recent past gives little promise that justice and peace will ever prevail. The 20th century was the bloodiest in the history of mankind, and wars continue to ravage large populations of the earth. Fr. Hritz reminded us that the Christian cannot lose hope, but needs to remember that Jesus Christ is present today in this imperfect world. The Church is his body and we are the parts of his body. Jesus is present in Christian ministries, in Scripture, and most importantly in the Eucharist. Fr. Hritz emphasized several times that in the Eucharist we, the faithful, are transformed into the body and blood of Christ. We come together in communion with God and with our brothers and sisters in Christ in the Eucharist. It is this that empowers us to act as the body of Christ. Since we are Christ in the world we must act accordingly. If we want peace we must work for justice. Not only is a large proportion of the people of the world living in poverty and on the edge of starvation, but in our own wealthy country many of our citizens are being denied what is justly theirs. More than 40 million people don't have health insurance. There is not adequate housing for the working poor. Many of our children are malnourished and living below the poverty level. Our prisons are bulging with prisoners whose incarceration costs $25,000 per year with very little in the way of money or effort being expended for their rehabilitation. Our country has the resources to do better, but our priorities are wrong. Every one of us needs to do what we can to correct injustice wherever we see it. But a parish can do more than an individual; a diocese can do more than a parish. Working together as the body of Christ, Christians can and should make a difference. -Helen Brinich Vibrant Parish Life, Part 2: Four Convictions (This is the second of a three-part series presenting Bishop Anthony M. Pilla's pastoral letter, "Vibrant Parish Life." Parish collaboration will be a major initiative for the Diocese in the next few years. The full text is available on the diocesan web site, www.clevelanddiocese.org. There is a link at the very top of the opening page. - D.A.) I offer here my heartfelt convictions and core values in order to assist the diocesan Church in the process of discernment for the future. These convictions come from my reflection upon the Gospel, my study of Church history, consultation with the ministers and faithful of our Diocese, and my reading of the signs of the times over the past forty years. These thoughts drive my pastoral ministry as bishop regarding the future of our parish life and I believe they must guide us as we consider the future of our Diocese in the New Millennium. My first conviction is that our chosen method for achieving vibrant parish life for all of our people must be an experience of "communion" - growing together in Christ. I want the process that we use for developing ways of better sharing our resources and personnel to have the same qualities as the goal we are seeking to achieve. St. Paul's Letter to the Ephesians presents us with a model of how the Church should face and resolve the issues of its life: "Living the truth in love, we should grow in every way into Him who is the head, Christ, from whom the whole body . . . brings about the body's growth and builds itself up in love" (4:15-16). Therefore, I believe that our efforts to respond to the realities of growth and decline must be guided by a process that itself is vibrant, one that "builds up" the experience of parish life for the people and the ministers. It is my hope that this process, for those who enter it sincerely, will not discourage people or communities. Instead, any process we use to deal with the future of parish ministry must encourage the faith life of the persons most directly affected. This standard which I am setting will be challenging to uphold. It demands the love of Christ, a charity beyond all telling, a willingness for compromise and sacrifice, and a fidelity to the Gospel and the Church. My second conviction is one of deep respect for, and reliance upon, the leadership of those closest to each situation. I hold in inestimable value the local community, its gifts, traditions, ethnicity, and needs. This respect mandates that any process involve initiative at the local community level. I do not believe that true parish life can be imposed from an outside authority. Rather, I am convinced that it must be discerned in faith and be embraced voluntarily with the heart. While I will admit that this conviction is a personal approach, I must assure you that it is an intentional and, I believe, an authentic act of Christian leadership. I suggest that its validity lies in my understanding of true conversion, and its attraction for me lies in my esteem for each member of the Christian faithful. Admittedly, it is a challenging style of leadership, because it depends upon the commitment and responsive fidelity of courageous members of our parishes and communities if it is to be effective. It is risky and deeply Christian, because it is an attitude of leadership that requires no compulsory participation, threatens no consequences for non-compliance, and demands hard work and perseverance. For those who accept the call to cooperate, I can promise you a powerful experience of the Spirit and an opportunity for true Christian discipleship and authentic Church life. I invite the cooperation of all the faithful in the Diocese. My personal spirituality and style of episcopal leadership dictate that I rely upon the leaders and members of each local community to participate in the formulation of a plan for the future and to willingly open their hearts to new life and to a renewed Church. My conversations on the subject of parish staffing have shown me that most people do have some idea of what they think might "fix things." I find many of these "fixes" unacceptable because they are typically solutions aimed at some "other" people, "someone else's" parish, one of those "cumbersome" institutions, or some "unfamiliar" effort. Our solutions cannot deal with the Church's people and institutions by using impersonal or hurtful strategies. My resistance to formulating an aggressive and sweeping plan for parish consolidations or closings is that, rather than "fixing" a fundamental problem or strengthening the faith of the people, the actual result is that people experience tremendous pain and alienation. I do not believe that building vibrant parish life can be legislated. It must involve initiative at the local community level and be embraced willingly with the heart by those most affected. This demands local leadership. My third conviction is that the priests, deacons, religious, and lay ecclesial ministers serving the parishes of our Diocese must be respected and that their faithful cooperation is essential. The mission of Christ in this Diocese cannot be accomplished, nor can the challenges of growth and decline be remedied, without the initiative and cooperation of these men and women in leadership. I rely very much upon their insights, their gifts, and their generosity to build up parish life. Our parish leaders are as prepared, gifted, committed, and generous as any in the Church. I take very seriously my responsibility of appointing and distributing our ordained ministers in an effective and just fashion, considering the overall needs of the entire Diocese. However, I am very concerned about the increased burden upon fewer priests, the effect on priestly morale of being "over-stretched," the burden upon lay ecclesial ministers having insufficient priestly and sacramental support, and the burden upon our institutions to recruit, train, and maintain lay ecclesial ministers with just compensation. These aspects of our present dilemma bring urgency to the discussion. We need to move more quickly in planning for the future in order to honor, encourage and preserve the treasure we have in our parish ministers because these challenges strike them most significantly every day. The value I place upon the ministers of our Church obliges me to state firmly that solutions to the issues of growth and decline must safeguard the role of the ordained ministers. I look for solutions that are respectful of the proper role of all in ministry. They must include encouragement, training, and the just compensation of lay ecclesial ministers. The best solutions will be those that strive to create collaborative leadership groups that employ the full complement of all the Church's ministries. If local communities are going to experience vibrant parish life, it will be at the hands and to the credit of Spirit-inspired parish leaders. My hope is that every parish leader will hear the call of this present situation and join with me in enthusiastically moving into the future. My fourth and final conviction is that vibrant parish life is best achieved through the collaborative efforts of several ministries and communities in an area, and that these ministries will often permeate parish boundaries. Such collaboration will utilize and preserve the different gifts of each parish; it will relieve the burdens of some; and it will promote the faith and the life of all the Christian faithful. In my experience, there are wonderful examples of collaboration that have increased the vibrancy of parish life for all concerned. Several which come to mind are: programs which are done jointly or regionally such as RCIA, youth ministries, Pre-Cana Days, Separated and Divorced ministry, elementary schools, adult education/speaker series, and community outreach - programs and ministries that a single parish might find difficult or impossible to do alone or whose quality is greatly improved when done collaboratively; one or more parishes sharing a pastoral minister (which neither parish could support by itself); and coordinated Mass schedules in an area (which eliminates duplicate times and liturgies). Many of our parishes have been enriched through "The Church in the City" partnerships in which worship, social, educational and outreach experiences are shared. These partnerships are marked by a mutual giving and receiving, and by intentional and inclusive relationships which impact both the parish community and individual lives. In all of these cases, parish life has become more vibrant because resources were shared and coordinated, and the burden on each one was lightened. Traditional parish boundaries can be respected without serving as an obstacle to shared parish life throughout every area of the Diocese. Growth and decline situations are not an urban, ethnic or administrative problem alone, but they involve the whole Diocese. As St. Paul reminds us, we need each other, as each part of the body needs every other part. "If they were all one part, where would the body be? But as it is, there are many parts, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I do not need you,' nor again the head to the feet, 'I do not need you.' Indeed, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are all the more necessary." (1 Cor. 12:19-22). Ours is a family challenge that demands the prayer, cooperation, and creativity of the entire family. I invite all parishes in our Diocese to respond to this call of renewing our mission. The solution I envision will depend upon every parish reconsidering its responsibilities for "parish life" in an area wider than its boundaries. I realize that some people may feel that their parish has everything it needs, so why bother with this process. I want to emphasize that we are called to give witness to a "Catholic vision" of parish life and unity, and not simply a "congregational perspective." Each parish has something to give, and each has something to receive. I ask that each pastor, staff, and pastoral council begin to consider the needs of an area broader and wider than the traditional territory of the parish. Likewise, these parish leaders must consider the gifts that their individual parish can offer to that same surrounding area. The goal of this re-visioning will be the collaborative use of resources and personnel, the combining of gifts and creativity, and the building up of and just distribution of parish life so that all peoples are exposed to the fullest expression of Church life and ministry. These are my most firmly held convictions regarding the future of parish life in the Diocese of Cleveland. To restate them:
These convictions are interdependent. It seems difficult to imagine a healthy solution for our Diocese that omits any of these or exaggerates one. Having stated these convictions plainly, I now invite you to join me in the next step of this journey. We are crossing the threshold into a new century, an amazing Third Christian Millennium. Amidst the uniqueness and the grace of the Jubilee, we find ourselves at a perfect time to gather our collective will in order to assess and renew our Church life and to make things the way they ought to be. The challenges of growth and decline that I have addressed in this statement are only one important aspect among many inviting us to renewal in this new time. We must be a reconciled community, one family of faith, sharing a common calling and recognizing a common goal. We are Christ's Body empowered for this mission. St. Paul, writing to the Church in Rome, provides the direction by which our common goal can be attained: "Let us then pursue what leads to peace and to building up one another." (Romans 14:19) If we value the peace among us and strive to build up the life we share, our mission is secure. Indeed, prayer and dedication are needed for such a mission. My forty years of ministry in this Diocese have convinced me that neither is lacking here. Let us join our hearts and lives as we work to build up an ever more vibrant parish life for everyone in our Diocese. -Bishop Anthony M. Pilla (This pastoral letter may be freely copied or reprinted, or for additional copies, write or call: the Diocese of Cleveland, 1027 Superior Ave, Room 600, Cleveland OH 44114; phone 216-696-6525 or 800-869-6525, ext. 4210; E-mail: vibrantparishlife@dioceseofcleveland.org.) A Youth-Full Community This is an exciting time for youth in the Community of St. Malachi! The young people in our community need to be embraced and encouraged by all of us. There are wonderful, creative people who are sharing their talents to help the youth be more fully a part of our St. Malachi family. The teen Christian Formation classes are working diligently on a production of "Godspell." They have just returned from a retreat at St. Malachi that focused on the Gospel of Matthew and sharing their faith through their work on "Godspell." This will be performed in the church the evening of April 29. Karen Duffy, Jen De John, and Rick Zimmerman are a great gift to these young teens. Each Saturday afternoon in church there is a joyous noise being proclaimed. Charlene McElwee, our music director, is welcoming children of all ages. She has initiated a children's choir for anyone old enough to read. Choir practice is on Saturdays at 2:00 in the church. This is a fabulous opportunity for our children to more fully participate in the celebration of the Mass. The choir currently has three members, which seems to be a small representation of the many talented children in our community. Charlene shares her wonderful talent in such a loving way. She would be delighted to welcome many more children. How can this group grow? Is the time inconvenient for families? We all need to encourage children to be more than spectators in our faith; perhaps this is a mission that they would enjoy. We would all benefit from the joyous noise they would share with the community! The young people in our church need to feel that they have a place in our community. They are looking to belong and it is so important for them to form close relationships with other children who have similar beliefs and concerns. They want what we all want, to feel a sense of belonging, a sense of being wanted; they want a place to celebrate and a place of refuge. Our community needs to support their efforts; we need to continue to offer them opportunities to participate; and we need to pray for them and the fine people who are sharing themselves with them. -Diane Brinich (Diane is a member of the Community and a Christian Formation instructor.) God Explained (Dan's cousin Hal Place sent us this net nugget. The piece was prefaced with these remarks: "This one is fabulous! It was written by an 8 year old, Danny Dutton of Chula Vista, CA, for his third grade homework assignment. The assignment was to explain God - evidently this was not a public school.") One of God's main jobs is making people. He makes them to replace the ones that die, so there will be enough people to take care of things on earth. He doesn't make grown-ups, just babies. I think because they are smaller and easier to make. That way He doesn't have to take up His valuable time teaching them to talk and walk. He can just leave that to mothers and fathers. God's second most important job is listening to prayers. An awful lot of this goes on, since some people, like preachers and things, pray at times beside bedtime. God doesn't have time to listen to the radio or TV because of this. Because He hears everything, there must be a terrible lot of noise in His ears, unless He has thought of a way to turn it off. God sees everything and hears everything and is everywhere, which keeps Him pretty busy. So you shouldn't go wasting His time by going over your Mom and Dad's head asking for something they said you couldn't have. Atheists are people who don't believe in God. I don't think there are any in Chula Vista. At least there aren't any that come to our church. Jesus is God's Son. He used to do all the hard work like walking on water and performing miracles and trying to teach the people who didn't want to learn about God. They finally got tired of Him preaching to them and they crucified Him. But He was good and kind, like His Father and He told His Father that they didn't know what they were doing and to forgive them and God said O.K. His Dad (God) appreciated everything that He had done and all His hard work on earth so He told Him He didn't have to go out on the road anymore. He could stay in heaven. So He did. And now He helps His Dad out by listening to prayers and seeing things which are important for God to take care of and which ones He can take care of Himself without having to bother God. Like a secretary, only more important. You can pray anytime you want and they are sure to help you because they got it worked out so one of them is on duty all the time. You should always go to church on Sunday because it makes God happy, and if there's anybody you want to make happy, it's God. Don't skip church or do something you think will be more fun like going to the beach. This is wrong. And besides the sun doesn't come out at the beach until noon anyway. If you don't believe in God, besides being an atheist, you will be very lonely, because your parents can't go everywhere with you, like to camp, but God can. It is good to know He's around you when you're scared in the dark or when you can't swim and you get thrown into real deep water by big kids. But you shouldn't just always think of what God can do for you. I figure God put me here and He can take me back anytime He pleases. And that's why I believe in God. -Danny Dutton On A Small Boat In The Dark As a young ministerial student, Jayber Crow, the protagonist of Wendell Berry's novel of the same name, believes he is "called" but finds his calling doesn't fall into a convenient category. He goes to his professor, "Old Grit," for help, but instead is told that the way to belief is not easy: "You have been given questions to which you cannot be given answers. You will have to live them out - perhaps a little at a time."
"And how long is that going to take?" "I don't know. As long as you live, perhaps."
"That could be a long time." said. "It may take longer." Wendell Berry, the noted poet and essayist, who lives on a farm in Kentucky, has written a book of quiet intensity about a vanishing and slower time; when community meant that you and your neighbors were put together in a small town and given the task to live together come hell or high water; when moving on to another life was not the seemingly easy option that it is today. Berry tells the life story of Jayber Crow, an orphan, barber, church janitor, and gravedigger, who lives his life in the farming community of Port William searching for meaning, for how to transform his life not by moving away but from the inside out, searching for how to live with others and with the world. Along the way he finds faith: This is a book about Heaven, but I must say too that it has been a close call. For I have wondered sometimes if it would not finally turn out to be a book about Hell - where we fail to love one another, where we hate and destroy one another for reasons abundantly provided or for righteousness' sake or for pleasure, where we destroy the things we need the most, where we see no hope and have no faith...where we must lose everything to know what we have had. After his unsettling talk with the professor, Jayber decides his doubts are too great for him to continue his religious studies and he leaves the college to find answers to his questions (although having doubts seems to me a good way to find faith, and is coexistent with faith). He tries many jobs, negotiating with the world for a suitable means to sustain himself, constructing a place for himself within the community. He sees the town of Port William as an interconnected web of relationships in which each person's actions affect the entire community. This interconnectedness is something we miss today, and try to recreate in our own lives and neighborhoods with varying success. Throughout his life, as economic and societal changes inevitably alter Port William, the questions return to him. The town's church doesn't seem a comfortable container for his belief, but he becomes a part-time janitor there, reflecting his desire to be near but not quite a part of the church. He doesn't like easy and tidy sermons, but he loves the idea of church: What they came together for was to acknowledge, just by coming, their losses and failures and sorrows, their need for comfort, their faith always needing to be greater, their wish (in spite of all words and acts to the contrary) to love one another and to forgive and be forgiven, their need for one another's help and company and divine gifts, their hope (and experience) of love surpassing death, their gratitude.
This is a wonderful description of why we go to church and certainly reflects my experience.
I always wished a little that the church was not a church, set off as it was behind its barriers of doctrine and creed, so that all the people of the town and neighborhood might two or three times a week freely have come there and sat down together. This, too, reminds me of our church. What I like about St. Malachi is that it's a church that doesn't seem like Church - that is, it doesn't distance itself from the community, from the secular world, from us. As Jayber makes his way in the world, he finds himself increasingly preoccupied with faith and belief. He ponders God's nature and existence: I imagined that the right name might be Father, and I imagined all that the name would imply: the love, the compassion, the taking offense, the disappointment, the anger, the bearing of wounds, the weeping of tears, the forgiveness, the suffering unto death. If love could force my own thoughts over the edge of the world and out of time, then could I not see how even divine omnipotence might by the force of its own love be swayed down into the world? Could I not see how it might, because it could know its creatures only by compassion, put on mortal flesh, become a man, and walk among us, assume our nature and our fate, suffer our faults and our death? What answer can human intelligence make to God's love for the world? What answer, for that matter, can it make to our own love for the world? If a person loved the world - really loved it and forgave its wrongs and so might have his own wrongs forgiven - what would be next? Jayber's response is to pray. His growing desire and need to pray and yet feeling he doesn't know how is familiar to those who are not sure how to pray or wonder if we're doing it right - which may be all of us. In a beautiful passage, Jayber describes his experience of prayer:
It is unusual in modern novels to find such concern with faith and belief. Or perhaps it's more accurate to say that faith is the subject of every novel, yet more frequently the novelist's answer is not affirming. The novelist often wants to sit on the fence, or is despairing or ironic. Berry's novel is affirming, but not in an easy manner. He, too, realizes that Jayber's answers are not simple or always reassuring:
-Geoffrey Polk Padre Franco The Bell Ringer (Padre Franco derives the title for this column, and the name of his monastery, from the movie "Cinema Paradiso," where the village priest was the local censor. Whenever he found objectionable parts in a film, he would ring his bell and the projectionist would cut the scene out. While the Padre is a little like the priest in the movie, ringing a bell with his words, he takes some license with the concept in rating the films, using a scale of one to five bells - the more bells, the better he liked the picture. This month the Padre prefaces his review with a vision, talking about himself in the third person - which has some of here at the monastery a little worried. The Padre would like to remind everyone that the Monasterio de la Cinema Paradiso is open to anyone with a passion for movies who cares to share their reflections with the larger Community. Men, women and teens are encouraged to join us. Popcorn will be provided.) After venturing again into the media wilderness, Padre Franco returned to the peace and quiet of the Monasterio de la Cinema Paradiso to reflect on the movie that he had just viewed. His first thoughts were that "it's a jungle out there" and civilization is sliding into a cultural Dark Age. He found that movies were turning into a kind of violent soap opera that many women (and men) used to watch whiling away the day eating Bon Bons on the living room couch. He realized that TV dramas had edged their way into film, but he feared that the minds and imaginations of both children and adults would become learning disabled and great movies, great books, and great TV programs would become history and be replaced by fat that would clog up a person's mental arteries. But then in prayer and meditation, the Holy Ghost filled him with inspiration and he was seized with a great thought. If St. Patrick could travel into Ireland and convert the barbarians, he too could venture out into the American hinterlands and start a wholesome conversion of Americans and turn them back to a culture that inspires and cherishes uplifting cultural and moral themes! Yes, if he succeeded, he could hope to be raised up to sainthood and there might even be a St. Padre Franco Day with parades in his memory. Let us pray for his safekeeping on his journey. %%1/ 2The producers have put together a cast of premier actors and what do we get? Professional critics did their best to be nice; Brad Pitt (Jerry) tries to pretend that he's an earnest bungling bagman; Julia Roberts (Samantha) pretends that she's a prattling shrew; and James Gandolfini (Larry) tops it off by pretending that he's a heart warming, homosexual hitman. (I hope the Gay Union marches in protest of such stereotypes.) On with the story. Jerry is given an assignment to pick up a legendary pistol called "the Mexican" that has a curse attached to it. He was warned not to bungle the job or it was over for him. Jerry goes back to his love nest and tells Samantha that he has to do one more job before they go to Vegas. After her hysterics, Samantha goes on alone to Las Vegas and she's taken hostage by killer Larry. As they try to catch up with Jerry, Samantha and Larry become friends because he's giving her good advice about life and love. In the meantime, Jerry is trying too hard to pick up the cursed pistol and messing up the simple assignment. Only God knows why, but he's followed around by a moth eaten dog who carries a punctured football. (I think it was a Wilson sports product.) Jerry lurches from crisis to crisis while being abused by Mexicans who are aware of the value and the curse of the pistol. The legend says that if the pistol is fired someone will die in heartbreaking tragedy. Of course the gun is fired off, all kinds of people are killed and before Larry is "offed," he answers this profound question: when two people in love have had enough, when do they call it quits. His answer: never! Jerry and Samantha ride off in his junk truck squabbling ever after. Never ever underestimate the possibility and probability that top rated stars can be cast in stinkers. I wish the directors had fired off "The Mexican." -Padre Franco Online Primer: Maintenance And The End Of Free As many of you have discovered, the age of free everything on the internet is coming to an end. The number of free internet service providers has dwindled to three, and they are imposing greater limitations, such as on the amount of time you can use per month, and some are changing their privacy policies to allow them greater flexibility in selling their lists of subscribers. Meanwhile, other freebies on the net are either starting to charge, or are subjecting their viewers to much more aggressive advertising. Prices on E-commerce sites like Amazon.com are not as good as they were a year ago as the company looks to build margins, and even Yahoo! has been struggling financially lately as the amount of money available for the internet advertising it depends on has been drastically curtailed. There are plans for Napster to be reintroduced this summer as a paid service, and last week, it was announced that Major League Baseball would start charging for the game broadcasts that previously had been available for free. This doesn't mean that the internet is going away - far from it. But those who depend on free services, especially the free ISPs, had better get ready to lose those services, or to pay. On ISPs, there are some good low-cost alternatives around and you don't have to pony up $22 a month for America Online. I'll try to research a few for next time. As part of that research, if you are using a good low priced (lower than $20 a month, that is) ISP, please write me at alaimo@bigfoot.com and tell me a little about your experiences and how to contact that service. Maintenance Awhile back, I wrote about the importance of doing basic maintenance on your computer. To recap: you need to run a back-up program of some kind on a regular basis to protect your data, programs and settings against a computer disaster, and you need to run Scan Disk and Disk Defragmenter about every month or so to keep the machine running smoothly. (Note that I am writing primarily with reference to machines running Windows 98. This may apply to some other versions of Windows, but not exactly as I describe it.) Depending on the size of your hard drive, it may take hours for these programs to run, so choose a time when you don't have much use for the computer. How you do the back-up will depend on the type of back-up system you use and the software provided. I've found a writeable CD-ROM drive a quick and effective way of backing up. Lately prices on these drives have come down drastically and the disks are very inexpensive. You can find Scan Disk and Disk Defragmenter in several places on Windows. The easiest may be the Maintenance Wizard, although I've found mine to be a little unreliable. Go to Start, then Programs, Accessories and then System Tools. In the same place, you will find individual listings for Disk Clean-up, Scan Disk and Disk Defragmenter. I've found it better to run these programs separately than use the Maintenance Wizard. I also to prefer to run these programs when I want to, rather than set up a schedule in Maintenance Wizard. When the maintenance starts at the scheduled time, but you are doing something else, it can be annoying. Another route is to click on My Computer, click with the right button on the C: drive, then go down to Properties and click on the Tools tab, where you will see Error-Checking Status (this is Scan Disk) and Defragmentation Status (this is the Disk Defragmenter). Ignore the back-up area as that will be determined by your back-up program. Along the way, when you first go to Properties and under the General tab, you will see Disk Clean-Up. But before you can run any of these maintenance programs, you need to shut off other functions that will interfere with their smooth operation. If you have tried the maintenance programs and seen a message that your computer has tried to re-start a number of times, these other functions are interrupting. First you need to turn off your screen saver and any energy saving settings. Go to your Desktop (the main windows screen with all the program icons) and right click on a blank area, then click on Properties, then go to the Screen Saver tab. Using the little arrow next to the screen saver name, change it to None. Then go to Energy Saving Features right below that and set all the times to Never. Click on Apply and OK as appropriate. Remember to turn them back on when you are done with your maintenance - re-starting the computer will not restore these settings. Also you need to turn off your anti-virus program. This can usually be found in the System Tray area in lower right portion of your screen. Right click on the various icons and turn them off, or disable them, as indicated. Be careful to keep any programs you might need running, such as a CD driver if you are going to do a CD back up. Another way to turn off these programs is to press Ctrl-Alt-Del (all three keys at once), and be careful to just press them once. If you do it twice, it will re-start your computer. When you do it once, a list of programs currently running will be displayed, and you can highlight them one at a time and press End Task to shut them off. (You may be surprised at the number of programs that are running in the background and using up system resources.) The names here can be confusing, so be careful, and don't End Task for Explorer as that will re-start the computer. After turning off all of these functions, your system maintenance should run more smoothly, and after running the maintenance programs, you computer will run more smoothly. With the exception of the Screen Saver and Energy Savings settings, all the programs you turned off will turn back on when you re-start your computer. Your anti-virus protection is especially important so be sure to re-start. -Dan Alaimo Despise Not Your Brother An old man said, "See that thou despise not the brother that stands by thee: for thou knowest not whether the spirit of God be in thee or in him." -Martin, Abbot of Dummes (Taken from "The Desert Fathers" translated and introduced by Helen Waddell.) Community News Council Meeting Highlights The Community Council met on March 4 at St. Malachi Center. Council President Gary Pritts opened with prayer and personal faith sharing. Marc Giguere nominated by Gary and elected by Council to fill the vacant at-large seat through June 2001. Vacancy was created when Fred Leonard became co-chair of the Social Action Committee. LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT: To implement the St. Malachi Looks to the Future vision, establishing a leadership development program to nurture the latent leadership abilities of our membership. Tom Amon and Rebecca Rocco have volunteered to spearhead this effort. Other volunteers are welcome. Diocesan resources are also available. Being congruent with mission of St. Malachi Center, will discuss with Cathy Saegel. Possibly connect with other parish councils. BISHOP'S LETTER: Bishop Pilla's is seeking insights and suggestions for practical ways to undertake his initiative as spelled out in the pastoral letter, "Vibrant Parish Life." There are only 37 priests in diocese under 40 years of age, yet 237 parishes. At the average 4.5 ordinations per year, it would take 50 years to restaff the diocese. CSM has unusual insight to "parish cooperation" and therefore much to offer. Councilors to review, reflect, provide ideas for written response to the Bishop by May 31. PASTOR'S REPORT: Project AFFORD: Organized through St. Pat's to provide affordable housing on Near West Side. CSM sponsored a house to recognize Fr. Paul Hritz's retirement and Fr. Jim O'Donnell's 40th anniversary of ordination. Slow acquiring the lot, permits; now built, to be dedicated March 23. The Diocese is looking for support for Sudanese refugees through Migration and Refugee Services. CHRISTIAN FORMATION: High school students getting ready to perform "Godspell" on April 29. High school retreat is April 6-8, will return to 11 a.m. Mass with the Community. COMMUNICATIONS: Draft of E-Communications Policy recommendation was presented and then tabled for the next meeting. Began process of leadership authorizing or declining listing of their phones or email address on the CSM web site. Council approved Kay Vine for a second two-year term as Archivist, effective 3/1/01. MEMBERSHIP: Paul Wingenfeld will chair next year with Francine Cutura, subject to ratification at the Annual Meeting. NOMINATING COMMITTEE: Fred Leonard and Angelo Privitera seeking three at-large candidates. Also seeking chairs for Hospitality and Spiritual Development. ANNUAL MEETING: Scheduled for April 22. Meal like the Sunday Brunch for People who are Homeless. Trying to involve teens in serving and clean up. Cooks lined up. Will coordinate with Parish Coffee Hour following 9:30 a.m. Mass. HOSPITALITY: Introductions before Mass: Making progress; coming-to-quiet still needs continued emphasis. Suggest asking the guest to Coffee after Mass. Recommend leadership wear their nametags. FRANK SCHIROS' RECOMMENDATIONS: Reports from the study groups did not include many specific recommendations. Some changes are being reviewed by St. Malachi Looks to the Future. Continuing discussion, but no further Council action anticipated. -Peter Toomey (Peter co-chairs the Communications Committee with Dan Alaimo.)
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