Go!!

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations!

Jesus is pretty clear in this gospel….there is not a lot of wiggle room...he orders his followers to GO OUT and share the good news with the world.

Thanks to the Spirit they received at Pentecost, they have the courage to do so.

 What does this mean for us in May 2021?

 I’m pretty sure none of us likes the idea of picturing ourselves as a street corner preacher in NYC ranting about “Jesus is coming, get ready!!” Type of thing…

 You’ve heard it said I’m sure many times, the best way to preach is by our actions, not by our words.

 We’ve reminded ourselves often, especially here at St Francis specifically, about the real way the Mass ends on Sunday: Go in peace, to love and serve the Lord...Go OUT!!

We’re not supposed to stay here in church all week, we’re supposed to live our faith, in our particular circumstances, we’re supposed to LIVE JESUS, on 96th St and beyond, by our example…

 What does that really look like in concrete terms:

 For the last year we’ve participated in Black Lives Matters protests in memory of George Floyd...faith in action looks like that!

 It looks like reusable straws that help protect our environment…

 It looks (and maybe smells…)like… composting….helping out in a community garden...

 It looks like moving over in your seat on Sunday to make room for someone else who’s just coming back to church again after a year of watching Mass at home, on line…or giving up your seat on the bus…

 It looks like a gentle conversation or a cup of coffee with someone who needs a break from caring for a loved one at home

 It can look like one friend listening to another when she’s just found out she’s lost her job...again…

 It surely means being involved and informed about elections and representation in community issues, even on “off year elections”...are you planning on voting on June 22? If not, why not?

What does it mean for YOU to LIVE your faith out loud? To LIVE JESUS in your part of the world?

Yes, living out our faith is hard, especially in a multi cultural environment-when everyone around us has the right and responsibility to live out their faith in their own particular way…

 A particular concern for us Catholics can sometimes be...do we know enough about OUR faith to be able to feel confident in a conversation with those of other faiths…? How many times with friends and family, do we feel like we are ill equipped to speak about what we believe, what Catholics do and why we do it? 

 If we feel like this...if we wish we knew more about the gift of our Catholic faith...what are we doing to better ‘equip ourselves’ for those conversations? When was the last time you read an article or attended a pop up theology gathering, or viewed one of the many many excellent videos on our media page? 

 So, I guess this gospel for Trinity Sunday lays down a challenge for us: if we are to Go out and share our faith with others...we need to know our faith better ourselves. We are so lucky that St Francis, our faith home, provides us with so many ways and opportunities to understand better what our Catholic faith is about and the many ways we can live and witness Jesus each day. With St Francis de Sales, Patron of journalists, as our patron and namesake, we continue to take advantage of each and every method of social media available to us, to learn more about and share our faith with one another and the world around us.

Today I invite you to take a look at something we’ve put up on our social media: an article on FB, a video on our website, challenge yourself to learn a little bit more today about what your faith means to you. Think about how you want to live your faith more authentically and...GO OUT and do it!

A Whole New World

 As we prepare to enter into our great celebration of Pentecost, and bring our Easter Season to its close, I'm mindful that we have much to celebrate as a church and as citizens of the world.

How wonderful was it to fully celebrate our Holy Week and Easter Liturgies this year, in person and in churches that are slowly and carefully beginning to fill up once again. Welcoming our neophytes over these last 50 days has been such an absolute joy.

Our cities and our states, towns and our world is cautiously, gently opening up again. We can stand a bit closer. We can offer a handshake or a hug, or at least a smile from behind a mask that is kept handy. We are beginning to feel like ourselves again, to feel human, to feel connected to one another at last.

Recognizing the gifts of the Spirit will be given to us once again this Pentecost, I find myself asking how do I want my world to be different as we emerge from these last 14 months of pandemic? How do I want to be different? I don't want anything, myself included, to go 'back to normal'. If I've learned anything from this experience it's that 'normal' wasn't all that healthy for me. I was too busy with things that perhaps weren't that important, and consequently neglected people and things that did matter. How can I choose better for myself and my community moving forward? 

Perhaps one of the gifts of the Spirit will be to help us discern as community and as individuals the best places to put our energies. This last year has helped us all examine what we say our values are and consider if our actions really do support what we claim we believe. Are there changes you want to make in your day to day life as we step into summer?

How will we stay connected to family and friends that we have rediscovered in these past months? How much time will I spend at work, and what time do I reserve for taking care of myself and those I love? Where does God and gratitude fit into my day? 

As we open ourselves up to the stirrings of the Spirit, I pray that we will each receive the gift or gifts we need in order to live our lives more purposefully in the days to come. Let's not 'go back to normal'. Who says 'normal' is so great anyway? Let's aim for EXTRAORDINARY LIVES!! 

Who Do You Belong To?

This August two of my nieces will leave their mother's home to go off to the far away lands of North Carolina and California to pursue college degrees. I am so proud of them. I am heartbroken for my sister, who will miss their daily presence in her life and home so much more than I can begin to imagine.

I think of this in relation to the Gospel this coming Sunday. 

We hear in this Sunday's Gospel, Jesus' "Priestly Prayer", where he prays that his disciples will remain united in spirit and love with him and the Father. He speaks of how they will survive as disciples in a world that may hate them, or hate what they stand for. He asks that they be consecrated in truth. What a beautiful pray this is, how poignant. 

I wonder if this isn't a prayer that parents might feel in their very souls each time their kids walk out the door and into what can certainly be a very big and threatening world? 

As a parish community we are ready now to 'send out' our neophytes, all those adults who were received into our community at Easter. They have finished their preparation, have been baptized and fully initiated, and they are truly one with us in faith. Some will move away, others will stay here in the parish. It is all our jobs now to welcome them into our ministries, masses, prayers and activities. 

Especially as we begin to gently open up our doors and hearts in a recovering post Covid world, we need to think about how we want to BE church again. What are we looking forward to? What would we do differently this time around?  I don't know about you but I really can not wait to see your smiles and be able to hug again!

When I think of that opening question: Who do you belong to? I know the answer is: we belong to God! But I know too, as a community of believers that we truly belong to one another as well! It is with that thought in mind that we want to say: 'it's time to come home to St Francis!'

We have been smart and safe during the last year and two months. Our church is clean, our staff is vaccinated, our pews are taped for safe distancing...and we can't wait to see you once more.

So, as soon as you feel comfortable doing so, please come home to church! We will welcome you with open arms (and air hugs!) 

These gospel readings we hear this week and next remind us that there are times when we must take our leave, but we always know where home is to come back to.

Welcome home!