St. John Neumann
Catholic Church

Most everyone reading this column experiences problems. Problems of health. Problems of making a living and paying our bills. Problems in the family. Problems involving habits of selfishness, habits of sinfulness. You know... problems. But there is such a thing as a good problem. Let's imagine that you won the Mega Millions drawing. What a good problem to have, deciding how to give away all that money. As a parish family, we have several good problems to solve.  Let me tell you about them.
 
By God's grace, the spiritual renewal that we have been praying for is taking place. There are sure signs of this renewal. One sure indicator of spiritual renewal can be seen in the active engagement of the parish with the great sign of Christ's healing presence, the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation. Children and teens and adults are coming to this encounter with Christ, coming to confess their own sin, coming in the promise of hope, to receive blessing and forgiveness and reconciliation from the Lord. I have added several hours of availability for this sacrament, in the late afternoons at the middle of the work week, to go along with the times of confession each Saturday.
 
Here is the good problem we need to solve: since we have weddings at 2 PM on Saturdays and because the wedding photographs are not completed until 3:30 PM, there has been a kind of tension between the happy crowd taking wedding photos and the penitent folks lining up at 3 PM for confessions. These are two joys for the parish: the celebration of a wedding and the celebration of a repentant disciple of the Lord Jesus. Both are in the church at the same time, and this is a good problem to have. This is what I will do. Since Padre Armando and I are offering additional hours of scheduled availability for the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation and since you may always call for an appointment with either of us to celebrate the sacrament, I will change the scheduled time for Saturday afternoon confessions, from the current 3 to 4:30 PM availability to a 3:30 to 4:30 PM availability. This will ease the tension between these two "goods": the joy of a wedding party and the joy of those seeking forgiveness and reconciliation. And even with this change, I would hope that each of the two "goods", the wedding party and the small group of penitents, might show flexibility and care for the other. It is all of the Lord.
 
Here's another good problem. Some of you may have noticed that the current worship space is looking a tad worn. We clean everything, but are not repairing everything. This is a good problem for us. You see, we are planning to move into a new worship space…did you know that? With the construction of the new worship space and lower level meetings rooms on schedule, we are looking to move into the new house of God within twelve months or so…give or take a month or two. All of our resources are being poured into this new reality for SJN.  So, we will not fix or repair things in the current church unless it is necessary for worship (sound system, lights) or safety. We will make sure all is clean; but all will continue to be a bit worn and tired, until we move across the plaza to the new space…and that will be a joy.
 
Once we move, we'll face together another good problem: raising some more dollars. You see, once we moveinto the new worship space, we will want to begin the refurbishing of the current church into our much needed parish hall. That's another good problem for SJN to have... and we'll find the answer, together!


This Monday is the feast day of Sts Peter and Paul; and on Monday, this Year of St. Paul will come to a close. Paul of Tarsus was an extraordinary instrument of God. Though a devout and learned Pharisee, Paul became a light for the Gentile world, as he brought THE Light to all. He did this, after his encounter with the Risen Lord, on that road to Damascus. Let us seek out this same Lord, that we too may be lights for the world. Each of us at SJN is called, to be happily, joyfully holy…to be saints of God.


Next Saturday is Independence Day, the 4th of July. Though a secular celebration, we must thank God for the blessings received in and through the style of government formed in that cry for independence.  Freedom allows the Catholic Church in the USA to live according to our own lights. Let us thank God for this blessing and for every blessing. Next Saturday, hot dogs and tender ribs, watermelon and a cold drink... all in celebration, remembering both the joy of freedom, and also the cost of freedom. GOOD  PROBLEMS!

AMDG

Msgr. David Talley