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Sunday, 29 July 2007 |
Lord (the call... vocation). This call to ordained ministry is a gift of the Lord and should be cherished by all. Let us never cease praying for these vocations unto Christ’s consecrated ministry. Please Lord, give us more workers for your harvest. But in addition to our constant prayer for the ordained ministry, there is the action of all the baptized, in acting in the world, for the good of all.
Every person that has been brought into Christ through Baptism is called to manifest this new life, in the way he or she lives and loves. By Baptism, every member of the Church participates in Christ’s role as priest, prophet and king; in their baptismal vocation, the laity are in a unique position of being able directly to infuse culture and society with the Gospel. But they also contribute to the vitality of the life of the Church through ministry... (United States Catholic Catechism for Adults, p. 134).
In the English language, “ministry” is traditionally associated with “clergy”. And so it should be. Still, another definition of ministry, besides “the cleric that officiates”, is instrumentality. Instrumentality: to be an instrument of, to be a conduit for, to mediate. Before his ordination to the Order of Deacons, St. Francis as a layman sang, "make me a channel... make me an instrument... of your peace..." Francesco, desiring to be a pipe-line for the Lord, a conduit of God’s presence and peace prayed that he would be part of the Spirit’s ministry. Make me a channel of Your peace. Ministers are channels or conduits of God’s presence, God’s grace working through our broken- but-redeemed personalities.
How are you an instrument of God? How have you chosen to “minister” the peace and presence of the Risen Lord? As a disciple of the Lord Jesus, how have you offered your time and your talents and your treasure, for the work of God offered by our parish? There are so many ways that you can assist in the vitality of SJN. Please know (and take to heart) that “coming to Sunday Mass” should be the high- point of our discipleship... and not the only time we darken the doors of the parish!
Please pray for guidance, in what the Lord might be asking of you. Please know that we need assistance with: the new Receptionist Ministry (working in the parish office), our Altar Guild (caring for the Altar and the sacred vessels used in the liturgies of the Church), a soon-to-be-formed Sacristan team (assisting Rick Weber in this on-going work), the team of Altar Servers (new training is on 2 August and 14 September) and most every other ministry highlighted in our weekly bulletin. Give me a call!
Finally, let us pray for two young seminarians that have an SJN connection: (1) Michael Schay is the son of Alan and Lynda Schay, parishioners of SJN. He will begin studies at Mount Saint Mary in the fall. Michael completed his college work in Milledgeville, and was assisted in his discernment by another with SJN connections, Fr. Michael McWhorter. (2) The second seminarian is Ashley Collins. He was attending Southern Catholic but will transfer to a college seminary in Chicago. Though not a registered member of SJN, Ashley has been attending daily Mass here, so we’ll claim him! AMDG.
Msgr. David |
