| SS. John
& Paul
May 15, 2005 |
A community of believers united and growing in Christ to serve as generous and loving stewards of God's love. | ||
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Pastor’s
Perspective *Pentecost
As we end the fifty days of our Easter season celebration, we remember
the Holy Spirit of God that was given to the early disciples and pray for that
same Spirit to embolden us in our lives. What
does it mean to be a “witness to the ends of the earth?”
It does not mean that we all become evangelists and missionaries. Rather,
in every walk of life, in every culture, in every situation, allowing the Spirit
of God to shape and mold who you are and how you will respond allows that
mission and ministry of Jesus to take concrete shape.
That means every situation! From the most mundane tasks of cleaning,
shopping, cooking, planning to the large daily responsibilities of parenting,
marriage, family, school, work, friendship, to the exceptional circumstances
that can hit our life at any moment such as illness, accidents, loss of jobs,
bad choices that lead us into serious situations.
As baptized members of Christ’s body, the risen Lord desires to be
concretely, bodily present in each and every situation.
We become instruments of that when we call upon the Spirit in each
situation to give us the necessary wisdom, courage, patience, perseverance,
forgiveness, strength, joy, and so forth so that we act and do what Jesus has
commanded.
An easy but powerful way to be prayerful people is to call upon God’s
Spirit throughout the day: Spirit of God, shape this day so that it gives honor
to God our Father; Spirit of God, I place my family in your care, guide them and
strengthen them; Spirit of God, I know this person upsets me, give me the
ability to want the best for him/her and to act out of love toward them; Spirit
of God, all that I have experienced this day I surrender to you, to do with it
what you will.
That willingness to let our lives be shaped by the Spirit of God so that
they reflect more concretely the pattern of Jesus’ own paschal mystery—a
life of service toward others which brings healing and forgiveness rather than
strife and enmity, a courage to take up the crosses of life that flow from
living lives of integrity and responsibility, a trust in God even in the face of
death that always surrenders to love and not fear, an embrace of the surprises
and newness of life that emerge around us, a humble patience awaiting God’s
own timetable and not just our own—is the hallmark of Christian living.
Let’s leave this Easter season with as complete an openness to God’s
Spirit as we can. Let that Spirit
surprise you, challenge you, heal you, strengthen you. *Catholic Services Appeal
Thank you to all who have responded so generously to this year’s
Catholic Services Appeal thus far. As
you can see elsewhere in the bulletin the parish is benefiting greatly this
year, since we are over the mandatory target which we must give to the diocese
and all extra monies are coming back to us 100%.
A letter is being sent to all who have not responded this week.
I want to stress that giving through the CSA is the most efficient way to
give money to the parish—all comes back to the parish now for our own use.
In looking over the first two weeks of returns, I see two main factors
contributing to the significant increase in CSA donations. The first is the
response of some of the parish members with whom the Stewardship Commission met
in preparation for this year’s CSA and who have generously used the CSA as a
way to give some significant contributions to the parish.
Thank you to them. The second
important factor is the number of parish members who were able to increase their
contributions to or near to or even above the $300 amount that I asked everyone
to consider. A higher percentage has
been able to do so and so that has helped us in the total for this year.
I recognize that many people are not able to afford that $300.
That is not an issue with me. Give what you can afford responsibly within
your own budget. In fact, the more
important consideration for me is the percent of households who participate.
Last year it was down slightly from the previous year (48%).
This year I hope we can go back over the 50% mark in participation. Even
if you cannot afford a gift this year, let us know.
That is a way to responsibly participate in the CSA.
If we as a parish could ever get participation up towards 80%, the monies
collected during the CSA would go a long way toward funding any capital
improvement projects we might have to undertake. As it is, this year’s
participation will help us greatly. Thank
you. *New Altar Server Training
To all current 4th through 7th graders who are willing to become new altar servers:
Use the form sent to you in the mail or call the parish office and let me
know of your interest. New server
training will take place on June 4th
(after the 5 p.m. Mass) and June 5th
(after the 11:30 a.m. Mass). We will
provide a dinner/lunch for you and the training will take about 1 ½ hours. *Spring
Outdoor Clean-Up Monday Help!! This Monday late afternoon and early evening we need willing hands to get the flower beds around the church ready, to clean up and weed the islands, and to do a general clean up of the parish grounds. See the sign up on the bulletin board for details. *Saturday course in Lansing
Beginning this Saturday, May 21st,
I will be teaching a theology course in Lansing for Siena Heights University on
“The Sacraments Today”. It meets
every other Saturday from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. for six sessions.
So far, when I’ve been doing such teaching it has rarely interfered in
any funeral or wedding in the parish. I
continue to hope that will be so. But
Fr. Ron Sayes will be available for Saturday funerals on those six weeks.
Again, if it ever becomes too often that I have to miss a funeral at the
parish, I will give up such teaching. In
the meantime, not only do I enjoy it, it keeps me reading and up to date in each
of the areas I teach. |
*Discussing the Terry Schiavo Case Monday May 23rd Monday at 7:45 p.m. (after the 7 p.m. Mass) I will lead a discussion on the Terry Schiavo case. Was it morally permissible to remove nutrition and hydration? What are your own thoughts on that case or other concerns? Although we will look mostly at this very difficult case of what is sometimes called a “persistent or permanent vegetative state,” I hope we can surface other medical moral concerns as well. In the fall, we are planning a couple of adult education evenings to look more extensively at the whole area of medical ethics and end of life decisions. *Teaching Masses the Weekend of June 4/5
I will preside at all the Masses on the first weekend of June.
Instead of a homily I will spread out my reflections for different parts
of the Mass. The purpose behind a
“Teaching Mass” is to take a closer look at what we do so often and so
routinely and why we do it. We will
review the way we celebrate here at SS. John and Paul and how we might enter
even better into the spirit of the Eucharist.
For example, what are we doing when we gather and get ready for the Mass?
I’ve noticed that when we have some hymn before Mass people want to
applaud to show appreciation to the singer/musician.
Carl, along with our cantors and choirs do a fine job, don’t they?
But I truly wish you wouldn’t applaud. Why? Because we are not at a
concert. The singers/musicians are
not performing for us or trying to entertain us.
They are offering their ministry to help us pray and worship better.
They understand that. They
are not looking for applause. We
don’t applaud after a lector does an especially fine job at reading the
Scripture. We don’t applaud when
an usher or greeter does a great job of making people feel welcome.
In fact, if we are preparing well for Eucharist we are doing one of two
things—letting the music and environment touch our hearts, allowing us to
prayerfully meditate and prepare ourselves to celebrate the Eucharist or we are
meeting and greeting the people around us so that we come together not as
individuals on private journeys of faith but as a community, as a body, as the
body of Christ. Is it wrong to
applaud? No, of course not. But it
does suggest that we are becoming too much passive onlookers rather than active
participants. Let the music draw you
into prayer. Let the people around you draw you into community. That is how we
best enter into the opening rites of the Eucharist—opening hymn, greeting,
penitential rite, Gloria and opening prayer.
As you enter the Church take a moment to focus on the baptismal font and
bless yourself with the water of discipleship, if you are able. Pause and look
at the altar around which we will celebrate and think about what you want to
offer to God in this Eucharist today and make a slight bow.
Go to your seat and before entering, take a moment to turn toward the
tabernacle and remember the ongoing presence of Christ in his Blessed Sacrament
and then genuflect or bow before taking a seat.
Do I have a worship aid ready? Do
I have a hymnal and am I willing to sing rather than just listen?
Have I taken time to read the readings at home before Mass or during the
week? Am I willing to surrender all
that I am at that moment to God? Now
I am truly ready to celebrate Eucharist.
May the Spirit of God embrace your own spirit so that you can be lead on
a wondrous journey of faith. Fr. Buersmeyer
SS John & Paul Music
Ministry presents 25th Anniversary Concert Sunday, May 15, 2005 4:00 p.m. SS John & Paul Church Admission
free of charge A free-will offering will be taken up to
defray the cost of new choir chairs. Come
hear the exciting sounds of
the season, including Easter,
Pentecost, and Patriotic music performed
by adult
and children’s choirs, cantors, handbell
ringers, and instrumentalists.
A reception will follow. |
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