Mersey Leven Catholic Parish
OUR VISION
To be a vibrant Catholic Community
unified in its commitment
to growing disciples for Christ
Parish Priest: Fr Mike Delaney
Mob: 0417 279 437
Mob: 0417 279 437
Assistant Priest: Fr Paschal Okpon
Mob: 0438 562 731
paschalokpon@yahoo.com
Priest in Residence: Fr Phil McCormack
Mob: 0437 521 257
Mob: 0437 521 257
Postal Address: PO Box 362
Parish Office: 90 Stewart Street
(Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday 10am - 3pm)
Office Phone: 6424 2783 Fax: 6423 5160
Email: merseyleven@aohtas.org.au
Secretary: Annie Davies
Finance Officer: Anne Fisher
Finance Officer: Anne Fisher
Parish Mass times for the Month: mlcpmasstimes.blogspot.com.au
Archdiocesan Website: www.hobart.catholic.org.au for news, information and details of other Parishes.
PLENARY COUNCIL PRAYER
Come, Holy Spirit of Pentecost.
Come, Holy Spirit of the great South Land.
O God, bless and unite all your people in Australia
and guide us on the pilgrim way of the Plenary Council.
Give us the grace to see your face in one another
and to recognise Jesus, our companion on the road.
Give us the courage to tell our stories and to speak boldly of your truth.
Give us ears to listen humbly to each other
and a discerning heart to hear what you are saying.
Lead your Church into a hope-filled future,
that we may live the joy of the Gospel.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord, bread for the journey from age to age.
Amen.
Our Lady Help of Christians, pray for us.
St Mary MacKillop, pray for us.
O God, bless and unite all your people in Australia
and guide us on the pilgrim way of the Plenary Council.
Give us the grace to see your face in one another
and to recognise Jesus, our companion on the road.
Give us the courage to tell our stories and to speak boldly of your truth.
Give us ears to listen humbly to each other
and a discerning heart to hear what you are saying.
Lead your Church into a hope-filled future,
that we may live the joy of the Gospel.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord, bread for the journey from age to age.
Amen.
Our Lady Help of Christians, pray for us.
St Mary MacKillop, pray for us.
Parish Prayer
Heavenly Father,
and calling us to serve as your disciples.
as we use our gifts to serve you.
as we strive to bear witness
to the Gospel and build an amazing parish.
Amen.
Our Parish Sacramental Life
Eucharistic Adoration - Devonport: Every Friday 10am - 12noon, concluding with Stations of the Cross and Angelus
Weekday Masses 21st - 24th August
Tuesday: 9:30am Penguin ... St Pius X
Wednesday: 9:30am Latrobe ... The Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Thursday: 12noon Devonport ..... St Rose of Lima
Friday: 9:30am Ulverstone ... St Bartholomew
Weekend Masses 25th & 26th August, 2018
Saturday Vigil 6:00pm Penguin
6:00pm Devonport
Sunday Mass: 8:30am Port Sorell
9:00am Ulverstone
10:30am Devonport
11:00am Sheffield
5:00pm Latrobe
Ministry Rosters 25th & 26th August,
2018
Devonport: 
Readers Vigil: M Kelly, B Paul, R Baker 10:30am: J Phillips, P Piccolo, J Henderson
Ulverstone:
Penguin:
Latrobe:
Port Sorell:
Readings this week –Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)
PREGO REFLECTION ON TODAY’S GOSPEL:
What sort of day have I had?
Maybe I need some moments of quiet to experience the comfort of bringing myself consciously into the Lord’s presence.
I take a deep breath and then breathe normally.
After a few moments, I read the text above.
What is my immediate reaction?
Familiar words, yet so very challenging.
Maybe, like the crowd, I find them difficult to take in.
I pause … and simply ask the Lord to help me understand and be touched by what he is saying.
It may be that I cannot go any further at the moment.
Perhaps I tell the Lord how difficult it is for me just now to go beyond my first bewildered feelings.
In time I go back to the text.
What are you offering me Lord?
Help me to go beyond the words and see the intimacy, the closest possible bond of love and trust that exists between you and me.
And what am I offering you?
I spend some time pondering.
I speak to the Lord about my needs today, and give grateful thanks for the gift of himself and of his love.
I determine to live my life evermore in the name of the Father ...
Readings next week –Twenty First Sunday
in Ordinary Time (Year B)
Your prayers
are asked for the sick:
Let us pray for those who have died recently:
Let us pray for those whose anniversary
occurs about this time: 15th – 21st August
Tom Hyland, Trevor Hudson, Rita & Cyril Speers, Darlene Haigh, Gaylene Jeffries, Lionel Rosevear, Leslie Coad, Beverley Graham, Allen Cruse, Mary Watson, Philip Hofmeyer, Colin Hodgson, Nicolaas Knaap, Margaret Sheehan, Nicolle Gillam-Barber, Alec Negri, Cheryl Leary, Kathleen Laycock, Rita Groves, Cathy Thuaire, Jenny Wright and Kevin Court. Also Kate & Billie Last, Hedley & Enid Stubbs.
May they Rest in Peace
Weekly
Ramblings
There is more information on the Notice Boards in all Mass
Centres this weekend about the Plenary 2020 Gathering at Marist College on
Saturday 1st September. This is an important step in our
understanding of what Plenary 2020 is all about. If you intend to be at this
gathering could you please let us know at the Parish Office either by calling
or sending an email.
Over the next few weeks we will be providing more
information regarding steps we will be taking here in the Parish to offer
parishioners and members of the community opportunities to make a contribution
to the listening process. If you would like to know something more of what we
are being asked to do this link (https://catholicoutlook.org/plenary-do-we-have-time-to-listen/)
gives a good background and room for thought.
An invitation has been received inviting parishioners to
the ordination of Rev Fidelis Udousoro to the Priesthood on Friday, 14th
September at St Mary’s Cathedral at 7pm. If you are able to attend would you
please contact Michele Boucher on 6208:6225 or michele.boucher@aohtas.org.au.
There is also an opportunity to share in this wonderful event by attending his
Mass of Thanksgiving on Sunday 16th at 11am at St Mary’s Star of the
Sea, Burnie. Please contact their Parish Office – 6431:2216 – if attending the
Mass.
Please
take care on the roads and I look forward to seeing you next weekend.
SACRAMENTAL
PROGRAM:
This weekend Archbishop Julian Porteous
Candidates
for Devonport: Matilda
Banks, Ryan Brown, Mariana Caravia, Lucas Chakouch,
Candidates
for Ulverstone: Isabella
Armstrong, Oliver Gretton, Ella Holland and Flynn Thomas.
ST MARY’S CHURCH PENGUIN:
CATHOLIC
CHARISMATIC RENEWAL TASMANIA:
Welcomes your attendance with Fr Alexander Obiorah and Fr
Paschal Okpon to the Charismatic healing Mass at St Mary’s Catholic Church Penguin Thursday 20 September at 7pm.
All denominations are welcome to come and celebrate the liturgy in a vibrant
and dynamic way using charismatic praise and worship, with the gift of tongues,
prophecy, healing and anointing with blessed oil. After Mass, teams will be
available for individual prayer. Please bring a friend and a plate for supper
to share in the Hall. Contacts: Celestine 6424:2043, Michael 0447 018 068 at
Devonport or Tom 6425 2442 at Ulverstone.
FOOTY
TICKETS:
BINGO - Thursday Nights - OLOL
Hall, Devonport. Eyes down 7.30pm!
Callers for Thursday 23rd
August – Merv Tippett & Terry Bird.
NEWS FROM ACROSS THE ARCHDIOCESE:
THE JOURNEY
CATHOLIC RADIO PROGRAM – AIRS 19 August
KAROOLA
CHURCH:
This article is taken from the Daily Email from the Center for Action and Contemplation via Fr Richard Rohr OFM. If you would like to receive these daily emails please click here.
Night is our diocese
and silence is our ministry
[1] Thomas Merton, “The Quickening of St. John the Baptist,”
The Collected Poems of Thomas Merton (New Directions: 1977), 201.
THE POWER OF A COMPLIMENT
This article is taken from the archives of Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI. You can find the original article here
Thomas Aquinas once suggested that it’s a sin to not give a compliment to someone when it’s deserved because by withholding our praise we’re depriving that person of the food that he or she needs to live on. He’s right. Perhaps it’s not a sin to withhold a compliment but it’s a sad impoverishment, both for the person deserving the compliment and for the one withholding it.
We don’t live on bread alone. Jesus told us that. Our soul too needs to be fed and its food is affirmation, recognition, and blessing. Every one of us needs to be healthily affirmed when we do something well so as to have resources within us with which to affirm others. We can’t give what we haven’t got! That’s self-evident. And so, for us to love and affirm others we must first be loved, first be blessed, and first be praised. Praise, recognition, and blessing build up the soul.
But complimenting others isn’t just important for the person receiving the compliment, it’s equally important for the person giving it. In praising someone we give him or her some needed food for their soul; but, in doing this, we also feed our own soul. There’s a truth about philanthropy that holds true too for the soul: We need to give to others not just because they need it but because we cannot be healthy unless we are giving ourselves away. Healthy admiration is a philanthropy of the soul.
Moreover, admiring and praising others is a religious act. Benoit Standaert submits that “giving praise comes out of the roots our existence.” What does he mean by that?
In complimenting and praising others, we are tapping into what’s deepest inside us, namely, the image and likeness of God. When we praise someone else then, like God creating, we are breathing life into a person, breathing spirit into them. People need to be praised. We don’t live on bread alone, and we don’t live on oxygen alone either.
The image and likeness of God inside us is not an icon, but an energy, the energy that’s most real inside us. Beyond our ego, wounds, pride, sin, and the pettiness of our hearts and minds on any given day, what’s most real within us is a magnanimity and graciousness which, like God, looks at the world and wants to say: “It is good! It is very good!” When we’re at our best, our truest, speaking and acting out of our maturity, we can admire. Indeed, our willingness to praise others is a sign of maturity, and vice versa. We become more mature by being generous in our praise.
But praise is not something we give out easily. Mostly we are so blocked by the disappointments and frustrations within our lives that we give in to cynicism and jealousy and operate out of these rather than out of our virtues. We rationalize this of course in different ways, either by claiming that what we’re supposed to admire is juvenile (and we’re too bright and sophisticated to be impressed) or that the admirable act was done for someone’s self-aggrandizement and we’re not going to feed another person’s ego. However, more often than not, our real reason for withholding praise is that fact that we ourselves have been insufficiently praised and, because of that, harbor jealousies and lack the strength to praise others. I say this sympathetically, all of us are wounded.
Then too in some of us there’s a hesitation to praise others because we believe that praise might spoil the person and inflate his or her ego. Spare the rod and spoil the child! If we offer praise it will go to that person’s head. Again, more often than not, that’s a rationalization. Legitimate praise never spoils a person. Praise that’s honest and proper works more at humbling its recipient than spoiling him or her. We can’t be loved too much, only loved wrongly.
But, you might ask, what about children who end up self-centered because they’re only praised and never disciplined? Real love and real maturity distinguish between praising those areas of another’s life that are praiseworthy and challenging those areas of another’s life that need correction. Praise should never be undeserved flattery, but challenge and correction are only effective if the recipient first knows that he or she is loved and properly recognized.
Genuine praise is never wrong. It simply acknowledges the truth that’s there. That’s a moral imperative. Love requires it. Refusing to admire when someone or something merits praise is, as Thomas Aquinas submits, a negligence, a fault, a selfishness, a pettiness, and a lack of maturity. Conversely, paying a compliment when one is due is a virtue and a sign of maturity.
Generosity is as much about giving praise as about giving money. We may not be stingy in our praise. The 14th century Flemish mystic, John of Ruusbroec, taught that “those who do not give praise here on earth shall be mute for all eternity.”
and calling us to serve as your disciples.
as we use our gifts to serve you.
as we strive to bear witness
Amen.
Our Parish Sacramental Life
Baptism: Arrangements are made by contacting Parish Office. Parents attend a Baptismal Preparation Session organised with a Priest.
Reconciliation, Confirmation and Eucharist: Are received following a Family–centred, Parish-based, School-supported Preparation Program.
Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults: prepares adults for reception into the Catholic community.
Marriage: arrangements are made by contacting one of our priests - couples attend a Pre-marriage Program
Anointing of the Sick: please contact one of our priests
Reconciliation: Ulverstone - Fridays (10am - 10:30am), Devonport - Saturday (5:15pm– 5.45pm)
Eucharistic Adoration - Devonport: Every Friday 10am - 12noon, concluding with Stations of the Cross and Angelus
Benediction with Adoration Devonport: First Friday each month.
Legion of Mary: Wednesdays 11am Sacred Heart of Church Community Room, Ulverstone
Prayer Group: Charismatic Renewal – Mondays 7pm Community Room Ulverstone
Weekday Masses 21st - 24th August
Tuesday: 9:30am Penguin ... St Pius XWednesday: 9:30am Latrobe ... The Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Thursday: 12noon Devonport ..... St Rose of Lima
Friday: 9:30am Ulverstone ... St Bartholomew
Weekend Masses 25th & 26th August, 2018
Saturday Vigil 6:00pm Penguin
6:00pm Devonport
Sunday Mass: 8:30am Port Sorell
9:00am Ulverstone
10:30am Devonport
11:00am Sheffield
5:00pm Latrobe
Sunday Mass: 8:30am Port Sorell
9:00am Ulverstone
10:30am Devonport
11:00am Sheffield
5:00pm Latrobe
Ministry Rosters 25th & 26th August,
2018
Devonport:
Readers Vigil: M Kelly, B Paul, R Baker 10:30am: J Phillips, P Piccolo, J Henderson
Ministers of Communion:
Vigil: M Heazlewood, G Lee-Archer, M Kelly,
P Shelverton
10:30am: M Sherriff, T & S Ryan, D &
M Barrientos
Cleaners: 24th Aug: P & T Douglas 31st Aug: F Sly, M Hansen, R McBain
Piety Shop: 25th Aug:
A Berryman 26th Aug: T Omogbai-Musa
Ulverstone:
Reader/s: A & F Pisano Ministers of Communion: M Murray, J Pisarskis, C Harvey, P Grech
Cleaners: Flowers: M Byrne Hospitality:
T Good Team
Penguin:
Greeters: P Ravallion, P Lade Commentator: Y Downes Readers: A Landers, A Guest
Ministers of
Communion: J
Barker, M Murray Liturgy: Penguin Setting Up: E Nickols
Care of Church: M Murray, E Nickols
Latrobe:
Reader: H Lim Minister of Communion: Z Smith Procession of Gifts: M Clarke
Port Sorell:
Readers: P Anderson, L Post Minister of Communion: B Lee
Cleaners: V Youd
Readings this week –Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)
First Reading: Proverbs 9:1-6
Second Reading: Ephesians 5:15-20
Gospel: John 6:51-58
PREGO REFLECTION ON TODAY’S GOSPEL:
What are my hopes and desires as I come to pray today?
What sort of day have I had?
Maybe I need some moments of quiet to experience the comfort of bringing myself consciously into the Lord’s presence.
I take a deep breath and then breathe normally.
After a few moments, I read the text above.
What is my immediate reaction?
Familiar words, yet so very challenging.
Maybe, like the crowd, I find them difficult to take in.
I pause … and simply ask the Lord to help me understand and be touched by what he is saying.
It may be that I cannot go any further at the moment.
Perhaps I tell the Lord how difficult it is for me just now to go beyond my first bewildered feelings.
In time I go back to the text.
What are you offering me Lord?
Help me to go beyond the words and see the intimacy, the closest possible bond of love and trust that exists between you and me.
And what am I offering you?
I spend some time pondering.
I speak to the Lord about my needs today, and give grateful thanks for the gift of himself and of his love.
I determine to live my life evermore in the name of the Father ...
What sort of day have I had?
Maybe I need some moments of quiet to experience the comfort of bringing myself consciously into the Lord’s presence.
I take a deep breath and then breathe normally.
After a few moments, I read the text above.
What is my immediate reaction?
Familiar words, yet so very challenging.
Maybe, like the crowd, I find them difficult to take in.
I pause … and simply ask the Lord to help me understand and be touched by what he is saying.
It may be that I cannot go any further at the moment.
Perhaps I tell the Lord how difficult it is for me just now to go beyond my first bewildered feelings.
In time I go back to the text.
What are you offering me Lord?
Help me to go beyond the words and see the intimacy, the closest possible bond of love and trust that exists between you and me.
And what am I offering you?
I spend some time pondering.
I speak to the Lord about my needs today, and give grateful thanks for the gift of himself and of his love.
I determine to live my life evermore in the name of the Father ...
Readings next week –Twenty First Sunday
in Ordinary Time (Year B)
First Reading: Joshua 24:1-2, 15-18
Second Reading: Ephesians 5:21-32
Gospel: John
6:60-69
Your prayers are asked for the sick:
Deborah Leary, Edgar Nool, Mary Webb, Rosalinda Grimes &
….
Let us pray for those who have died recently:
Alan O’Rourke, June Bourke, Heather Margetts, Joseph Thi,
John Brown, John Maher
Let us pray for those whose anniversary
occurs about this time: 15th – 21st August
Tom Hyland, Trevor Hudson, Rita & Cyril Speers, Darlene Haigh, Gaylene Jeffries, Lionel Rosevear, Leslie Coad, Beverley Graham, Allen Cruse, Mary Watson, Philip Hofmeyer, Colin Hodgson, Nicolaas Knaap, Margaret Sheehan, Nicolle Gillam-Barber, Alec Negri, Cheryl Leary, Kathleen Laycock, Rita Groves, Cathy Thuaire, Jenny Wright and Kevin Court. Also Kate & Billie Last, Hedley & Enid Stubbs.
Tom Hyland, Trevor Hudson, Rita & Cyril Speers, Darlene Haigh, Gaylene Jeffries, Lionel Rosevear, Leslie Coad, Beverley Graham, Allen Cruse, Mary Watson, Philip Hofmeyer, Colin Hodgson, Nicolaas Knaap, Margaret Sheehan, Nicolle Gillam-Barber, Alec Negri, Cheryl Leary, Kathleen Laycock, Rita Groves, Cathy Thuaire, Jenny Wright and Kevin Court. Also Kate & Billie Last, Hedley & Enid Stubbs.
May they Rest in Peace
Weekly
Ramblings
We welcome Archbishop Julian to our Parish this weekend as
we celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation with 20 young members of our Parish
Community. We thank their families for their participation in the preparation
program and pray that, as their journey continues, they will continue to grow
in their relationship with God through prayer and their participation in the
life of our Community.
There is more information on the Notice Boards in all Mass
Centres this weekend about the Plenary 2020 Gathering at Marist College on
Saturday 1st September. This is an important step in our
understanding of what Plenary 2020 is all about. If you intend to be at this
gathering could you please let us know at the Parish Office either by calling
or sending an email.
Over the next few weeks we will be providing more
information regarding steps we will be taking here in the Parish to offer
parishioners and members of the community opportunities to make a contribution
to the listening process. If you would like to know something more of what we
are being asked to do this link (https://catholicoutlook.org/plenary-do-we-have-time-to-listen/)
gives a good background and room for thought.
An invitation has been received inviting parishioners to
the ordination of Rev Fidelis Udousoro to the Priesthood on Friday, 14th
September at St Mary’s Cathedral at 7pm. If you are able to attend would you
please contact Michele Boucher on 6208:6225 or michele.boucher@aohtas.org.au.
There is also an opportunity to share in this wonderful event by attending his
Mass of Thanksgiving on Sunday 16th at 11am at St Mary’s Star of the
Sea, Burnie. Please contact their Parish Office – 6431:2216 – if attending the
Mass.
Please
take care on the roads and I look forward to seeing you next weekend.SACRAMENTAL
PROGRAM:
This weekend Archbishop Julian Porteous
will administer the Sacrament of Confirmation
to candidates from across our Parish.
We
congratulate the children and their families
and
we continue to pray for our confirmandi:
Candidates
for Devonport: Matilda
Banks, Ryan Brown, Mariana Caravia, Lucas Chakouch,
Ava Chamley,
Jasper Chamley, Nathan Davis, Felicity Downward, Michael Hartree, Alan Leslie,
Taya Mansfield,
Alexander Sherry, Sasha Sherry, Henry Summers, Tom Wilkinson and Selena Wyett.
Candidates
for Ulverstone: Isabella
Armstrong, Oliver Gretton, Ella Holland and Flynn Thomas.
ST MARY’S CHURCH PENGUIN:
Working bee in the garden at St
Mary’s Church will take place on Saturday 1st from 10am.
Roses need to be pruned, garden beds need to be rejuvenated and a general clean
up. Any helpers would be most appreciated.
CATHOLIC
CHARISMATIC RENEWAL TASMANIA:
Welcomes your attendance with Fr Alexander Obiorah and Fr
Paschal Okpon to the Charismatic healing Mass at St Mary’s Catholic Church Penguin Thursday 20 September at 7pm.
All denominations are welcome to come and celebrate the liturgy in a vibrant
and dynamic way using charismatic praise and worship, with the gift of tongues,
prophecy, healing and anointing with blessed oil. After Mass, teams will be
available for individual prayer. Please bring a friend and a plate for supper
to share in the Hall. Contacts: Celestine 6424:2043, Michael 0447 018 068 at
Devonport or Tom 6425 2442 at Ulverstone.
FOOTY
TICKETS:
Round 21 (Friday 10th August) Essendon won by 43
points. Congratulations to the following winners; Marie Byrne, Elaine & Nipper Walters
BINGO - Thursday Nights - OLOL
Hall, Devonport. Eyes down 7.30pm!
Callers for Thursday 23rd
August – Merv Tippett & Terry Bird.
NEWS FROM ACROSS THE ARCHDIOCESE:
THE JOURNEY
CATHOLIC RADIO PROGRAM – AIRS 19 August
This week
on The Journey, Fr Steven Varney offers us his reflection on the Gospel of
John. Bruce Downes, The Catholic Guy talks to us about Honoring, Frances
Pirolas, in her Smart Loving segment ponders Marriage: Happy or Holy (repeat),
and Sr Hilda shares her unique wisdom from the Abbey. Vibrant Christian music helps
us to celebrate the Journey Catholic Radio, where faith, hope, love and life
come together. Go to WWW.jcr.org.au
or www.itunes.jcr.org.au
where you can listen anytime and subscribe to weekly shows by email.
KAROOLA
CHURCH:
The Church
at Karoola is celebrating 120 years of support to our Catholic community Sunday
2nd September, with Mass at 11am followed by a light luncheon in the
Karoola hall. We invite all with present or past connections to our parish
to join us. Contact for catering purposes; Billee Parry 6395:4173 or Dallas Mahnken
6395:4274.
Finding Our Charism
This article is taken from the Daily Email from the Center for Action and Contemplation via Fr Richard Rohr OFM. If you would like to receive these daily emails please click here.
Night is our diocese
and silence is our ministry
Poverty our charity
and helplessness our tongue-tied sermon.
Beyond the scope of
sight or sound we dwell upon the air
Seeking the world’s
gain in an unthinkable experience.
We are exiles in the
far end of solitude, living as listeners
With hearts attending
to the skies we cannot understand:
Waiting upon the first
far drums of Christ the Conqueror,
Planted like sentinels
upon the world’s frontier.
—Thomas Merton (1915-1968) [1]
When I read this passage from Merton’s poem, “The Quickening
of St. John the Baptist,” I think of meditators. I think of what Christian
contemplatives have taken upon themselves, “planted like sentinels upon the
world’s frontier,” doing something that, frankly and unfortunately, will never
fill stadiums. To meditate daily is to have chosen, accepted, and surrendered
to a vocation. We must think of it that way. It is a vocation that places us at
the center of history and yet also at its very edge, because most people will
see us as innocuous, pious, or maybe even self-centered. That poverty might
well be our deepest charity, Merton seems to say. We are the miniscule moment
that somehow hears, re-creates, allows, and passes on “the first far drums of
Christ the Conqueror.”
Archimedes (c. 287—c. 212 BC), a Greek philosopher and
mathematician, inspired the familiar aphorism, “Give me a place to stand on,
and I will move the whole earth with a lever.” [2] Our fixed point—the place
upon which we stand as our True Self—is steady, centered, poised, and rooted.
To be contemplative, we have to have a slight distance from the world, to allow
time for withdrawal from business as usual, for going into what Jesus calls
“our private room” (Matthew 6:6). However, in order for this not to become
escapism, we have to remain quite close to the world at the same time, loving
it, feeling its pain and its joy as our pain and our joy. So the fulcrum, the
balancing point for our lever, must be in the real world.
And what is our lever? I have talked and written a great
deal about contemplation and True Self, but not as much about the lever,
perhaps because there are so many delivery systems! As Paul so beautifully
says, “Now there are varieties of spiritual gifts (charismaton), but the same
Spirit; and there are varieties of ministries (diakonon), but the same Lord;
and there are varieties of activities (energematon), but it is the same God who
activates all of them in everyone” (1 Corinthians 12:4-6).
It seems to me that much of the proper work of the church
and spirituality should be discerning and empowering people’s actual gifts.
There doesn’t seem to be much discernment of gifts, even in seminaries, as to
whether one really has a gift for Christian leadership, reconciling, healing,
preaching, or counseling. (Most priests and pastors were ordained without ever
having led a single person to love, to God, or to faith; and many do not seem
to have a natural gift for this.) We seem to ordain people who want to be
ordained! We can be educated or trained in offices and roles, but true
spiritual gifts (charismata) are recognized, affirmed, and “called forth.” We
do not create such people; we affirm and support what they are already doing on
some level.
[1] Thomas Merton, “The Quickening of St. John the Baptist,”
The Collected Poems of Thomas Merton (New Directions: 1977), 201.
[2] The Works of Archimedes, ed. Thomas Little Heath
(Cambridge University Press: 1897), xx.
Adapted from Richard Rohr, Dancing Standing Still: Healing
the World from a Place of Prayer (Paulist Press: 2014), 6, 80-82.
THE POWER OF A COMPLIMENT
This article is taken from the archives of Fr Ron Rolheiser OMI. You can find the original article here
Thomas Aquinas once suggested that it’s a sin to not give a compliment to someone when it’s deserved because by withholding our praise we’re depriving that person of the food that he or she needs to live on. He’s right. Perhaps it’s not a sin to withhold a compliment but it’s a sad impoverishment, both for the person deserving the compliment and for the one withholding it.
We don’t live on bread alone. Jesus told us that. Our soul too needs to be fed and its food is affirmation, recognition, and blessing. Every one of us needs to be healthily affirmed when we do something well so as to have resources within us with which to affirm others. We can’t give what we haven’t got! That’s self-evident. And so, for us to love and affirm others we must first be loved, first be blessed, and first be praised. Praise, recognition, and blessing build up the soul.
But complimenting others isn’t just important for the person receiving the compliment, it’s equally important for the person giving it. In praising someone we give him or her some needed food for their soul; but, in doing this, we also feed our own soul. There’s a truth about philanthropy that holds true too for the soul: We need to give to others not just because they need it but because we cannot be healthy unless we are giving ourselves away. Healthy admiration is a philanthropy of the soul.
Moreover, admiring and praising others is a religious act. Benoit Standaert submits that “giving praise comes out of the roots our existence.” What does he mean by that?
In complimenting and praising others, we are tapping into what’s deepest inside us, namely, the image and likeness of God. When we praise someone else then, like God creating, we are breathing life into a person, breathing spirit into them. People need to be praised. We don’t live on bread alone, and we don’t live on oxygen alone either.
The image and likeness of God inside us is not an icon, but an energy, the energy that’s most real inside us. Beyond our ego, wounds, pride, sin, and the pettiness of our hearts and minds on any given day, what’s most real within us is a magnanimity and graciousness which, like God, looks at the world and wants to say: “It is good! It is very good!” When we’re at our best, our truest, speaking and acting out of our maturity, we can admire. Indeed, our willingness to praise others is a sign of maturity, and vice versa. We become more mature by being generous in our praise.
But praise is not something we give out easily. Mostly we are so blocked by the disappointments and frustrations within our lives that we give in to cynicism and jealousy and operate out of these rather than out of our virtues. We rationalize this of course in different ways, either by claiming that what we’re supposed to admire is juvenile (and we’re too bright and sophisticated to be impressed) or that the admirable act was done for someone’s self-aggrandizement and we’re not going to feed another person’s ego. However, more often than not, our real reason for withholding praise is that fact that we ourselves have been insufficiently praised and, because of that, harbor jealousies and lack the strength to praise others. I say this sympathetically, all of us are wounded.
Then too in some of us there’s a hesitation to praise others because we believe that praise might spoil the person and inflate his or her ego. Spare the rod and spoil the child! If we offer praise it will go to that person’s head. Again, more often than not, that’s a rationalization. Legitimate praise never spoils a person. Praise that’s honest and proper works more at humbling its recipient than spoiling him or her. We can’t be loved too much, only loved wrongly.
But, you might ask, what about children who end up self-centered because they’re only praised and never disciplined? Real love and real maturity distinguish between praising those areas of another’s life that are praiseworthy and challenging those areas of another’s life that need correction. Praise should never be undeserved flattery, but challenge and correction are only effective if the recipient first knows that he or she is loved and properly recognized.
Genuine praise is never wrong. It simply acknowledges the truth that’s there. That’s a moral imperative. Love requires it. Refusing to admire when someone or something merits praise is, as Thomas Aquinas submits, a negligence, a fault, a selfishness, a pettiness, and a lack of maturity. Conversely, paying a compliment when one is due is a virtue and a sign of maturity.
Generosity is as much about giving praise as about giving money. We may not be stingy in our praise. The 14th century Flemish mystic, John of Ruusbroec, taught that “those who do not give praise here on earth shall be mute for all eternity.”
MAYBE THE CHURCH’S BIGGEST PROBLEM…LITERALLY
This is taken from the wekly blog by Fr Michael White, Pastor of the Church of the Nativity, Baltimore. You can find the original blog here
Here at Nativity, we’re currently immersed in one of our sacred summer rituals: housecleaning and reorganization. Over the years, we have worked to reduce the amount of storage onsite and move seasonal and long term storage off site. Each summer, we unpack these areas, reassess their contents, and get rid of anything that is outdated, underused, or just no longer in great shape.
This summer, we are also developing an organizational chart for all of these spaces to ensure that we know exactly what we are storing and where.
When it comes to our offices, we are trying something really radical. We are introducing an “open office” concept. This is not exactly news in Silicon Valley or Madison Avenue, but it might be for a church. The basic idea is that no one has their own office (including the pastor). Instead, you choose to work in various, shared work stations, or claim various closed offices and conference spaces as available. The idea is greater efficiency and collaboration, while eliminating the silos and nests that a lot of private offices become.
To be honest, this idea has come under withering criticism as innefficient and unproductive, from many quaterters in recent times. I think a lot of the pushback all comes down to the fact that it’s different and people don’t like different. Even if it is a risk, it’s one we have to take: our staff has grown so much in recent years that our current space is completely disfunctional. Some people already don’t have their own space.
I am hoping, that, handled well, we can make this transition work well. In the process, we can definitely develop a cleaner, sleeker space, free from a lot of personal effects and clutter.
Perhaps the Church’s biggest problem (at least biggest as in taking up the most room) is clutter and junk. When I came to Nativity I was shocked at the amont of space that was devoted to storage, including areas that were intended for programing use. Most of the offices were so cluttered and stuffed with stuff that they were difficult to navigate. And every closet and cabinet was filled to overflowing….and here’s the thing: no one really knew what we were storing.
That’s what happens at church. Many if not most churches I visit, regardless of size or location, wealth or denomination, evidence struggles with this problem, as we do ourselves. And many look like they gave up the battle years ago. A very dedicated pastor I know invited us to visit his parish and advise him on rebuilding. Stepping inside his lobby I said “Father, just get rid of the junk.”
Dumpy, dysfunctional environments damage any organization’s health. But the hesitancy to remove junk affects churches in a far more unique way. It reaches the core of a more endemic problem in churchworld: our resistance to change. Never throwing anything out is parallel to refusing to kill obsolete programs, running that ugly fundraiser year after year, or keeping dysfunctional staff members. To move forward, we’ve got to make the hard choices and difficult decisions.
One strategy that we have found very effective is making specific people responsible for specific spaces. In our experience, when a member of staff or a volunteer minister has ownership over a certain space, that space is far less likely to become disorganized. Another is regularly scheduled housekeeping. And don’t be afraid to shake things up and move things around from time to time too.
We need to care about this if we’re really interested in evangelization.
This is taken from the wekly blog by Fr Michael White, Pastor of the Church of the Nativity, Baltimore. You can find the original blog here
Here at Nativity, we’re currently immersed in one of our sacred summer rituals: housecleaning and reorganization. Over the years, we have worked to reduce the amount of storage onsite and move seasonal and long term storage off site. Each summer, we unpack these areas, reassess their contents, and get rid of anything that is outdated, underused, or just no longer in great shape.
This summer, we are also developing an organizational chart for all of these spaces to ensure that we know exactly what we are storing and where.
When it comes to our offices, we are trying something really radical. We are introducing an “open office” concept. This is not exactly news in Silicon Valley or Madison Avenue, but it might be for a church. The basic idea is that no one has their own office (including the pastor). Instead, you choose to work in various, shared work stations, or claim various closed offices and conference spaces as available. The idea is greater efficiency and collaboration, while eliminating the silos and nests that a lot of private offices become.
To be honest, this idea has come under withering criticism as innefficient and unproductive, from many quaterters in recent times. I think a lot of the pushback all comes down to the fact that it’s different and people don’t like different. Even if it is a risk, it’s one we have to take: our staff has grown so much in recent years that our current space is completely disfunctional. Some people already don’t have their own space.
I am hoping, that, handled well, we can make this transition work well. In the process, we can definitely develop a cleaner, sleeker space, free from a lot of personal effects and clutter.
Perhaps the Church’s biggest problem (at least biggest as in taking up the most room) is clutter and junk. When I came to Nativity I was shocked at the amont of space that was devoted to storage, including areas that were intended for programing use. Most of the offices were so cluttered and stuffed with stuff that they were difficult to navigate. And every closet and cabinet was filled to overflowing….and here’s the thing: no one really knew what we were storing.
That’s what happens at church. Many if not most churches I visit, regardless of size or location, wealth or denomination, evidence struggles with this problem, as we do ourselves. And many look like they gave up the battle years ago. A very dedicated pastor I know invited us to visit his parish and advise him on rebuilding. Stepping inside his lobby I said “Father, just get rid of the junk.”
Dumpy, dysfunctional environments damage any organization’s health. But the hesitancy to remove junk affects churches in a far more unique way. It reaches the core of a more endemic problem in churchworld: our resistance to change. Never throwing anything out is parallel to refusing to kill obsolete programs, running that ugly fundraiser year after year, or keeping dysfunctional staff members. To move forward, we’ve got to make the hard choices and difficult decisions.
One strategy that we have found very effective is making specific people responsible for specific spaces. In our experience, when a member of staff or a volunteer minister has ownership over a certain space, that space is far less likely to become disorganized. Another is regularly scheduled housekeeping. And don’t be afraid to shake things up and move things around from time to time too.
We need to care about this if we’re really interested in evangelization.
Jesus and the Ten Commandments
This week, taken from the ThinkingFaith.org website, Jack Mahoney SJ looks at the ‘commandments’ that Jesus gave to his disciples. In the first of two articles, he asks how the Ten Commandments found their expression in the teaching of Jesus.
The Ten Commandments, also called ‘the Decalogue’ (ten words), are the most famous passage in the Bible. Presented in the Hebrew Bible as having been revealed directly to the Jews by God, they were subsequently assimilated into Christianity and they have occupied a central place in Christian, and popular, moral thinking for centuries.[1] There are two versions of the Decalogue in the Old Testament: one in Exodus chapter 20, which is the older version, presented in the context of the early history of Israel; and the other in Deuteronomy chapter 5, a later, prophetic version, presented as a historical reminiscence in Moses’ dying speech.
You can find the rest of this week's article by clicking here
This week, taken from the ThinkingFaith.org website, Jack Mahoney SJ looks at the ‘commandments’ that Jesus gave to his disciples. In the first of two articles, he asks how the Ten Commandments found their expression in the teaching of Jesus.
The Ten Commandments, also called ‘the Decalogue’ (ten words), are the most famous passage in the Bible. Presented in the Hebrew Bible as having been revealed directly to the Jews by God, they were subsequently assimilated into Christianity and they have occupied a central place in Christian, and popular, moral thinking for centuries.[1] There are two versions of the Decalogue in the Old Testament: one in Exodus chapter 20, which is the older version, presented in the context of the early history of Israel; and the other in Deuteronomy chapter 5, a later, prophetic version, presented as a historical reminiscence in Moses’ dying speech.
You can find the rest of this week's article by clicking here
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