Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church

Dear Good People of Saint Mary,

Today we imagine the scene of that last day, when all the nations of the earth are assembled before the throne of God, all those from all ages and places, to receive the final judgment, and how we will be found worthy, or not worthy, to stand in the presence of God, whose presence will be absolute joy to those who know him, a refining fire of hope for all souls who are yet destined for salvation, and forever sadness and grief for those who didn’t seek him while there was still time. Many theologians have reflected that it will not be God who judges, it will simply be our ability to stand before God, our level of comfort in God’s presence based on how we have lived our lives, that will ultimately be the deciding factor. Have we taken the time necessary to get to know him now? Or will we stand before a stranger who will look at us, eye-to-eye. How would that feel?

One of the most powerful hymn texts for me is this one from the early 19th century, the daughter of an Anglican pastor, Caroline Noel. It presents to us, like the “Philippians hymn,” a text from Saint Paul probably used by the earliest church for worship (Phil. 2:10), a synopsis of the kerygma, or the story of salvation:

1. At the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, every tongue confess him King of glory now; ‘tis the Father’s pleasure we should call him Lord, who from the beginning was the mighty Word.
2. At his voice creation sprang at once to sight: all the angel faces, all the hosts of light, thrones and dominations, stars upon their way, all the heavenly orders in their great array.
3. Humbled for a season, to receive a name from the lips of sinners, unto whom he came; faithfully he bore it spotless to the last, brought it back victorious when from death he passed;
4. bore it up triumphant with its human light, through all ranks of creatures, to the central height, to the throne of Godhead, to the Father’s breast; filled it with the glory of that perfect rest.
5. In your hearts enthrone him; there let him subdue all that is not holy, all that is not true. Look to him, your Savior, in temptation’s hour; let his will enfold you in its light and power.
6. Christians, this Lord Jesus shall return again, with his Father’s glory, o’er the earth to reign; for all wreaths of empire meet upon his brow, and our hearts confess him King of glory now.

I can’t really think of a more perfect catechesis than this one, and it gives us an unflinching story of how Christ became our King, why he is our King, and how we must respond to serve his reign.

It is precisely the gift of time into which God has placed us, that offers us a context to change. Think about it a moment. Without time there is no change—there can be no before or after, no conversion. Ultimately I believe that time is the ultimate expression of God’s love. Sure, it can seem to drag on, to limit us, especially when we find ourselves confronted with “time’s up!” How much more we might have done, we think. I could have studied better, I think, when the exam is over. I could have gone to bed earlier and be more clear-headed when the alarm rings in the morning. That is the other, less desirable side of looking at time: regret. It is so easy to waste time. Without time there can be no hope.

Without time, there can be no change of heart.

As we consider the so-called “end time” (of course, there is no end for us…), let us focus our hearts on now, the meantime. There is still time to get to know the One in whose image each of us is made, the One who placed us in the context of time so that we might turn away from ourselves and back to him. Who knows how much? Only God, but if we use time to get to know him, become comfortable with him, after all time when the time comes, it will be like a reunion with a dear one, as the flood of memory and all love we have known will swell and embrace us and welcome us home.

God bless you.

Dear Good People of Saint Mary,

I asked the folks in the front office what was the most frequently asked question or most common misunderstanding that they encounter in office day to day. Everyone – Mary, Lori and Chris – said that the most difficult issue had to do with the Church’s law on the requirements for Godparents/Sponsors for the sacraments, without a doubt. So, with our Confirmation class for adults coming up, I thought this might be a good time to review what the universal law of the Church is with regard to the selection of Godparents and sponsors to stand up for those who are preparing to receive sacraments.

First, we need to say that the parish doesn’t make up these rules, they are clearly required by the church’s universal Code of Canon Law. Sometimes I’m told by people that exceptions were made by someone in another parish far away; all I can say is that laws are sometimes broken, but that doesn’t make breaking the law a right by precedent – or permissible. The Code of Canon Law is a volume of laws which developed over time precisely when confronted with abuses in the Church that threatened the validity of the sacraments attempted. No one has the right to change these laws. Some margin is allowed, on occasion, for a diocesan bishop in a situation of pastoral need, danger of death or the like, but we are not permitted to change them.

It is interesting that the Code places the requirements of suitability firmly on the shoulders of the Godparents/Sponsors; not on the parents. Often children may be born into families with parents in an irregular marriage or circumstance where the parents can’t meet the requirements: the Church would never punish a child for the irregularity of parents’ situations. The Godparents/Sponsors should be chosen precisely because of their suitability. They are the ones who will make the profession of faith in place of the child (if the child is too young to make this sort of choice by themselves) and they are the ones who promise to stand in the place of parents where needed, to guarantee the well-being of that child or person they are sponsoring – both spiritually and physically. When I was a child I was very much aware that if something were to happen to my parents, that my Uncle Vince and Aunt Josephine were going to be in charge of my life and my formation in the faith.

Often today we find a very secular approach to the selection of Godparents/Sponsors, due to friendship, or some kind of family or professional tie. This is often to the detriment of the person being sponsored. Godparents/Sponsors must be selected according to the witness they, themselves, exhibit with regard to faithfulness, practicing faith, and living in the sacraments. For this reason, there are some things required, without exception of a Godparent/Sponsor:

• they must be living a life of faith according to the teachings of the Church, in the Catholic Church, regularly practicing the virtue of religion;
• they themselves must be fully initiated in the Church through Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Communion;
• they must promise to raise this child/support this person in the life of the sacraments;
• if they are married, they must be married according to the canonical form of the Catholic Church (Catholic rite, vows received by priest or deacon, witnessed by two persons);
• they must be 16 years of age.

By Canon Law, only one Godparent/Sponsor who meets these requirements is necessary. When two Catholics can’t be named, sometimes a second baptized person might be designated as a “Christian Witness.” Although this person has no canonical role in the sacrament, even if they aren’t Catholic, they may make a commitment to raise their Godchild in the Catholic faith. As such, any baptized person is eligible, except for an ex-Catholic. If a Godparent is unable to be present for the baptism, a proxy may stand in, in place of the Godparent, without meeting any requirement other than sharing in the intention of the Church for the newly-baptized. Hope this helps.

God bless you.

Dear Good People of Saint Mary,

Last weekend as we reflected on the nearness of the saints and the kingdom of heaven, how  all of us are gathered at the altar at Mass, how the saints are immediate to our needs, how we are immediate to the needs of the holy souls.

We literally are a prayer away from each other, a breath. It is a comforting consideration when we are confronted with the loss of a loved one, that they aren’t really gone, but rather “behind the veil” of hope that surrounds God’s faithful people.

This month of November we remember in a special way all those who have gone before us in faith, and remember them with our prayers and charity. I spoke briefly in my homilies about how that thin veil between us and them can sometimes seem so very thin. I used the experience of my encounter with the cathedral in Reims, France last week—how in the fog the lights glowed and you couldn’t tell where the spires covered with saints and angels came to an end, and where the sky began. It looked like a ladder between heaven and earth, and somewhere in that glow of light was the communion of the two.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and since this column is usually good for about 500 I thought I would include this photo. It doesn’t begin to do justice to the experience of actually being there, but it gives an idea of the stunning vision which was suddenly in front of us as we came around a corner. If you check the history of the place, it was all but destroyed with most of the city of Reims in the Second World War.

A place of such history (where kings were crowned for centuries) and such suffering stands today as a testament to the endurance of truth, and beauty, and prayer. So may God’s kingdom always be.

God bless you.

Dear Good People of Saint Mary,

Last week we gathered to honor volunteers,  and to thank them for how they bring life to  our parish community.

There is nothing so wonderful as a volunteer,  or anyone, for that matter, who can represent  Christ to others. Twelve years ago when I came to Saint Mary it seemed like we had forgotten how to volunteer. Or, more accurately,  I guess it could be said that volunteers had been hibernating because there had been no invitation to them, to make their gifts known and used for the food of all. There had been no Parish Council since 1976. Ministries were managed in very small doses, if they were there. We had prayer groups and Knights of Columbus, lectors and eucharistic ministers, but our presence in the community was nonexistent. I remember going to my first Micah meeting many years ago and asking why we weren’t involved in outreach to the homeless, or refugees, or the hungry. I was told that the Catholic Church wasn’t interested. I was even told by our own Diocese that Saint Mary had refused to be involved with refugee resettlement, so the Diocese had decided to work with Fredericksburg Baptist Church instead. Since then we’ve been all about the process of waking up, and using those gifts in service to God and others. Saint Mary is a very different place, thanks to you all.

At our ninth annual volunteer appreciation dinner this year, the tables were turned and our paid parish staff had a chance to serve you, our volunteers, as a way of thanking you for your dedication which makes all of this work. This, Jesus, works. And your continued commitment to making Christ visible is the hope of our Church and the future of holiness in our  world. Your work is, indeed, sacred, and we thank you. Thank you for coming to dinner, the feast is prepared, we just need people to come and dine…

This year we thanked: Julie Appleton, Rocio Atkinson, Sue Bain, Gregg Carneal, Leticia Gonzalez, Christi Greenwell, Maureen Jones, Patti Kaila and once again, Peg Larose. We thank you—and ALL of you who deserve  awards, too—for helping us build a good home for all God’s family here.

Our thanks also go to Patti Kaila and Dawn Miller, our hosts, Karen Sturtevant and Rick Caporali who cooked the best dinner we’ve had on record, and all who transformed the gym out at Holy Cross into a real place of joy.

God Bless You,