Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church

Dear Good People of Saint Mary,

It’s time again for one of those periodic columns when we catch up with a lot of housekeeping items, things that need to be mentioned for the good order of our community. Please give careful attention, and help one another in kindness to make our life together more fruitful and effective.

Volunteers. Please plan to join us on October 22 for our annual Volunteer Appreciation Dinner. If you have volunteered in any capacity at Saint Mary or Holy Cross Academy, I invite you for an evening of dinner and dancing at Holy Cross Academy, prepared and served by your parish staff! We gather together for a home-cooked
dinner and dancing to a great local band, Blue Tips Rhythm Revue, to thank you for your service to our parish family. It is always a lot of fun and I have the honor of giving out Volunteer of the Year Awards to those whose nominations again them the distinction of being some of our most treasured volunteers.

Hope. Some of us from Saint Mary gathered together and represented our parish family at the Hope Over Heroin event last weekend Friday and Saturday nights. People who were trying to beat drug addiction, parents who were looking for answers for their children with addictions, and volunteers from all over Fredericksburg came and ate a lot of cookies, and spoke with us. Especially as we had been listening to Pope Francis all week, I was filled with the truth that there was no other place that we should be at that moment, no other people we were placed here to serve than these people who needed to know the support of their community. It was good to be there to let them know that we were there for them. So many parents, since we have announced we were involved in this program, ave communicated their relief knowing that their Church truly cared. All I can say is that I am sorry that we haven’t been more involved in such real community issues up until now. We are here for you, and we care.

Thanks, Bishop Loverde. I understand that most of you have received a mailing from the Diocese asking you to fill out a spiritual bouquet card. All of them will be given to Bishop Loverde at the celebration of his 50th anniversary of priesthood (December 18) in early November. All of us know how important it is to be recognized for our goodness; even though we wouldn’t actively seek it for ourselves, it brings great satisfaction. Probably you know that Bishop Loverde reached his 75th birthday on September 3, the day on which all bishops submit a letter of resignation and retirement to the Holy Father. It is up to Pope Francis to decide when he accepts that resignation and his new assignments have come anywhere between nine and 15 months. Bishop Loverde’s anniversary is an opportunity for all of us in the Diocese to let him know how much he has done for us. He has been a true father, a good teacher and an especially good friend for us at Saint Mary, always supporting our initiatives and growth, as well as often looking to our parish to pioneer many of his programs. We have a great debt of thanks to him, so it is appropriate that everyone respond to this request. A spiritual bouquet is a gift we give to another consisting of prayers, sacrifices, good deeds  which we offer in his intention. The benefit of our good deeds is given to him, for his needs and the intentions he has in his own heart. Please respond generously with your gifts of sincere thanks.

Church kids. Parents, please consider the needs of people around you if your children are fussy at Mass. They can’t help it, but you can help us. When children seem to be more than momentarily upset, please know that we share  our frustration but hope that you will enable us to hear and better join in Mass participation. Please do not feel embarrassed if you need to step out of the church for a moment. Again, if  you don’t have children who are upset, you should not be in the cry room at all, it is reserved for noise and those who are looking for refuge with noisy children. It is NOT a play room alternative during Mass. Parents, also please keep your children from damaging our new pews. They are already in bad condition in some places. Also, I’m told, children have been gathering unsupervised by parents in the restrooms and playing, and running us out of paper products. Please keep an eye out for us. Thanks. Nobody likes to stop in and suddenly realize there is no paper, as happened often last weekend.

You are Called and Gifted. Last call: this weekend we begin the Called and Gifted Workshop. October 9 and 10. Please don’t miss it. We don’t know how often we will be able to repeat this blessing to our parish.

God bless you,

Dear Good People of Saint Mary,

I was giving a morning of reflection last Saturday morning near Hagerstown to the pastoral council of Saint Augustine’s Church in Washington, D.C. Their pastor, Fr. Pat Smith, asked me to come and give a presentation on Making Intentional Disciples and the fruits we have experienced at Saint Mary from the Called and Gifted Workshop.

By the way, did I mention, we have another Called and Gifted Workshop coming to our parish on October 9 and 10?

Anyway, I returned here that day to a flurry of activity. Volunteers were setting up for what became not only the most beautifully-weathered Parish Life Weekend we have ever had, but also the most successful. There was a spirit of real goodness, enthusiasm, and mission among all the people who spent the weekend at tables telling parishioners about their ministries and inviting them to join in service. More parishioners than ever before came over after Mass and visited with parish leaders and learned about different ministries. We have rarely had such a perfect day with regard to call and response. Maybe we are beginning to really take our thankfulness seriously, reflecting on the gifts we have received and doing something about it.

The proof will be this weekend and in the few weeks to come, to see if people follow through with their Commitment Cards.

Please remember, please fill out a new card, even if you are simply continuing to do what you did last year. Without a new card submitted, you will not be counted. Commitments must be renewed!

The experience at Parish Life Weekend was so amazing. One of the texts from Sherry Weddell’s book kept going through my mind and I thought I’d reprint it here for your reflection. It is about one woman’s experience, Ellen Piper, who changed the lives of many. She is a licensed social worker who leads Boise’s Catholic Worker community. She helped found the first day shelter for the homeless in the state and also started two transitional houses for homeless men and women while getting her M.A. in social work. She began twelve years before as a restless parishioner:

“I had a nagging sense of a call to do something. I was praying and saying, ‘Lord, what do you want me to do?’ I had a dream in which I heard the words, ‘Do the works of mercy.’ I asked a priest what the ‘works of mercy’ were. Then I went on the Evangelization Retreat, and something set me on fire. I decided to go work with our St. Vincent de Paul Society. It seemed safe. The I went to the Called & Gifted workshop. I scored high on mercy on the gifts inventory and thought, ‘This is supposed to be what you are doing. Without the Called & Gifted workshop this wouldn’t have happened. Seeing the gift of mercy on that inventory sheet really empowered me.'”

Sherry continues: “We have seen it happen over and over. The presence of a significant number of disciples changes everything: a parish’s spiritual tone, energy level, attendance, bottom line, and what parishioners ask of their leaders. Disciples pray with passion. Disciples worship. Disciples love the Church and serve her with energy and joy. Disciples give lavishly. Disciples hunger to learn more about their faith. Disciples fill every formation class in a parish or diocese. Disciples manifest gifts and discern vocations. They clamor to discern God’s call because they have really good news to share. Disciples share their faith with their children. Disciples care about the poor and issues of justice. Disciples take risks for the Kingdom of God.

“The Holy Spirit is planting charisms and vocations of amazing diversity in the hearts of all his people. Like the graces of the sacraments, they are real, but they are not magic. Just as the gifts of children must be fostered deliberately by parents to reach their full potential, so vocations must be fostered by the Church.

“In this area, we are not asking for too much; we are settling for too little. God is not asking us to call forth the gifts and vocations of a few people; he is asking us to call forth the gifts and vocations of millions. Our problem is not that there is a shortage of vocations but that we do not have the support systems and leadership in place to foster the vast majority of the vocations that God has given us.”

For us, at this moment in history, on the corner of William and Stafford, it begins with your Commitment Card. God bless you.