Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church

Dear Good People of Saint Mary,

As I write this article tonight, we have just returned from the special Gala Dinner given in honor of Bishop Loverde on his 50th Anniversary of Priesthood. Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception and Holy Cross Academy were represented by a table of senior staff members.

As we were driving home, we were commenting on the importance of such events. For the life of our diocese, as our third bishop, Bishop Loverde has been a remarkable leader, whose example of service has deepened and grown the outreach of our diocese to open hearts and make Jesus known to them. He has been for our parish a good friend, always supporting with his presence and genuinely interested in our family of Saint Mary. Under Bishop Loverde’s care, our parish has seen remarkable  accomplishments as well. Such events provide a corporate memory for our community that is so important as we offer our gratitude and pray for the future leaders of our Church.

Included here is a smaller version of the ad that we will be running in the Arlington Herald this week to honor him. It features a photograph of him anointing our new altar at our Mass of Dedication on November 22, 2010, nearly five years ago.

Bishop Loverde is, for me, an inspiration of how authentic ministry looks. He has given himself repeatedly to our diocese, to an extent that would seem physically impossible even for a young man in most circumstances. At times he will share the reality of fatigue, of frustration, of real challenges, but never as a complaint. It seems to work for him in such a way that he comes through the challenge with greater energy than before. He is always there with a smile, asking how you are, and really wanting to know. As we have learned in the Called and Gifted program, this is how you can discern authentic gifts: no matter what they demand of you, if the gift is real and you are using it effectively, you will be more energized afterward than before.

If you are discerning a ministry in the parish, this is a good lesson for you, too. Right ministry gives you life, in the same way a good homily gives you hope and encourages you to have the courage to go forward and try harder. Right ministry, in the end, asks two questions that demand an answer. The first is, after I’m done, am I closer to Christ? Or farther away? The second is similar, but even more important: After I’m done, have I had something to do with making Christ more present? Is Christ more present to those whom I have served?

I chose the text in the ad to the left very carefully, they are words of Pope Francis at the Chrism Mass in Rome the first year he was Pope. He told the priests at the Mass that, to be authentic, they had to be witnesses and mediators of the nearness of God to all those they came into contact with. Not just to help people call him to mind, but to make his nearness palpable, immediate, here and now. God’s presence.

Thomas Merton is quoted saying that, second only to the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, the next most important place where you will encounter the real presence of Jesus is in the person who is standing in front of you.

God bless you.

 Dear Good People of Saint Mary,

Last week about 25 of us gathered for our first of three meetings to discuss and respond to Pope Francis’ encyclical on Care  for the Earth, Laudato si’. One of the great things that happens in a large parish like ours is that you discover such diversity of backgrounds and knowledge of people who come together, people who represent such different disciplines as  environmental sciences, farming, teaching, economics, conservation and weather. Then there’s people like me who get to learn from all of you.

Somebody corrected me, as previously I had referred to this encyclical as the Pope’s document “on the environment,” and I realize it is such an error that I need to print a correction! It is about the environment, in part, but this simplification has led many to decide they can dismiss it as a document merely about climate change, words that boil up so much political controversy over already-formed alliances. I believe sides have divided our culture over this issue for personal gain, without really  looking at it. In our day we have allowed real moral issues to become so aligned with politics that it seems people don’t even consider the objective reality of them without the lens of partisan affiliations. Early in our discussion last week, we decided to leave the words climate change aside and look at what the Pope is really saying. He says so much more.

It came up in our discussion that some say the Pope is a Marxist. Another political label meant to distract attention  from the reality of which he speaks. It is true he speaks out of his own experience (how could he not?) of the struggle he knew all his life with South American totalitarian regimes who had no compassion, no mercy for human persons. But he spent his visit to our country not calling us out and condemning us for being a free market society built on hard work and well-earned success, but challenging us to use its fruitfulness for the good, and leave behind the part that can destroy us spiritually and culturally, to avoid what destroys the fragile balance of God’s creation given to us as  stewards, meant to be preserved, nurtured, valued.

He does say often that politics and economics so dominate the discussion that what we do today—in all spheres of our lives and the life of our planet—has more to do with the bottom line and cost per unit than it does with the dignity of workers, their right to a fair wage, the promotion of peoples and the care of the earth. Would we not rather get things cheap (especially the things we don’t really need) than pay what it costs to give someone a good paying job? Maybe we wouldn’t do this consciously; Pope Francis is saying that we have gotten to the point that the people who work for $5 a day in different countries in the world aren’t even remembered as a part of the system anymore.

You don’t have to travel very far to witness personally the damage done to fragile ecosystems. The health of our bay is a subject of great concern, much more than just the price of crabs. What about the changes being made in the southwest, where cities along the paths of rivers have dried them up, leaving people further along without any water at all? Some countries are now trying to replant lost hardwood forests with “sustainable” cash crops of fast-growing trees, often “invader” plants that cause the extinction of further species? Some of these forests require six or seven generations to be reestablished, more time than we have or are willing to give.

I think the most compelling point that Pope Francis makes about the earth is that it is the place God designed where  the encounter takes place between him and mankind. God created the earth to be a safe place for human beings, not a place where the law would protect a pet more than an unborn child. Not a place where the poor become poorer, where indigenous peoples disappear because of another’s greed. Not a place where we consume, waste, and throw away the fruits of that creation without regard to the impact that we have on others.

When I was looking for a college, my parents said that they wanted us to find a college that actually taught ethics in their curriculum. This was over thirty years ago: ethics was virtually impossible to find. This, I think, is the main point that Pope Francis is trying to make with his encyclical. God’s gifts are given to us with a moral charge included: we must once again look at our lives and the way we are using his gifts from a moral perspective. Ultimately we must understand the Planner behind the plan, if that plan is to succeed. He is returning ethics to the discussion table.

We meet again next week; the week after, we plan our parish’s active response.

God bless you.