My parish is on the verge of financial ruin, except even the Holy Spirit is working it out. We got a three month delay in paying our $32,000 a month loan payment from SunTrust. We’ll have to pay it at the end of our loan, 15 years from now, when I am 81 years old if I live through COVID-19.
But you know what? I have more pressing things to worry about rather than money. How to minister to my parishioners in creative ways, such as drive through Holy Water Blessings and Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament. And I am trying to figure out confessions some how, either general absolution of social distancing confession and not be disobedient to my bishop in doing so. (If anyone suggests I should be disobedient to my promise of obedience, please also suggest being disobedient to my promise of celibacy)!
What I don’t have to worry about are meetings, meetings, meetings. No pastoral council, no finance council, no stewardship council and no committee and sub committee and sub, sub committee meetings talking about this, that and the other, mostly worldly sorts of things, like pleasing people more, more programs, more ministries, more this, more that and more of the other.
What the “shelter in place” has done in my parish, I hope, is for us to refocus on the purpose of the Church as an institution which begins with the primary institution God has created, the family, which is the Church in miniature, the domestic Church.
—the faith must be taught at home
—prayer must begin at home both private and communal
—charity begins at home, providing shelter, clothing, food and drink
—morality begins at home, especially forgiveness and reconciliation
—Meals are at home, at the family table, together with everything else (especially social media) excluded while eating at the table and talking afterward, the primary parish council of the family!
And the Institutional Church? God willing, we will return to packed Masses on Sunday, long lines for confession, countless baptisms (a result of this quarantine especially 9 months from now) where sex is for pleasure and to make babies. Weddings in the parish Church rather in exotic destinations outside of the Church is the norm.
The priest in collaboration with his bishop, teaches, rules and sanctifies. There are Catholic schools for the sake of the faith and morals of the Church as well as CCD programs and adult formation programs and evangelization programs like RCIA to make sure the world becomes Catholic and joins the Church Jesus founded or rejoins it if abandoned!
And yes, there are some social events, there is ministry to the needs of the poor and those who are home bound or hospitalized have frequent Holy Communion and enough priests to visit them regularly for Confession and the Anointing of the Sick.
If we come out of this with a renewed emphasis on what we are as Catholics, praised be Jesus Christ and Buona Serra!
7 comments:
Hmmm... Not all parishes are on the verge of financial ruin. I wonder what the difference is.
Most parishes don't have a $32,000 a month debt and were in the middle of a capital campaign to deal with it and had to stop the campaign on the very Sunday that it would have gone public because Masses were canceled and also the offertory has declined because people are not at Mass. Is that what you mean? I am sure it is.
Anonymous K,
Hmmm...But a lot of parishes are on the verge of spiritual ruin because they have fake catholic priests as pastors too scared to leave their rectories for the good of souls
Now that everyone is live streaming, this is a good chance for people who comment here to see Fr. Kavanaugh in action. You can see him give a talk to his flock as he sits in his office or watch him celebrate the Novus Ordo service. This is as close as you'll get to meeting him in person!
https://saintpetertheapostle.com/church/
Marc,
I noticed he got all dressed up for the occasion. He pretty much looks like I pictured him
Thank you, Mark.
Fr AJM, may I suggest something? In our Archdiocese of Toronto, the chancery did a clever thing in this Internet era of shopping. They established an online program called “pre-authorized giving” (PAG for short.) while you do have an option to do a one time donation you can set up a recurring payment via credit card where money is automatically dwarf weekly/monthly from the laity and you can direct it to ordinary parish funds or specific options/campaigns as they come up.
If your diocese doesn’t have that then maybe a parish/personal GoFundMe account would do.
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