Pastor’s Potpourri
- There’s an old saying that there are three kinds of lies: lies, darn lies and statistics. I would like to add a fourth: surveys. At the risk of angering Fr. Andrew Greeley and other sociologists, I must insist that surveys really prove nothing. They are at best indications of what some people may be thinking at a particular moment. A much better knowledge of what people really think or believe is observing what they consistently do or don’t do. And even then, “believe only half of what you see and nothing of what you hear.”
- Signage: When I arrived here over 30 months ago, I noticed that OLV practiced a very Lutheran tradition: posting notices on the front doors of the Church! (Remember Martin Luther and his 95 theses?) To be honest, I have seen this custom (and discouraged it) in several other parishes. I would very much prefer that announcements, posters, etc., be posted in the interior of the Church, preferably on the large bulletin board in the Gathering Space. Let’s save the door for emergency announcements only.
- Young parishioners: “What’s the matter with kids today?” That question was first asked by Adam and Eve, I think, and it has been asked by every older generation about the younger ever since, including today. Call me a crazy old man, but I don’t think our present teens and pre-teens are that much better or worse than their parents and grandparents. But they do live in different times, so their virtues and vices manifest themselves differently than those of preceeding generations.
Quote for Thought:
“The great and multiple privileges of the Christian life come with significant
responsibilities as well. Baptism is our common call as Christians to live holy lives. We are called as well to be servants, to aid our brothers and sisters as did Christ, who came to serve, not to be served (Mk 10:45). Christianity calls us to be beacons of light and hope to a world often shrouded in darkness. In short, we are called to build God’s Kingdom through our united efforts. But as Paul suggests to the Corinthians and Jesus states directly at the end of His sermon on the Mount, we must build that kingdom, our spiritual house, on the rock of Christ, the foundation of life.”
- Richard Gribble, CSC, “Building God’s Kingdom Today,” in Emmanuel, Nov./Dec. 2005, pp.516-517
Quote for Thought Lite:
“Some of us don’t get interested in anything until we find it’s none of our
business.”