On the Margins from Mater Dei Radio, Portland, OR
First Sunday of Lent, March 5, 2017
Click here to listen to this weekend’s On the Margins
Deserts are real, both external and internal. We know them and live in them daily. Deserts transform if we are there, really there.
R. (19b) A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
R. A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
For I acknowledge my offense,
and my sin is before me always:
“Against you only have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight.”
R. A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
For you are not pleased with sacrifices;
should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it.
My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;
a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
R. A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
“Have Mercy on Me..” Sketch: Ronald Raab, CSC
Jesus said to his disciples:
“The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected
by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed and on the third day be raised.”
Then he said to all,
“If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself
and take up his cross daily and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.
What profit is there for one to gain the whole world
yet lose or forfeit himself?”
Prayer: (Raab)
Jesus, help me take up:
The violence that roars in my heart,
The lack of peace that makes a home in my soul,
The self-hatred that reveals itself on my lips,
The lack of forgiveness between those I love and myself,
The hatred in our world vision,
The guns, the knives, the weapons that our children carry,
The disgrace we carry among our families,
The wars, the loathing, the violence, and aggression of nations,
The sin of our lives and of our relationships,
Redeem our crosses, the heavy burdens we carry.
Ash Wednesday 2017, Charcoal Drawing: Ronald Raab, CSC
R. (see 3a) Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
For I acknowledge my offense,
and my sin is before me always:
“Against you only have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight.”
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Give me back the joy of your salvation,
and a willing spirit sustain in me.
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
PRAYER:
To you, O God, we turn, to discover our lives in the depth of your love for us. Let not our weariness or sin or doubt, remove us from your loving presence. Eliminate the obstacles that keep us from seeing you. Lift up our heads and help us turn our gaze toward your loving face. Let not our eyes be cast down from shame or guilt. Wipe the tears of loneliness, worry, regret and fear from our eyes and cheeks. Look us straight in our eyes and into our souls. Listen to our voices proclaim our praise only for you. Amen (Raab)
Pink and Perseverance
The dark Indiana soil received my mother’s body today
As our spirits mingled among the soft July breezes and the thick grass.
My family piled up our memories at her grave’s edge
Along with the arrangements of white lilies and roses.
Mom sewed a white chasuble with blue trim for my ordination many years ago
I draped it over the casket feeling her prayers imbedded in every stitch.
Somewhere beyond the dirt grave God will receive it from her own hands.
After leading the songs and prayers over the casket
I invited my family to imitate her favorite gesture of farewell.
Each of us waved goodbye to her with both hands in the air.
That prayer fluttered across the cemetery releasing peace.
I closed the ritual book and felt serenity and relief.
Suddenly from out of the crowd
An African American woman wearing a red dress
Grasped my right hand and held it tightly to her bosom.
She whispered to me the surprise; she was a seer.
Her cheeks were tearstained and her smile soul-deep
As she spoke close to my face that she felt my mother’s passing.
My mother not yet in her grave spoke to her
That the white flowers I gave her were sweetly appreciated.
She wanted to remind me that her favorite color was pink.
With blood rushing to my face I stood in silence
And waited for more of mother’s words.
The woman who had sung above the gathered crowd during our prayer
Spoke to me in the most beautiful voice my heart has heard.
The seer spoke from her soulful knowing that Mom wants me to
Persevere in my priesthood.
The beautiful seer in red strolled through the mourners nearly unnoticed
And drove away without telling me her name.
I waved goodbye with both hands
Standing silently at the edge of Mom’s grave
Treasuring the moment of white, pink and red.
Ronald Patrick Raab, CSC
Click here for full bulletin for February 28, 2017
Dear Followers of Jesus,
In this week’s gospel (Matthew 6:24-34), Jesus says to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink or about your body, what you will wear.” Jesus tells us that we cannot serve two masters. However, he knows that we will worry anyway about whether or not we are doing the right thing, saying the right thing and loving in the correct way. We worry about following Him when we are challenged beyond our expertise. We worry if our prayers are the right words and whether or not our actions will be bold enough to forgive or heal. We are master worriers! Jesus invites us to serve God and not mammon. Jesus invites us into real and authentic trust and prayer.
We are always struggling in some ways. Some of us worry about how we look, how we dress, whether we’ve gained too much weight, or how we can keep our gray hair from showing. Others worry about where our next meal will come from, whether we can keep a roof over our family’s heads, or whether we can afford to put gas in our car this week. And when we worry – regardless of what we worry about – we can often lose track of our need for our relationship with God.
As a parish, working to take small steps on our faith journey we are seeking your unspoken thoughts and your honest feedback on how we are fulfilling our mission “As a prayerful Catholic community of service following Jesus’ message of hope and salvation, we make God known, loved, and served.” We want to know about your worries and how they impact your prayer life, your relationship with God, your relationship with the Church, and your relationships with family and friends. We, as parish community, are here to support and help you.
Over the last few weeks, the small dinner gatherings that we have hosted, have helped us understand some of what your worries and needs are. As I talked about in last week’s column, you are looking for a welcoming experience when you come to church, a sense that you are a part of our community. We’ve had several suggestions about how we can do that.
A number of people feel that we need more participation from parishioners during Mass. Not everyone wants to read, distribute communion, or sing. But many people can serve as greeters, welcoming people as they enter the church. We’ve had the suggestion that one of our hospitality ministers should do the welcoming comments at the beginning of Mass, and that we should take time to speak to each other before our opening procession. We’ve heard from parishioners that they want to know more about what we do as a parish and they want to hear that from the people who are actually involved in the ministries.
Many parishioners feel the need for us to engage with small communities. In the 1980’s and early 1990’s we had small groups gathering in each other’s homes to share community and faith. That invitation, opening our doors for each other, helped build the church, and parishioners are asking for us to consider re-engaging small communities. Those activities might be small in-home bible studies, groups that gather to go to the symphony together and reflect on their experiences afterward, or groups that do service for those in need in our community. In the coming year, there are many ways that we will look to build our relationships through small communities and small gatherings.
We also had parishioners suggest we need to do something more for our youth. As one parishioner shared, “These days, our youth are looking for things that are fun, and Church isn’t fun.” So how can we make our church experience fun, yet formative, for our youth? We want to see more youth engagement and involvement. We hear about the Youth Ministry, but we don’t see the youth active in our church community. We don’t have a lot of answers, but we know we need to address this important group in our plans for the future. And part of that will involve talking to the youth to understand what they are looking for and how we can provide it.
Parishioners at our dinners have shared that we need to do things for our young families. Should we offer day care during Mass for families so that young parents can have quiet, prayerful time during Mass? Are there programs we can provide that engage an entire family, not just kids or adults separately? The answer is a resounding YES! We are looking at programs that provide “food for the soul” for everyone in a family, from young children to adults, from Youth Ministry participants to their grandparents.
You also shared some comments that at times, our homilies are not what you want to hear or need to hear. You feel that we aren’t always speaking to you or hearing your needs. While that is a difficult message for me to hear, I am thankful that you are willing to share your thoughts and concerns with me. Our homilies are driven by scripture and our life experiences. They will resonate with people in different ways at different times in their lives. So if you have comments, questions, or suggestions about our homilies, we want to hear from you. Please continue to share your thoughts – positive, negative, or neutral – with us so that we can make sure we are meeting your needs.
Our parish community will only grow and prosper with your help and commitment. Please continue to share your thoughts, your praises, and your concerns. As we pursue our mission, as we worship together, and as we serve our community, we will worry- sometimes for a good reason but often because it is our human nature. But by open, honest, respectful conversation, we will be able to assure ourselves that we are serving God and that we are moving into real and authentic trust and prayer.
Blessings,
Fr. Ron
On the Margins from Mater Dei Radio, Portland, OR
Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Sunday February 26, 2017: Matthew 6:24-34
We cannot make worry a god. Sometimes worry becomes our identity. Those on the margins live in the center of worry, worry is a daily routine. We cannot control the outcomes of our lives. We need to trust and live worry free.
Our parish has added poetry classes in our artistic and spiritual search for faith and meaning. We are finishing our second series of four classes learning about various forms of poetry. More importantly, learning about and feeling our own experiences. We hold up our disappointments and insights to the light of one another’s lives, admitting our vulnerable hearts. I experience in our classes the profound struggles of ordinary people and the deep faith that gets us all through life. What joy. What hope.
Here is a poem by John Goddard, a new student of poetry.
“Wisdom Matters” Drawing: Ronald Raab, CSC
Click here for complete parish bulletin
Dear Followers of Jesus,
In today’s gospel (Matthew 5:38-48), Jesus invites us into the non-violent and compassionate love of the Father. Jesus challenges us to live in the perfection of the Father. This perfection means that we strive to live out the characteristics of the Father such as forgiveness, love, kindness, tenderness and fidelity. This is our model of conversion, our change of heart toward God. This perfection is not our human notion of living without mistakes or error or chaos. Jesus tells us that faith is a path, not a quick solution. Faith is a journey, not a fast answer. Faith is living in the heart of God. We move toward the perfection of the Father in love and faithfulness.
We are not perfect, and we each know and experience that in our daily lives. We make mistakes, we see other’s errors, and we are often caught up in chaos. Sometimes it feels like chaos is our constant state of life. We are so busy with what we have to do and accomplish that we don’t take the time to experience the beauty that is around us, in the warmth of people we encounter each day, in the serenity of the amber hues of a sunset over the mountains, or in the caring touch of comfort from a loved one.
As a parish, we are working to take small steps on our faith journey to experience the beauty around us. And to do that, we have begun hosting dinners with small gatherings of parishioners. We are seeking your often unspoken thoughts and your honest feedback on how we are fulfilling our mission “As a prayerful Catholic community of service following Jesus’ message of hope and salvation, we make God known, loved, and served.” You have told us about the things we do that you value and about the things we do that frustrate you. This week and next, I’d like to share with you some of the feedback we have received and some of the things that we will be doing in response to that feedback.
We start our dinner conversations by asking people to introduce themselves and their connection to the parish, and one theme rises to the top. People are connected with our parish because of the sense of community they feel in our churches. Whether attending Sacred Heart, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, or Holy Rosary, people feel as if they are a part of a family. Our parishioners value the relationships they have developed, sometimes over years and sometimes only over months, with the people sitting near them in church. We can count on the friendships we have developed through our churches.
Yet many parishioners feel we are not as welcoming as we could be. As one dinner participant questioned, “We welcome the poor, but do we welcome each other?” We have wonderful greeters who offer a smile, a warm hand of welcome, or an uplifting embrace as we enter the church. But once we sit down, we sit with people we know, we talk with people we know, and we socialize with people we know. We greet people as Mass begins, but do we engage with them? Perhaps to create a truly welcoming environment, we could ask the names of people we don’t know, we could inquire about their families, and we could invite them to join us after Mass for conversation, or for coffee and donuts.
In addition to getting to know each other, several parishioners have suggested that we educate each other on our many ministries. We have dozens of ministries supported by a vast cadre of volunteers. But do you know much about those ministries? Most people don’t. Several parishioners who have participated in our Tuesday dinners suggested that at the end of each Mass, we regularly feature a parishioner who is involved in one of our ministries.
Following on that suggestion, in the coming weeks you will see parishioners from each of our ministries presenting at Sunday Mass. They will talk about the important work of the ministry and how we, as parishioners, can get involved. What a wonderful communication tool this will be, and what a wonderful way to showcase the positive work we are doing to help make our church and our community better for all those who come to pray with us and all those who come to us for service. Consider participating in one of the many ministries we offer, and consider inviting one of your fellow parishioners to join you in that ministry.
Jesus is calling us to accept the reality that faith is a journey, not a fast answer. As a parish community we are walking the path of our faith journey together. That path is not always a straight line, and it often has challenging hills and rough terrain. But if we take our time to find the solutions in our path of faith, we will be able to maneuver the path’s hairpin turns, and we will cherish and appreciate the beautiful vistas that open before us as we crest a hill or reach level ground.
Our faith journey is only as rich and as deep as you allow it to be. So next time you see someone at Mass who you don’t know, take some time to talk to them and make them feel welcome. And when you find yourself with a little extra time on your hands, think about helping support one of the many parish ministries – you’ll know more about those ministries from your fellow parishioners who share their passion at Mass.
Please continue to share your thoughts, your praises, and your concerns with us. As we pursue our mission, as we worship together, and as we serve our community, we will stumble. But by open, honest, respectful conversation, we will pick ourselves up and move toward the perfection of the Father in love and faithfulness.
Blessings,
Fr. Ron
On the Margins from Mater Dei Radio, Portland, OR
Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time: Matthew 5: 38-48
The perfection we seek is the compassion of our Father. We are to enter into the forgiveness, lived relationship with God. All mercy. All hope is the Father. This is perfection.
Broken But Not Divided 