Diologue
Written by Catholic SUN   
Message from a good shepherd

fr_john_mannoby Father John Manno

Recently, I was visiting a parish in our diocese and I noticed that many people were cleaning the church and the sanctuary. I approached one of the people and asked if it was time for spring cleaning. The response I received was, “No, we do this every week, we are just volunteers that love to keep the church clean.” I thanked this person for their great work in keeping the Lord’s house so beautiful and the response was, “Father, my pastor asked me to help in this ministry 30 years ago and I am still doing it…with a smile.” Throughout the diocese, I know there are countless people that give of their time and talents and serve the Church in various ways. It leaves me filled with gratitude and, at the same time, asking, “Where would we be without these faithful volunteers?”

There is no question that the success of so much of what we do as a people of faith depends on the involvement of many. If we all were to stop and think about just our parish communities, I am certain we would recognize the great work that is done by our volunteers. People graciously donate their time as lectors, extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist, greeters, ushers, altar servers, music ministers, various parish committees, parish outreach programs, cleaning, lawn maintenance, snow removal, cooking, serving and the list goes on and on. It truly is inspiring to reflect on how people so generously give of themselves in service to God and others.

One might ask why people give so graciously of their time and talents to serve. I would like to think that it is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit motivating people to recognize their baptismal call to be people of service. While that may be part of the reason people donate their time and talents, I would say that most people do so out of love. First and foremost, it is the love that people have for God that moves them to be of service.  Secondly, that love of God is expressed through their faith, which inspires people to serve God through their parish church or organization. Thirdly, this love of God and faith is often expressed in service to one another. Our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI, in his encyclical letter, Caritas in Veritate, speaks of love as an “extraordinary force” that motivates people to give of themselves.  It is a blessing to witness the love made visible in the ways that people come forward and volunteer to build up God’s Kingdom.

“How can I help?” This is a question that I often hear from people in my parish. In fact, it always moves me when I hear this question asked. The reality that I have come to in ministry is this — there is much work to be done!  Since there is much work to be done, we can apply the old adage here, “many hands make for light work!” I will speak on behalf of my own parish when I say, we are always looking for help (I am sure this is the case in all parishes).  There are opportunities for volunteers for all of our liturgies and outside our liturgies. There is so much that goes into making a parish community successful and a lot depends on the goodness of our volunteers.  Oftentimes, people will say “I am too old” or “I am too young” or “I don’t have enough time as it is” and so on. To all of this I say there are opportunities for everyone to volunteer.

Several years ago, I was approached by someone who had a physical disability and could not walk and this person made it their ministry to spend time in prayer each day and pray for all of the people on the parish sick list. What an extraordinary ministry! I would encourage all who read these words to ask themselves how they can volunteer their time and give back to God and others. There is no question that volunteering is a sacrifice. But, we must remember that sacrifice does not just mean that we are “giving up” something. The word sacrifice comes from two Latin words “sacer” and “facere” which means — to make holy. So, when we volunteer for the Lord, we do it for our own sanctity and the sanctity of those around us. All volunteers will say that it is a sacrifice worth making.

To all volunteers and ministers of the Gospel, I offer sincerest thanks. To those looking for ways to volunteer — there are many, many opportunities — take advantage of them! In reference to volunteers, Mother Teresa once said, “We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop!” May we keep adding our “drops” with faith and love!

Father Manno is pastor of St. James Church in Syracuse.
 
Written by Catholic SUN   
Message from the Office of Faith Formation

Sr.Kathleen_EiffeCSJ

By Sister Katie Eiffe, CSJ

As Jesus spoke to his disciples at the Last Supper, he promised to send the Paraclete — the Holy Spirit — to them. Even as they dreaded the reality of his leaving them, he reassured them with the promise of the Spirit.

“Because I have had all this to say to you, you are overcome with grief.

Yet I tell you the sober truth:  It is much better for you that I go.

If I fail to go, the Paraclete will never come to you, whereas if I go,

I will send him to you.” (John 16: 6-7)

As Jesus continued, he said “When he comes, however, being the Spirit of truth he will guide you to all truth.” (John 16:13)

Still, though we know the Spirit as the Third Person of the Trinity, and though we have some understanding of having received the Spirit at Baptism and again at Confirmation; though some of us can name the seven gifts and the twelve fruits of the Holy Spirit, I suspect that, for many of us, the Holy Spirit may remain the most mysterious element of the mystery of the Trinity.

For example, when you pray, to whom do you pray?  Do you pray to the Father?
Do you pray to Jesus?  Do you pray to (for lack of a better term) a “generic God”? 
One of the most profound statements of wisdom I ever received was when my spiritual director, many years ago, said to me:  “Katie, pray to the Holy Spirit.  It’s the one prayer that God cannot refuse.” Intriguing to me then…and even more so, now.

So, who is the Holy Spirit, and how do we “grow in the Spirit”?
Well, once again, I must return to the Doctrine of the Trinity, for it is, as theologian Michael Downey writes in his book Altogether Gift: A Trinitarian Spirituality, “the central mystery of Christian faith and life.”

We know, of course, that our human language “limps” in our attempts to articulate what we believe.  God is always greater than our feeble attempts to describe God.  God is always more than our human mind and heart and language can comprehend or capture.  Nevertheless, we are familiar with the language of the Creed…we believe in the Father…and in the Son…and in the Holy Spirit.

Father Michael Himes, a theologian at Boston College, cites the language that St. Augustine used in the fifth century to get at the doctrine of the Trinity: Lover,  Beloved, and the Love that is eternally shared among them … and poured out into our world! St. John writes simply (and profoundly) in the First Letter of John, that “God is love.” (1 John 4:8) God is love! Michael Downey reflects further:  “The grammar of the Trinity is meant to convey the simply astonishing truth:  ‘God is love….God’s Word is spoken; God’s Spirit is poured forth.  The life and love of God are not past tense, but present, ecstatic, alive, outreaching, gifting here and now.’ ”

Sister Elizabeth Johnson, in her book Quest for the Living God, writes “God lives as the mystery of love. Human beings are created in the image of this God.  Therefore, a life of integrity is impossible unless we also enter into the dynamic of love and communion with others.”

Ah, there is the key to growing in the Spirit, I think! Our God has revealed God’s self as a communion of love which is not only the essence of who God is, but an invitation to us to enter into the very communion that we know as Trinity!

How does God love? Completely, unconditionally, eternally God is the pure and perfect gift of self!

How are we called to “image” this God?  By loving completely, unconditionally, eternally. By offering, as best we can in our human (thus limited) way, the pure and perfect gift of our self to others in this world, in the very circumstances of our individual and communal lives.

How do we grow in the Spirit?

First, by accepting the truth that God is passionately in love with us!  Indeed, by believing that God has invited us into the very inner dynamic of the Trinity, into that communion of love. God has chosen to enter into relationship with us!

Second, by remembering that wise counsel — “Pray to the Holy Spirit!” It is as simple as invoking the Spirit’s presence and guidance: “Come, Holy Spirit!”

Third, by striving to live as disciples of the Risen Lord, who came not to die for us, but to show us how to live…in communion with the Father and the Son through the Spirit. By striving to love completely, unconditionally, eternally. Again, Sister Elizabeth writes, “Knowing God is impossible unless we enter into a life of love and communion with others.”

A final word, from Catherine Mowry LaCugna, from her book God For Us:  The Trinity and Christian Life:

“Living faith in the God of Jesus Christ means being formed and transformed by the life of grace of God’s economy:  becoming persons fully in communion with all; becoming Christ to one another; becoming by the power of the Holy Spirit what God is: love unbounded, glory uncontained.”

Grow in the Spirit!   

(Sister Katie is diocesan director of the Office of Faith Formation.)
 
Written by Catholic SUN   
Message from the Office of Ministerial Formation & Liturgy

frscardella-diologue When you were growing up, who were your heroes? Growing up in the sixties and seventies, we seemed to have many. As young men we wanted to be like John Glenn and JFK. Like them, we wanted to make our mark on the world. The airwaves were filled with stories of superheroes, like Batman, Superman, and the Green Hornet.

Growing up in a Catholic elementary school exposed us to other “superheroes,” those whom our Dominican Sisters taught us were valiant in the fight for truth and justice — God’s truth and justice. We were taught about the heroism of the North American Martyrs, the faith of Kateri Tekakwitha, and the work of countless missionaries that gave their lives for their faith.

I wonder whom Americans uphold today as their heroes? Who are the persons we should be looking to as role models for our lives? It seems that there are very few within the popular culture whom I would place in this category. So, like my good teachers, I would ask us to think about those people, near and far, who give us examples for our lives.

Immediately one thinks of St. Francis of Assisi or St. Damien of Molokai. We think of our American saints, St. Isaac Jogues, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, St. Katherine Drexel, St. John Neumann. The list could go on and on.

I do think of these. Certainly these people have lived exemplary lives in the midst of difficulties and issues of inequality and prejudice. They helped form the Church in a society newly-formed and looking for direction.

The Church gives us these extraordinary friends to help us on our way to the Kingdom. The Church upholds those who have lived ordinary lives in extraordinary ways showing forth the compassion, power and love of Jesus Christ for all God’s children. Our fellowship with them, which we call the Communion of Saints, gives us the strength that we need to move forward in faith when our peers and the popular culture looks at our Christian way of life as an oddity and impractical.

The U.S. Catholic Catechism for Adults defines the Communion of Saints as “the faithful on earth, the souls in Purgatory, and the blessed in heaven. In this Communion, the merciful love of God and his saints is always attentive to our prayers for one another and for the souls of the faithful departed. The Communion of Saints also refers to ‘holy things’ above all the Eucharist, by which the believers are formed into one Body of Christ.”

Therefore, the Communion of Saints helps us in two ways. First, the saints are always attentive to our prayers for one another.  Those who are not of our Catholic faith always confuse this with our worshipping the saints. Whenever we pray to the saints it is so that they, close to God, may help us with their prayers and offer prayers on our behalf.

A young woman just related the following story to me. She said that her mother had a visit one day from members of the Mormon Church. When she opened the door of her house, a picture of the saints and a statue of Mary were clearly visible. The young men at the door began to tell this kindly Italian lady that such prayer was misguided and not proper worship. She responded by asking them a question. She asked, “Do you have pictures of your family members at home, in clear view for people to see?’ They answered, “Yes, of course.” “Then,” she suggested, “go home and put them away.” And she went on, “These pictures and statues are just reminders of my family members, those who love God as I love God. They have a rightful place in my home.”

Truly, these are members of our family who can not only lead us to holiness of life by following their example but also intercede for us in our times of need. The saints stand before the Throne of Grace to help us.   And every time we offer the Holy Eucharist, the catechism reminds us that they are present there. All those who have gone before us in faith are standing at the Altar of Sacrifice with us offering worship to our Heavenly Father. The Church is most united in its celebration of the Eucharist, where the whole Church prays as one.

What urges a couple, married over 60 years to stay together through pain, illness and old age? It is the love that they bear and the love they have borne throughout the years following the example of other holy men and women who struggled in married life and followed God’s way. What keeps the single person on the path of righteousness and truth? The example of all those who have gone before us, struggled against the mores of the times and persevered in faith? What keeps the religious and priests faithful to their vocation in times of struggle, scandal and doubt? It is the fidelity of those who have withstood all for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  We have been given extraordinary friends to help us on the way.
 
Written by Catholic SUN   
Message from the Chief Operating Officer

barsantiIt has been 90 days since my first day on the job, and I am looking forward to the new challenges this position brings. I still need to learn more about the diocese and each of its missions, parishes and schools.

Over the past three months, I have spent time meeting with as many people, organizations, services and missions as possible to learn the history of the diocese. I have noted where the diocese has been and where many of the departments and operations want to be in the future. I very much appreciate everyone’s time. The learning process continues.

The position of the Chief Operating Officer is a new direction for the diocese and one many dioceses across the country are moving towards. Over my 37 year career in business, I have had the opportunity to be responsible for many different types of businesses, including a few that needed to refocus on their core values or beliefs. This led to decisions to improve the company’s market position as well as its financial performance.

Being the COO for the diocese will be an experience different from my previous roles. My effectiveness in this new role will rely on my ability to move the organizations forward through conversation and encouragement. The leadership will require trust and transparency in order to build relationships that allow the diocese to begin to implement best practices and make the changes needed to build a strong organization. The success will be based on developing a team approach to completing the tasks required to improve our performance rather than relying on direct oversight and direction.

In my business career, I have learned trust is essential to success. It will take time for me to build this trust and it is a two-way street. My parents taught me that building  trust is done through actions and meeting commitments, not through words. So the people of the diocese will become the judge of my performance.

As outlined in the Diocesan Pastoral Council pamphlet, “The role of the Chancery is to support the local parishes in carrying out their role within the local church.” That makes my job one of customer service, to assist you in your management of your parish, agency or department.

After 90 days of listening and asking questions, I found there are a number of areas to start to focus on:

1. Develop the Diocesan Finance Council into one with a more strategic business focus. The council needs to be broadened and expanded to become a key advisor on strategic and operational issues. The diocese has added one new committee, selected four new committee chairpersons and added seven new committee members.

2. Develop a focus on technology to improve our productivity and communications with the people who rely on the information for decision making. We need to all be on one system to improve accuracy and reduce expense. This would include all parishes being on QuickBooks general ledger system, having one chart of accounts, either ADP or Paycheck’s payroll system and having HR Works for benefits.  This will also enable the parish financial councils to assist the pastor in examining the financial condition of the parish.

3. Evaluate the current investment policies and review each investment manager and ensure that all funds are being properly managed at the lowest possible cost to achieve the benchmark returns the market will provide.

4. Implement the 2010-2011 budgets and evaluate the investments being made to help review their impact. We need to measure the output of the activity not just the input that pays for the activity.

5. Change the focus of the Parish Service Department from one of internal audit, to a financial and business consulting role. Internal Audit will still be a necessary part of the team, but assisting the parishes in accounting and reporting will be just as important.

6. Implement a best practices policy and procedures manual. It must be user-friendly and reflect best practices. It should be a communication tool with which together we can move the organization forward and be as productive as possible.

The diocese faces a number of  strategic issues but I believe it would be very pre-mature for me to discuss this after only 90 days on the job. The first step is to completely understand the issues and work with the appropriate organization to develop alternatives to solving these issues. This will be a focus of mine over the next 12 months.

I am very excited about my new role, knowing that it may take a couple of years to implement the changes that may be necessary. There will be very difficult decisions to make in implementing these changes, but change may be necessary to strengthen the diocese.

Step one and the most important part is developing trust, transparency and teamwork. It is necessary to understand the past in order to move forward into the future. For this to be successful it must be a two-way street. I hope you have seen in the first 90 days that I am taking the first steps.

The proof will be in the execution. Success will be in trust, transparency and teamwork.
 


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