One Birthday, Three Amazing Women

August 1st is a very special day. Today I am grateful for the gift of sharing this life with three amazing women who all have this birthday in common: my daughter, Sarah Ashworth; St. Joseph's Director of Faith for Life, Jeanne Mooney; and our parishioner and dear friend, Marlene Maggio.

Of course I most clearly recall the August 1st of 29 years ago when I woke up wondering if my baby would ever come into this world. The July 15 due date had long passed. It seemed like it would be another very hot day; another doctor's appointment; another long wait. My mom had come along with me to the doctor's office, fortunately, because when the doctor began to examine me she announced that I was in labor and off to the hospital we went. (My mom couldn't drive a stick shift so I drove myself but it was nice to have her there!) Our beautiful Sarah came into the world later that evening and my heart was filled with gratitude and awe, as it has been every day since.

A "few" years ago now, Jeanne and I first met when she brought her family to St. Joe's fledgling attempt at family Faith Formation. Here she is now with her two children in high school and college, directing our Faith Formation and elevating family Faith Formation to new heights every day. Her special gifts for ministry have evolved gradually and I have been grateful to be a witness to the process. Of course, Greg and I will never forget sharing the experience of being in Philadelphia for Pope Francis' visit with Jeanne -- it was great fun and so moving.

A testament to the generous spirit of Marlene Maggio is that today she is donating her birthday to "No Kid Hungry." You can visit her on Facebook to contribute. Greg and I have been grateful recipients of Marlene's generous spirit as well -- she and Don accompanied us through the annulment process a long time ago, and Marlene was a dedicated friend to Greg's mom, Rosemary, especially as she became more ill. Without Marlene and Don, we don't know how we would have gotten Rosemary to Sarah and Ryan's wedding just a few months before she passed away. We are always full of gratitude when we think of Marlene.

And so August 1 is a day of gratitude, admiration and love. Happy birthday, Sarah, Jeanne and Marlene!

It's All About Evangelization

Today a group of 25 or so parish and diocesan staff came together at St. Joseph's in Penfield to learn together and share their experiences with using social media. This can be a challenge for many of us, far from what we have been trained to do in Church ministry. But this was a special group of lay ministers who came together with a common purpose: to evangelize!

Coming together from a variety of parish settings -- small rural parishes, clustering communities, large suburban Churches, and urban ministries -- everyone has the same mission to invite people to enter more deeply into relationship with Jesus Christ. Used right, to quote Pope Francis, social media is a "gift" allowing us to reach those who do not come to Church and those who do.

While we did not come up with the ultimate parish plan for using social media, we took away some key learnings:

• As social media ministers, we are a public face of the Church, a responsibility we accept with our personal and ministerial accounts.
• We need to be committed to posting frequently to provide not just information but prayerful inspiration.
• All parish social media should be intentionally planned by a team with evangelizing goals, messaging and intended audiences. It should be implemented by a team, people with varied points of view.
• Not all "Catholic" sources are reliable sources. We need to rely on our own  Bishop, Diocese and priests, the USCCB and other Bishops' conferences, the Vatican, the Pope, and recognized religious orders.
• Social media provides the "intangible" benefit of allowing us to get to know our parishioners outside the Church setting and to humanize our Church staffs.

We prayed together from Pope Francis' Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, The Joy of the Gospel. The Pope offers this prayer to Mary who he calls "the star of the new evangelization." May Mary watch over us as we reach out, near and far, to bring more closer to our Lord and Savior.

...Star of the new evangelization,

help us to bear radiant witness to communion,

service, ardent and generous faith,

justice and love of the poor,

that the joy of the Gospel

may reach to the ends of the earth,

illuminating even the fringes of our world.

Mother of the living Gospel,

wellspring of happiness for God's little ones,

pray for us.

Amen. Alleluia!

Lavish Acts of Mercy

Reflection for Holy Thursday Morning Prayer, April 13, 2017

John 12: 1-11 Mary of Bethany Anoints the Feet of Jesus

The Triduum and Lavish Acts of Mercy

When Lazarus was dead, his sister Mary lamented that her brother would not have died had Jesus come sooner to Bethany. Jesus, after weeping at the tomb of his dear friend, performed a miraculous act so that those present would know he is the Resurrection and the life. He raised Lazarus from the dead.

Mary now desires to show her overflowing love for her friend. Perhaps she’s also a bit embarrassed that she ever doubted Jesus.  Mary knows that she needs to do something more than say, I’m sorry. Or thank you. She needs to perform a concrete, extravagant action, just as Jesus often did. And so she anoints Jesus with a liter of aromatic, expensive oil.

Are there not times in our lives when we run from doing the hard thing of performing a concrete action? When we avoid the person we need to show that we’re sorry or even grateful. But look at the example of Jesus and Mary. Both are so present in the moment – she expressing her friendship through lavish gesture and he graciously affirming her action.

But then Judas, of all people, challenges Mary. Couldn’t the oil have been sold for the poor? And Jesus replies, “You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.” In that one startling sentence Jesus summarizes a truth that the Church and the faithful still wrestle with today.  What’s my first priority? Is it my family and friends? Is it God and prayer? Or should I be off on a concrete missionary act of mercy helping those most in need? Jesus seems to be saying, it depends.

Jesus in no way suggests that concrete acts of mercy toward the poor are unnecessary. We need to focus on the people who are in our day to day lives; and we need to intentionally reach out to meet the concrete needs of others, especially the poor.

Just this week, Pope Francis demonstrated the importance of holding in tension the relational, spiritual aspects of being people of mercy and the necessity of concrete acts of charity. On this Holy Thursday, in lavish gesture, Pope Francis will wash the feet of 12 inmates including three women and a man converting from Islam to Catholicism. He will speak with them, touch them, kiss their feet, bless them.  AND earlier this week our Holy Father opened the “Pope’s Laundry,” a free laundromat for Rome’s homeless. This adds to other services – distribution of essential items, a barber, healthcare. His diverse actions over the course of this week offer a beautiful model of what it means to be a Catholic Church of mercy in the midst of a wider community of need, both relationally and in concrete acts of charity and mercy.

Where do we start in imitating Jesus and Mary and Francis? The Triduum is an opportunity not to be missed. As a Catholic faith community we will gather together in worship and prayer. In these three days we, like Mary, lay at the feet of Jesus, amazed at all that he has done for us. But this weekend Jesus and Pope Francis call all of us not only to worship but also to be the hospitable, merciful face of Jesus to all who enter our doors. We can perform intentional, lavish acts of mercy when we welcome the stranger returning to the Church, people who may be feeling embarrassed or wary or out of place. You can talk to your good friends any time but the poor in spirit may not be here next week if we do not reach out and touch them when they join us in prayer on Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter.

Can you be the person who encounters someone whose faith needs resurrecting? Can you be the one who welcomes and reassures a parent with restless children? Can you anoint the stranger with a warm smile and greeting – maybe even give them your seat on Easter?

This is how Jesus wishes to be encountered by us. These are the acts of mercy he thirsts for us to perform. This is how we will fill our worship space with the sweet fragrance of the love and friendship of Jesus that is meant for all.