Inside ML

Laboring in parish ministry means working for graced moments. The call to pastoral ministry is a call to sacrifice, self-denial, and vulnerability, but it is also an invitation to experience in a unique way the presence of God in the community of very ordinary people. In parish life, we journey together through the passing of the seasons and witness the dyings and risings of a people of faith. We rejoice and mourn together. Sadly, our unity is not all it should be, for we have not yet learned to value all the gifts we have been given. As a church, we have not learned to confront our own sinfulness with honesty, humility, and contrition. Some of us use ritual and language to form barriers to exclude or restrict those whose customs differ. We are in troubled waters. Still, there is much to celebrate, for in the face of every obstacle there are those who still dream and create, who invoke the Spirit in all they do, and who believe that there will always be another graced moment. 

In this issue of ML, we see some of the ways that the Spirit has been moving. Our Visual Arts Awards in the Sacred Art category celebrates an artistic vision of the holy. These creations transcend earthly obstacles to offer deep meaning and hope. Offering hope in another way is Leisa Anslinger. Her perspectives on celebrating sacramental connections are based on the model of whole-community catechesis. William C. Graham ponders the circumstances and process that resulted in the concept of Sunday Celebrations in the Absence of a Priest as he challenges us all to answer the call to true communion. Helen St. Paul considers the ways in which the worship environment participates in liturgical celebration with a focus on the Advent – Christmas season. Rejoicing in our call to be countercultural, she suggests ways to keep the season without mirroring the adornments of the commercial environment. I’ve done my part, too, with reflections on celebrating parish ministry. Perhaps at this moment in time we might just celebrate endurance. It’s up to those in parish ministry to keep the faith and to believe that we will not be left to perish. Surely the God who stills the wind and sea will calm the storm in which we now find ourselves. 

"Then he asked them, ‘Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?’ They were filled with great awe and said to one another, ‘Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?’" (Mk 4:40–41). 

May we not be terrified, may our faith be renewed, and may we never lose our sense of awe in the God who makes all things new. ML

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