Go, Make, Baptize and Teach

Crescent Moon  
Did you notice the wonderful Crescent moon last Sunday night, just south of the North Star?  It was a beautiful reminder to me of the wonderful Crescent Family Feast celebrated that afternoon.  Thanks for a Crescent Family Feast!  Thanks to the hard work and leadership of parishioners who are a part of the Pathway Planning Team: Bill Lennard, Bob Jacobs, Cathy Honsaker, Curt Brunswick, Denise Stemen, Donna Laake, Doug Cooper, Joe Sanker, Kathy Hammond, Kristin Kraft, Mark Bauke, Mary Ann McDowell, Phyllis Spaulding, Sabrina Burton-Simonson, and Tom Robers. Special thanks to Cathy Honsaker, who was the lead on the potluck, and Doug Cooper, who led the set-up and clean-up!  Thanks also to Fr. Dave, Nicole McKenna, and Sister Janet, who helped to lead the leaders!  Finally, thanks to pastoral council members and staff members who attended!  That’s not all the thanks!  Thanks to parishioners who attended!  We filled the undercroft of St. Saviour Church and experienced fabulous fellowship.  We were united in a marvelous meal of varied food that reflected the variety of parishes and people present.  We allowed our spirits to be lifted by the Spanish praise and worship music played by the Ventura and Augustine families, who lead worship music for the Hispanic ministry at Holy Trinity.  The afternoon drew to a close with a group of people gathering at the Crescent Parishes Community Garden, whose produce will be given to The Bond Hill and Cincinnati Food Pantries.  (By the way, we could still use more volunteers to help with the garden!)

Leadership Discernment  
Speaking of leaders, two weeks ago, about twentyfive potential leaders in our parishes gathered at one of two Leadership Discernment evenings.  They heard of the need for leadership we have in our parishes, groups like pastoral council and liturgy, finance, and education committees to name a few.  Please pray for them as their role in leadership is discerned.  

Quiz about Jesus’ Last Words Before His Ascension  
My homily for the Ascension focused on the four essential words of Jesus’ Great Commission in Matthew’s Gospel:  “go, make, baptize, and teach.”  Of those four words, I asked congregants to choose the one word which is the most important.   Of course, all those words relate directly to discipleship, an often-misunderstood word.  Simply, discipleship is when we are in a sense a “Jesus freak!” In other words, we are so aware of Jesus’ love for and mercy to us that we orient every moment of our lives to him.  Even more importantly, we can’t keep the good news of Jesus private as Catholics often do.  Rather, we tell others about him and work to make them disciples.   The majority of parishioners at St. John and St. Saviour chose “teach” as the most important word…and they were wrong.  Even as the Catholic Church is tops about teaching, it doesn’t make disciples.  How many people do we know who have been taught about Jesus and the Faith, but don’t practice the faith?

An Aside  
As an aside, the idea for this four-word quiz comes from some teaching (lifelong faith formation) that the staff is reading.  In Fr. James Mallon’s book, Divine Renovation, he uses this tool in his international talks to help dioceses revitalize parish life.  He relates that very few people choose the right word of the four words.  That fact alone is very telling about how we need to grow as disciples!   Back to the quiz, which is a setup!

A Setup  
The most important word is not “baptize” either.  While baptism is key to the life of faith, how many baptized people do we know who are not disciples, rarely mentioning Jesus?  I received the most pushback after Masses from people who thought “go” was the most important word.  They had a point.  Being on mission is key for a disciple.  However, “go” needs a reference.  Go what?  Go to supper?  Go to work?  Go take a nap?

Make Disciples  
No naps! Our mission is to make disciples, of others,…and better disciples of ourselves.   In his book, Fr. Mallon speaks of our history.  In the U.S., due to the fact that we had millions of Catholic immigrants and their progeny present in the Church for a century, immigrants who were imbued in a Catholic culture, we never really had to go and make disciples.  However, now as our churches have plenty of space once occupied, we see more clearly, that we have lost our identity and we need to get back to making disciples.  Truly, they are out there for the making.  First and foremost, we need to make a better disciple of the person in the mirror.  Then we can make disciples of people next door, in our families, at school, at work…everywhere!

Wake-up Call  
Indeed, Beacons of Light is the wake-up call we need in our archdiocese.  Beacons is an opportunity for us to re-focus, become leaner, and (in a proper and good sense) meaner disciples!  One of the ways we become better disciples is through the unities that Beacons calls us to, unities that Crescent Parishes are fostering constantly, most recently in the uniting of the Church of the Resurrection and Holy Trinity Office, the uniting of staffs and pastoral councils, and in events like the Crescent Family Feast.  Thanks to Crescent leadership and parishioners who allow Beacons of Light to be a call to make disciples, changing our focuses to regain our identity.  

Sincerely and with Love in Christ,
Fr. Pat