In our second reading this weekend St. Paul reminds us that “we walk by faith, not by sight.” I think many of us would prefer it the other way around, to know exactly what it is we are doing and where we are headed. Walking by faith takes a whole lot of trust in something other than our own knowledge, skills and abilities. Yet so much of our lives as followers of Jesus demands us to trust that God has a plan for us that we cannot always see, understand or figure out. I was reminded of this last Saturday as eight men in our diocese were ordained as deacons, including Deacon Hector Mora from St. Mary’s. Most of them did not have any idea that God would bring them to this point in their lives, yet they trusted, discerned, and received formation to prepare them for the task that God has entrusted to them. It makes me think about my own journey to this point in my life. On June 16th I will celebrate my 14th anniversary of ordination to the priesthood. On that Saturday morning fourteen years ago I had no clue what God was going to do with me, but as I lay prostrate on the floor of the Cathedral during the Litany of Saints it represented a total abandonment on my part to God’s will. I’ve had mixed success with actually cooperating with that plan but despite human weakness and sin God does what God does. We’ve all made mistakes on our journey but it is the walking by faith that keeps us moving forward. As a parish community St. Paul’s words also remind us that we have to take leaps of faith and be willing to step into the unknown, assured that God is in charge and will continue to lead us forward. This past week Deacon Hector Mora began his new position as our Director of Pastoral Services. He will assist me in preparing families for baptism, weddings, offer liturgical formation and training, and assist in so many other pastoral endeavors in the parish. You’ll also notice that we are now beginning the process of advertising for the new position of Director of Parish and School Operations. I want to start off local and among the parish first to see if anyone might be interested in this new position before I advertise to a wider audience. Ultimately we need to secure the most qualified person to step into this role of administrative leadership. If you know of someone who might be a good fit for this role, please send them my way. As we look to revamp faith and sacramental formation and preparation and look at new ways of doing things we have to continue to trust in St. Paul’s words and walk by faith. People grumble and complain about change all the time and resist it at most every turn. I am not naïve enough to think that all of this is easy and everyone will be happy. I know that is not the case because despite the best efforts of some, the complaints and unrest generally get back to me. Some of you may have inferred that from my message last week about the work being done in Schaller to close the church. Things appear one way by sight, but another way through the eyes of faith. I think the words of Pope Francis are a good reminder to all of us, “"Gossip closes the heart of the community, closes the unity of the Church. The greatest talker is the devil, who always goes about saying the bad things of others, because he is the liar who tries to disunite the Church, to alienate his brothers and not to make community. Please, brothers and sisters, we make an effort not to gossip. Gossip is a plague worse than Covid." Let us take some time each day to count the blessings of our faith that God has bestowed on us and actively work together to build up his kingdom and continue to “walk by faith, not by sight.” Father Lingle
Yet so much of our lives as followers of Jesus demands us to trust that God has a plan for us that we cannot always see, understand or figure out. I was reminded of this last Saturday as eight men in our diocese were ordained as deacons, including Deacon Hector Mora from St. Mary’s. Most of them did not have any idea that God would bring them to this point in their lives, yet they trusted, discerned, and received formation to prepare them for the task that God has entrusted to them. It makes me think about my own journey to this point in my life. On June 16th I will celebrate my 14th anniversary of ordination to the priesthood. On that Saturday morning fourteen years ago I had no clue what God was going to do with me, but as I lay prostrate on the floor of the Cathedral during the Litany of Saints it represented a total abandonment on my part to God’s will. I’ve had mixed success with actually cooperating with that plan but despite human weakness and sin God does what God does. We’ve all made mistakes on our journey but it is the walking by faith that keeps us moving forward. As a parish community St. Paul’s words also remind us that we have to take leaps of faith and be willing to step into the unknown, assured that God is in charge and will continue to lead us forward. This past week Deacon Hector Mora began his new position as our Director of Pastoral Services. He will assist me in preparing families for baptism, weddings, offer liturgical formation and training, and assist in so many other pastoral endeavors in the parish. You’ll also notice that we are now beginning the process of advertising for the new position of Director of Parish and School Operations. I want to start off local and among the parish first to see if anyone might be interested in this new position before I advertise to a wider audience. Ultimately we need to secure the most qualified person to step into this role of administrative leadership. If you know of someone who might be a good fit for this role, please send them my way. As we look to revamp faith and sacramental formation and preparation and look at new ways of doing things we have to continue to trust in St. Paul’s words and walk by faith. People grumble and complain about change all the time and resist it at most every turn. I am not naïve enough to think that all of this is easy and everyone will be happy. I know that is not the case because despite the best efforts of some, the complaints and unrest generally get back to me. Some of you may have inferred that from my message last week about the work being done in Schaller to close the church. Things appear one way by sight, but another way through the eyes of faith. I think the words of Pope Francis are a good reminder to all of us, “"Gossip closes the heart of the community, closes the unity of the Church. The greatest talker is the devil, who always goes about saying the bad things of others, because he is the liar who tries to disunite the Church, to alienate his brothers and not to make community. Please, brothers and sisters, we make an effort not to gossip. Gossip is a plague worse than Covid." Let us take some time each day to count the blessings of our faith that God has bestowed on us and actively work together to build up his kingdom and continue to “walk by faith, not by sight.” Father Lingle