Nothin' says fun like a staff meeting

Mondays are recovery days for anyone who works in pastoral ministry. Parish and campus ministry staffs review outcomes of Sunday worship including the homily, the music, all ministries, the catechumenate, anything involving religious education, faith formation, technology interaction (live stream worship, close caption for the hearing impaired, the sound system, etc.), why the doughnuts did not arrive on time for Welcome Sunday, why pumpkins didn't sell this year as well as they did last year at the annual harvest parish fair, who forgot to add Mary Smith's name to the roll call for the annual Mass for the Deceased when everyone knows that her surviving husband is a major parish contributor, why the music ministers changed hymn #333 to #445 at the last minute when everyone knows that #333 is the preferred and maybe rapping the meeting up with a conversation over the variables in the budget and the parish head count as another church year winds down at the end of November. 

Nothin' says fun like a staff meeting. 

The staff meeting may occur on a Monday following the morning Mass, unless that liturgy was replaced by Mary Smith's funeral followed by a brunch served by the Bereavement Ministry that ends about two minutes before the staff gathers to sit in a catatonic state following five weekend Masses that include six infant baptisms, a children's liturgy of the Word, dismissal and instruction of the catechumenate preceded by three weddings between Friday night and Saturday, parents in crisis about why their child cannot be confirmed with peers because of his consistent absence, a dying beloved parishioner needs the Sacrament of the Sick, an elder fell in a pothole in the church parking lot and is now threatening to call the local bishop to sue the church, the diocese and the Vatican and an engaged couple who wants to be married in three months (no judgment) finds out that they need unanticipated paperwork because one of them has been married before.  

Don't you just love it when somebody just tells the truth? 

Weekly outcome reviews are necessary for change to occur, otherwise, how will staffs maximize potential outcomes to actualize the reign of God here and now? Staff meetings are necessary. However, some staffs may squander precious time with a minimalist approach that prohibits growth. Being stuck in the mud is no way to inspire a church to push on in long haul Gospel mission. The mud gets pretty comfortable if you sit in it long enough. 

At your next staff meeting, try applying these three questions to achieve healthier, more desirable goals:

1. Was this week better for the life of the community than last week? Why? If not, why not? 
2. What will we do differently starting next week? Think, "How will we continuously improve?"
3. As our ministry constantly evolves and changes, what will we do this week to improve how we do ministry? 

The Gospel is clear in its priority of service as an outcome of the celebration of Eucharist, particularly to those with particular needs. The Second Vatican Council, the largest staff meeting in history envisioned review initiatives that give bodily witness to Christ in the flesh when it states: 

“In the early days, the church linked the “agape” to the Eucharistic supper, and by so doing showed itself as one body around Christ untied by the bond of charity. So too, in all ages, love is its characteristic mark. While rejoicing at initiatives taken elsewhere, it claims charitable works as its own mission and right. That is why mercy to the poor and the sick, charitable works and works of mutual aid for the alleviation of all kinds of human need, are especially esteemed in the church. “ Gaudium et Spes 8

So on Monday morning (yes, that's tomorrow), when you ask these three questions, the real question becomes, "How do we answer these questions?" 

If you stayed stuck in the mud, than the Gospel stays stuck on a page in a book and Vatican II is a historical moment in the life of the Church. How will your staff bring the Gospel and plant the fire-in-the-belly mission of Vatican II to life in the flesh on Tuesday morning after your we-knocked-this-out-of-the-ballpark staff meeting? 

Hard Times Come Again No More

She stood at the counter in the check out line, attempting to contain her two year old from grabbing a chocolate bar from the stand. She soothed her crying infant for a moment with a pacifier and called to her two other sons and daughter, "I forgot the Cheerios; could you please go and find the big box and bring it back to this counter? Go together and come back right away." 

"You have your hands full," I commented. 

The woman chuckled. " Yes, they're a lot but they're great," she told me as she began to unload her cart. "We're both out ofwork and we've moved again because our building was burned out in a fire. My husband and I are doing the best we can. There's not a lot of work out there. We're struggling but the kids are happy even with just a few extras." The kids came back with Cheerios. The woman finished unloaded her cart and zipped her EBT card through the machine. 

"And we pay taxes for this," another person muttered, just loud enough for other customers to hear.

The woman did not respond but her face told a thousand stories.

I was reminded of an article that I read on the Patheos website several days ago and remembered the poignant song Hard Times Come Again No More by Stephen Foster, which poses the reflective questions that urge us toward compassion and the plight of the poor. One of my favorite renditions may be listened to and viewed on a You Tube by James Taylor and Yo Yo Ma. Another may be found and heard on Stoney Landscapes by Rory Cooney, Gary Daigle and Theresa Donahoo.  

"The joys and hopes, the grief and agnuish of the people of our time, especially of those who are poor or afflicted, are the joys and hopes, the grief and anguish of the followers of Chrsit as well." Gaudium et Spes, 1.  

Hard Times Come Again No More by Stephen Foster 

1. Let us pause in life's pleasures and count its many tears,

While we all sup sorrow with the poor;

There's a song that will linger forever in our ears;

Oh hard times come again no more.

Chorus:

Tis the song, the sigh of the weary,

Hard Times, hard times, come again no more

Many days you have lingered around my cabin door;

Oh hard times come again no more.

2.While we seek mirth and beauty and music light and gay,

There are frail forms fainting at the door;

Though their voices are silent, their pleading looks will say

Oh hard times come again no more.

Chorus

3.There's a pale drooping maiden who toils her life away,

With a worn heart whose better days are o'er:

Though her voice would be merry, 'tis sighing all the day,

Oh hard times come again no more.

Chorus

4.Tis a sigh that is wafted across the troubled wave,

Tis a wail that is heard upon the shore

Tis a dirge that is murmured around the lowly grave

Oh hard times come again no more.

Chorus

Being prophets may sometimes imply making waves

"Being prophets may sometimes imply making waves. Prophecy makes noise, uproar, some say 'a mess.' But in reality, the charism of religious people is like yeast: prophecy announces the spirit of the Gospel." from A Big Heart Open to God: A Conversation with Pope Francis.  Thanks to America Magazine for providing the full text of the interview. 

This week's interview with Pope Francis I, initiated and published by international Jesuit publications issued a tsunami of analysist, commentary and blog posts. In the interview, the first of its kind with any pope in the history of the papacy, Pope Francis speaks candidly on a wide range of topics that are quickly becoming hallmarks of Francis' papacy. If you've not read the interview, do. If you've read it, re-read it. If you've re-read the interview, take time to pray over particular sections. Read the keen insights, perspectives and links as you read, think and pray over this magnificent text. Don't take our word for it. Discover for yourself the wealth of prophetic grace at your disposal through this gift of A Big Heart Open to God: A Conversation with Pope Francis 

In the spirit of Pope Francis' interview, the Roncalli Center freely offers Song of the Prophet, which echoes one of Pope Francis' comments in A Big Heart Open to God interview: "The Jesuit always thinks, again and again, looking at the horizon toward which he must go, with Christ as the center."

Christian prayer and discernment raise questions that lead to other questions about the person of Christ whom disciples follow, why we follow Christ and how we live what we discern as the people of God, a cornerstone of the Second Vatican Council. When we think and discern together as the people of God, we "think with the church as a way of being part of this people."

The lyrics of Song of the Prophet are framed within questions that address systemic injustice, power, dominant and subdominant cultures, violence and evil on behalf of the poor, the heavily burdened and those who cannot speak for themselves. The coda extols Jesus, the new Moses, as the exodus of freedom for all the world as it hungers and thirsts for God's justice and mercy through human activity and right relationship.

The lyrics of Song of the Prophet are set to the familiar and powerful hymn tune Thaxted by Gustav Holst based on the middle section of the Jupiter movement of Holt's orchestral suite The Planets. 

In his interview, Pope Francis asks three questions that emerge as an outcome from the first week of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius - an encounter with Jesus in one's own journey, resulting in a personal commitment to follow Christ. Francis asks: What have I done for Christ? What am I doing for Christ? What should I do for Christ? 

In the spirit of A Big Heart Open to God and as an outcome of our shared discernment over these questions, we offer you full permission at no fee to download and reprint Song of the Prophet for your pastoral use within your own pastoral contexts. To hear a sound bite, read the lyrics and the liner notes of Song of the Prophet from the collection Tell Them About Me, click here.

The first three readers who email us at roncallicenter@gmail.com before midnight will receive a FREE hard copy of the CD Tell Them About Me that includes Song of the Prophet. Don't forget to include your mailing address. 

Let's join Pope Francis in creating prophetic 'waves' together.

Gaudium et Spes,

The Roncalli Center Team 

A forgotten gem

In 1975, Oregon Catholic Press (then NALR) released a collection of music called Earthen Vessels, composed and recorded by The St. Louis Jesuits. 38 years later, this collection of liturgical music contains some of the most beloved song hymns in the canon of Catholic music literature. The most famous song within Earthen Vessel's treasure chest is Be Not Afraid. Quite often, this beloved song is now considered part of traditional Catholic repertoire by faithful church goers and disenfranchised Catholics alike. Lesser used but no less potent music literature from the Earthen Vessel collection are Sing To The Mountains, If God Is For Us and Turn To Me. If you are a new pastoral musician and just beginning to practice your ministry in a parish or school, your assembly will probably know several songs from Earthen Vessels collection. Check it out on the Oregon Catholic Press website. 

This morning, I hoped to hear My Son Has Gone Away by Bob Dufford, S.J. found within the treasury of Earthen Vessels. The song finds its scriptural roots in the Gospel of Luke 15: 1-10, the parable of the Prodigal Son. Like the parable, My Son Has Gone Away is haunting in its simplicity and reflects the anguish of a heartsick parent whose child goes astray, walking the path of self-destructive behavior. Wounded parents who watch helplessly as a son or daughter chooses darkness over light sears despair into the soul of parents who survive such an experience. My Son Has Gone Away will resonate deeply with members of our assemblies who lay this heavy burden on the Eucharistic table each week and with those who accompany those parents on this painful journey. 

The straightforward setting includes an arpeggio guitar that accompanies the solo line set for voice. An oboe interlude gives the listener of My Son Has Gone Away an opportunity to soak in the first verse and poignant refrain "Jerusalem, Jerusalem; how could you run away....I'll wait for you, I'll stay," rehearses magnanimous mercy and grace of God for us all. Verse two of My Son Has Gone Away reflects the overwhelming despair and the patient persistence of parents who love beyond love's brink and live to hope for their child's safe return. "Perhaps my son is tired and cold; perhaps his heart is sad. Tonight I'll go and watch for him and wait for his return." 

Bob Dufford's composition My Son Has Gone Away seems to be missing from liturgy planners. Unless you know the Earthen Vessels collection, this haunting song has fallen off the radar. Perhaps the reason that the song never emerges in liturgy planners is because this plaintive composition is not meant to be sung by an assembly but clearly written as a reflection on the parable of the Prodigal Son. We suggest using My Song Has Gone Away as a reflection on a relevant and poignant homily at the Preparation of Gifts or as a post-Communion song. This simple, tender song of unconditional love never grows old and neither does its theme. Reconciliation, pardon, mercy and grace occur throughout the three cycles of liturgical scripture; this song is a gem that is often overlooked as a beautiful resource of musical prayer.

My Son Has Gone Away has the potential to dig deeply into the assembly's prayer to embrace heart sick parents of children who have turned from faith and the community. Astute pastoral leaders know their people and hear those stories as do members of the assembly who know parents of a prodigal child and the child. My Son Has Gone Away opens the door of opportunity to homilists and pastoral musicians to speak to the heart of faith through powerful artistry. 

A free resource for Ministers of the Word

"Sacred scripture is of the the greatest importance in the celebration of the liturgy. For from it are drawn the lessons which are read and which are explained in the homily; from it too come the psalms which are sung. It is from scripture that the petitions, prayers and hymns draw their inspiration and their force, and that actions and signs derive their meaning. Hence, in order to archive the restoration, progress, and adaption of the sacred liturgy it is essential to promote that warm and lively appreciation of sacred scripture to which the venerable tradition of eastern and western rites gives testimony." (Constitution of the Sacred Liturgy, 24) 

Sacred scripture that is read and explained and act as the inspiration for prayers and hymns. Actions and signs that inspire a warm and lively appreciation of sacred scripture. In 50 years since Sacrosanctum Concilium was written and implemented, how has the ministry of the reader evolved into an active, warm, lively, bodily active sign that inspires an assembly to hear how God is speaking to here and now, in the present and to our lives?  

The minister of God's Word is entrusted with particular responsibilities beyond showing up fifteen minutes prior to a liturgy to check the pronunciation of difficult words. Living with scripture in prayer and practice is mandatory for anyone who accepts the invitation to proclaim God's word in the midst of the worshipping assembly. 

Through the guidance of pastoral leaders who teach, preach and study sacred scripture, ministers of the word should expect ongoing formation in their ministry. Days of reflection, helpful publications designed to assist readers throughout the week to understand and pray with the scripture passage they will proclaim and ongoing scripture study for ministers of the word enrich the spiritual life of persons who serve as readers  as well as the assembly who hears the Word proclaimed. With ultimate care for mininsters of the word, a pastoral context can expect that the hearts of the faithful will fill with a burning love of God's word and how God speaks through the word in our lives.  

Here's what Dei Verbum tell us: "Using appropriate techniques (they) should together set about examining and explaining the sacred texts in such a way that as many as possible of those who are ministers of God's word may be able to dispense fruitfully the nourishment of the scriptures to the people of God." (Dogmatic Constitution of Divine Revelation, 23) 

To this end, The Roncalli Center is pleased to offer a guide for ministers of the word that may assist pastoral leaders and readers to pray, reflect and practice toward the mutual goal of possessing 'a well-trained tongue, so they might know how to speak to the weary a word that will rouse them.' (Is 50: 4) 

The Ministry of the Reader is a concise, 8-page booklet that may be tailored to meet the needs of your own pastoral contexts to provide beginner training for new readers and serve as a source of reflection that can deepen the ministry of more experienced readers. You may download the attached document as a Word file and shape it to meet the specific needs of your own pastoral context. 

May the word of God be a lamp for your feet and a light to guide your path.