February 23, 2020 - Pastor Message
04/23/2024THE YEAR OF DISCIPLESHIP COLLABORATION (CONT.)
“If there is any encouragement in Christ, any solace in love, any participation in the Spirit, any compassion and mercy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love, united in heart, thinking one thing. Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each looking out, not for his own interests, but everyone for those of others” (Philippians 2:14).
We have been reflecting this month on the need for collaboration, or working together, for disciples of Christ if we would serve the mission we have been given. We cannot do it alone, not as individuals within a parish and not as individual parishes within a diocese. But if we’re going to work together, we need to grow closer together in the faith that unites us. Certainly the primary way we do this is our celebration of the Sunday Eucharistic liturgy, or Mass. In fact, the word “liturgy” means “the work of the people,” and we all work together, each in our won way, to celebrate the Eucharist.
That is not the only way we come together as a parish, however. We have a great opportunity to grow together as a parish April 3rd 4th at our Parish Alive retreat. Modeled loosely on the Cursillo weekend, Parish Alive presents a short course in Christianity, reminding us of the basics of our faith that are so easy to forget in the hustle and bustle of our daily lives. We could do that on our own by finding a good resource, such as the Catechism of the Catholic Church, available for free online at usccb.org. But what Parish Alive offers that we can’t do alone is the chance to grow in our faith together, to share our stories and insights, to laugh together and to pray together as we reflect together on our faith, and thus to become a stronger, more vibrant, more united parish.
The more united we are as a parish, the more effective we will be at working together to accomplish our mission, and the more effective we are at accomplishing our mission, the closer we will all be to the salvation promised us in Christ. So please mark your calendars for Friday, April 3rd and Saturday, April 4th and plan to attend Parish Alive. Anyone at least 17 years of age is invited, and we encourage couples, friends, and people who participate in the same ministries to sign up together. Even if you’ve made Parish Alive before, please feel free to come again we can all use a refresher from time to time, and we don’t want you to miss this opportunity to grow together as a parish here at St. Boniface. Hope to see you there!
Fr. Marc Stockton
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