One Spirit Throughout The Ages

On Pentecost Sunday May 11, 2008, Fr. Buke delivered the following homily that reflected on change within the U.S. Church since the Vatican II Council.  It emphasized the working of the Holy Spirit in modern times:

 

“Parthians, Medes and Elamites”

 

During the same weekend that Pope Benedict XVI was in New York, over 1200 Catholics ministers were gathering in Orlando, Florida for a convention entitled “A National Ministry Summit – Emerging Models of Pastoral Leadership”.  Participants included men and women representing the Nations (Association for Lay Ministry and the conference for Pastoral Planning and Conference Development, the National Association of Church Personnel Administrators, The Nations Association of Diaconate Directors, The National Catholic Young Ministry Association and the National Federation of Priest Councils.

 

What made this gathering so remarkable was the fact that a little over forty years ago none of these organization existed in the American Catholic Church.  In the mid-sixties immediately following the Second Vatican Council there were no permanent deacons, no parish administrators or business managers. There were no professional youth and young adult ministers.

 

Forty years in a two-thousand-year-old institution is not a very long time.  However, it was clear to me at the conference that we are in the midst of a new Pentecost veritable tidal wave of change that shows no signs of letting up despite efforts in some quarter to try to turn back the clock.  The traditional parish that many of us grew up in has changed dramatically:

1.     In 2007, 17% of all American parishes had no resident pastor.  Now nearly half of all parishes in the U.S. share their pastor with at least one other parish or mission.

2.     Now there are over 31,000 lay ministers and 16,000 permanent deacons in the U.S.  When I was ordained in 1972 there were none!

3.     Over 616 parishes in 110 dioceses have Parish Life Coordinators and two-thirds of these are women.

4.     It is estimated that half of American Catholics under 30 are Hispanic.

5.     And as for speaking in tongues, Los Angeles, CA and Newark, NJ now celebrate the Eucharist in 60 different languages.

 

On a local level we have certainly felt the effects of the winds of change that are blowing through our church.  The migration of many Catholics from West End and Portland to the suburbs, the closing of schools and churches, the dramatic decrease in the number of priest and sisters, the difficult process of our parish merger… all are sign of a Church in great flux.

 

What we need to keep in mind is that this is not the first time nor will it be the last time that our Church will go through major change.  The Spirit that blew through that upper room where Jesus’ disciples were hiding ignited their hearts to go and witness – to preach the Good News of Jesus to all kinds of people.

 

“Parthians, Medes and Elamites, inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the districts of Libya near Cyrene, as well as travelers from Rome both Jesus and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs.” (Acts 2:9)

 

On the first Pentecost the Spirit didn’t fall on the structure or the externals.  For as we have seen there were none.  The spirit fell on unwashed fishermen, peasant carpenters, ordinary housewives, suspect tax collectors and seedy marginal folk and glued them together by three things: baptism into Jesus, the breaking of the bread and witness by ordinary people.  These were the basics of being church.  The presumption was that each one upon whom the Spirit fell had gifts to use to spread the gospel.  The author and poet Maya Angelou writes:

 

In my twenties in San Francisco, I became as sophisticate and an acting agnostic.  It wasn’t that I stopped believing in God: It’s just that God didn’t seem to be around the neighborhoods I frequented.  One day my voice teacher asked me to read a passage from a book, a section, which ended with these words: ”God loves me.”  He said, “Read it again.”  After about the seventh repetition, I began to sense that there might be truth in the statement that there was a possibility that God really did love me.  Me, Maya Angelou.  I suddenly began to cry at the grandness of it all.  I knew that if God loved me, then I could do wonderful things.  I could try great things, learn anything, achieve anything.  For what could stand against me and God?

 

That is the attitude found in the early church.  That is church: a poet joining fishermen and tax collectors; simple people with a variety of gifts.  That’s why St. Paul could write so forcefully about what it meant to be church:

 

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit: and there are varieties of services, but this same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone.  For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body and we were all made to drink for one spirit.  Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. (1 Cor 12:4-6, 13; 27)

 

The miracle of Pentecost was not that people could understand what the disciples said on that first Pentecost.  The miracle was that they could say it in the first place.  The miracle was that ordinary people who recently had been hiding and full of fear suddenly were church and were making bold proclamations as the Spirit prompted them.

 

On this Pentecost, I pray that we - like the disciples at the first Pentecost - might deeply and truly believe that the Spirit who guided and strengthened them.  So may we act now in a way that those who come after us 50 or 100 years from now will look back in admiration at our faith, our courage, our vision, our ability to trust in the Holy Spirit to accompany us into a new day.  Like our ancestors in faith we are challenged to be confident that the Spirit will guide us.  We are called to plant new seeds of faith even though we may not live to see the harvest of our efforts.

 

Financial Matters

On July 21, 2008 Fr. Buke addressed parishioners concerning the increasing financial burdens carried by Our Lady’s:

 

Dear Parishioners,

 

Even after getting all the vaccinations your child may need, periodically a “booster shot” is needed to stay immunized.  As we come to the end of our fiscal year, I am asking for your help – a “booster donation” to help us compensate for the short fall in collections and fund-raising this year.

 

As of June 30th, Our Lady’s collection income was nearly $11,000 below budget.  Also our fund-raising for the year was about $16,000 below budget.  There are a number of understandable reasons for this decline, including the uncertainty about the future of Our Lady’s as the result of the merger process, the elimination of a Sunday Mass as we combined our weekend Mass schedule with St. Cecilia’s and the cancellation of our Spring Festival due to the conflict with St. Anthony’s 140th anniversary celebration.

 

What “saved” us this year was the increase in bequests to Our Lady’s.  We received over $24,000, but as you know we can’t count on bequests for any year.  No matter which church is chosen by the Archbishop to be the worship site of the new parish, we have a responsibility to maintain all of our facilities and to meet our expenses.

 

Your “booster gift” of $50, or $100, or more would be deeply appreciated and is much needed.  Thank you for your concern for and support of Church of Our Lady’s.  May God bless you for your generosity.

 

Archbishop Names Worship Site

In a letter on August 22, 2008 Archbishop Joseph Kurtz informed parishioners of the decision making Our Lady the permanent worship site for the new parish.

 

 

Following the Archbishop’s decision, a transition team was formed to assist the three parishes and their leadership with the opportunities and logistics of completing the merger.  This included engaging parishioners, designing the worship space, combining ministries and handling financial aspects of the merger.

 

 

Our Lady Church Closing

Prior to closing Our Lady’s held a series of events to celebrate it’s 169-year history:

 

May Crowning – May 17^th

On Sunday afternoon the parish honored Our Blessed Mother with a prayer service and May Crowning.

 

Parish Sharing - Tuesday May 26

Parishioners gathered to share their concerns and aspirations for the new parish of Good Shepherd.

 

Prayer Service ‘We Remember, We Celebrate, We Believe’ – Thursday, May 28

This pray service included a slide show of images from the archives, personal reflections from parishioners and song.  The event was a tribute to the parish’s legacy of faith and its current parishioners.

 

Closing Mass – Saturday May 30

The parish celebrated its last Mass at 4pm followed by a catered dinner.  At the conclusion of Mass after everyone had exited the church, Sr. Mary Naomi Buniff, RSM., tied a purple ribbon across the front door handles.

 

St. Anthony Church Closing

St. Anthony parish celebrated its last Mass June 13, 2009 on the Feast of St. Anthony of Padua.

St. Cecilia Church Closing

St. Cecilia parish celebrated its last Mass June 14, 2009 on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ.

 

               

To Top