What questions should I ask to ensure that my parish is a place of reverence and welcome?
HOW TO BECOME A
Merciful Parish
What questions should I ask to ensure that my parish is a place of reverence and welcome?
Msgr. John P. Zenz
Mercy is another name for God.
Mercy was most fully manifest in the Death-Resurrection of Christ, an event that unfolded within human space and time two thousand years ago. It is also a mystery that transcends the limits of space and time, for“ Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today, and forever”( Heb 13:8).
Our parishes seek to be concrete manifestations of God’ s mercy in space and time as we celebrate the Paschal Mystery anew each day in the Holy Eucharist and in all our programming.
This stained glass image of the crucifixion suspended before a window at Holy Name Parish is from the original church building of 1921. It reminds the author that“ Christ’ s mercy broke through the limits of space and time.”
Markers of Space and Time
I will use two“ markers” of our lives— space and time— as means for describing how we can become ever more merciful parishes. Parishes necessarily face many“ limitations”: size of property, age of buildings, circumstances of neighborhood, history and traditions, financial resources, the spirituality of clergy, laity, and religious who have formed and shaped the community over the decades. Yet, these very limitations can be opportunities.
A parish need not be defined by its challenges. The Paschal Mystery proclaims that human limitations, losses, and apparent failures are but the doorway for God to enter,“ take charge”( in a subtle way), and transform people’ s minds and hearts, making all things new.
Consider the“ first parish”— the disciples in the Cenacle on the first Christian Pentecost— and the conditions they experienced: wind, fire, locked doors, and fearful hearts. Here in the Archdiocese of Detroit, at Sacred Heart Major Seminary, and in our parishes, we are waiting for a new Pentecost and a fresh outpouring of the mercy of God for us and through us.
12 Sacred Heart Major Seminary | Mosaic | Spring 2016