takes being in the right place at the right time to speak just the right words to the right person . It takes having those opportunities to interact with those who are discerning a call to religious life .
In looking ahead to the New Year , my hopes and wishes are focused on creating opportunities to engage others in a conversation about religious life and Precious Blood spirituality , to continue the parish visits and to schedule Days of Reflection , and also to host a Mission Trip to pbmr in Chicago . It would be a weeklong opportunity to engage in ministry , reflect upon what we have done , and share our c . pp . s . story . Another hope and wish would be to find some new and challenging ways to interact with possible inquirers other than the traditional vocation booth . I much prefer to interact and have a conversation with someone else while engaged in a project . I ’ m not one to just sit and visit over a cup of coffee . I wish to explore some different service type projects that could be inviting to potential inquirers , and while doing the work have an opportunity to share our story and invite another to consider religious life .
I don ’ t do this ministry alone and so another wish is to receive names from other members of men interested and worth a conversation to see where the journey might lead . Here ’ s still hoping and wishing it will be a journey with us . W
Editor , continued from page 2 The board is especially helpful , in that each member shares responsibility for soliciting articles and working with writers to further develop articles as needed . Unsolicited articles continue to encouraged and welcomed . Our goal is to invite members , Companions , candidates and volunteers ( and others ) to tell the Precious Blood story and share how Precious Blood spirituality and charism is expressed in our lives and ministries .
The new year begins in the cold and dark of winter for many of us . We look back with gratitude and forward with hope . So I will end this with a favorite poem of mine , Gratitude to Old Teachers by Robert Bly . When we stride or stroll across the frozen lake , We place our feet where they have never been . We walk upon the unwalked . But we are uneasy . Who is down there but our old teachers ?
Water that once could take no human weight — We were students then — holds up our feet , And goes on ahead of us for a mile . Beneath us the teachers , and around us the stillness . W
Leadership , continued from page 3 financially . We have children who no longer receive Communion at our School Masses because their parents don ’ t come to Church on Sundays — and the children know this is what is required and so they don ’ t go to Communion during the week either . There are others who believe that going to the school Mass during the week satisfies their being there on Sundays .
The “ new normal ” has created a whole new way of how we continue to support and enhance Catholic education at the local level . The former assumptions that we used to depend on are no longer valid ; to continue to insist on those past assumptions only leads to frustration and possibly despair . What is needed is a new understanding of how we pass on the faith to future generations in a way that is both affordable and effective . This has become the mission of the Pastoral Council and the School Advisory Council for parishes who have schools .
But just as the assumptions of the past are no longer valid in today ’ s world for Catholic schools , I wonder what assumptions of the past are no longer valid as we look at our own future as a Society of Apostolic Life . In the past , most of our future members came from our parishes or from those who participated in parish missions led by our Mission Band ; this is no longer true . In the past , families had 4-6 children ; this is no longer true . In the past , parents felt blessed to have a son or daughter in religious life ; this is no longer true for many parents .
I suspect there are other assumptions that are no longer valid as we look to the future and plan on remaining a province of hope and sustainability . A new approach needs to be discovered , and that seems to be our mission today . Is it possible to let go of past assumptions and trust in new approaches that will produce a new hope and future for us ? What kind of future can we imagine that will project us into a future of hope and promise ? Will it be a change in our ministries , will it be a change in how we live community life , will it be a change in how we name our relationship between incorporated members and covenanted companions , or will it be a new awareness of how our spirituality can speak to our world of today ? W
January 2017 • The New Wine Press • 5