Fr. Leo's Benevolent Blog!

Well, it’s been a good week here so far in St. Patrick Parish.  I’m finally over my cold, it seems, and the voice has returned. So hopefully, you can hear me this week. 

Summers in Alaska are always fun. Summer is when we go outside to play, and stay up way too late talking because it’s still light out.  

Right now, my mom’s house if full of out of family and out-of-town guests.  It’s a part of the joyful chaos that is summer in Alaska.

       We Alaskans are particularly good at hospitality, I think, don’t you?  We are always welcoming guests and showing guests around and taking them fishing and playing tour guide.  For many of us, it’s the only way we get to see certain things in our own state.  I don’t know about you, but the only time I ever go to Denali National Park is when I have guests in town.

So I would imagine that most of us can identify quite well with Abraham and Sarah and Martha and Mary as they demonstrate for us in today’s reading the value of hospitality as a religious virtue

       I’d like to spend a few minutes reflecting on Christian Hospitality as a hallmark of the good disciple and of the good Catholic parish.  

It was Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, in 1825, who said:

To welcome a guest is to be answerable for his or her happiness so long as he is beneath your roof.

To help us do exactly that I think we all need to be aware of at least these seven attributes of remarkable hospitality. This is true in our homes and in our parish:

In short, Good hospitality:

• Is welcoming, friendly, and courteous
• Is knowledgeable
• Is efficient
• Is flexible
• Is consistent
• Communicates effectively
• Exceeds expectations

Is welcoming, friendly, and courteous

First impressions matter. 

Are people greeted as they come through the door?

Are there designated and trained greeters and/or ushers?

Are they well dressed and groomed?

Are people with special needs accommodated in architecture and design?

Do ushers/greeters and parishioners smile?

Is knowledgeable

Where is the first aid kit?

Where is the defibrillator? 

Are ushers trained in its use?

Are there gluten free hosts available?  If so, where are they?

Do greeters/ushers know who the medical personnel in the parish are?

Is efficient

Are people greeted immediately at the door? In the narthex?

Are there enough ushers to seat people expeditiously?

Is the collection taken with a smile and without wasted effort?

(Second Collection after the first.)

Are major announcements done BEFORE Mass?

Is flexible

• Are all parishioners trained in the basics?
• Can they change their routine to accommodate the guest?

[‘YOU’RE SITTING IN MY SEAT!!]

• Are parents with children accommodated with courtesy?

Is consistent

People may come to our church for many reasons, but they will return for only one

…They like it! 

Consistency can make the difference.

Communicates Effectively

• Does signage and posted placards help people find their way to the restroom, parish hall or office?
• Are the fire extinguishers well marked? 
• Is the information desk/rack easily accessible?
• Do ushers/greeters give clear, concise information and instructions?

Exceeds expectations

• Are people asked their name and place of origin?  Are these announced by the Presider?
  • Are birthdays, anniversaries or other significant events noted in the bulletin, monitors and pulpit?
  • Are returning guests remembered?
  • Are new families welcomed and given information about the parish?
    • Welcoming breakfasts/luncheons?

In short, Good hospitality:

• Is welcoming, friendly, and courteous
• Is knowledgeable
• Is efficient
• Is flexible
• Is consistent
• Communicates effectively
• Exceeds expectations

Hospitality comes easily to us Alaskans because it literally comes with the territory.   By and large, as a parish, I think we do a pretty fair job, at least this newcomer’s first impression is pretty good.  Nevertheless, there are many things I think we can do that would set us in a class by ourselves.

Good hospitality is not only an act of kindness, it is one of the primary Christian virtues.  To welcome the stranger it is a corporal work of mercy.  As a parish family, may we be the heart and the arms and the hands of Christ, reaching out in welcome to those come to our doors, so that they may indeed encounter Risen Christ within these walls and return to the world refreshed,  renewed, and better for the experience. 

My dear friends in Christ in St. Patrick’s Parish.

       It is nice to be here after 24 years of being away. 

       For me, this is a bit of a homecoming.  As many of you know, I was the Associate Pastor here from 1995-1996, while we were building the building in which we now worship. 

It is always an exciting and nervous time for a parish to get a new pastor.  The first question that most people ask is a positive one:

1.  What is he like?

The second is more tenuous…

What’s going to change?! 

Let me answer the second question first and the first question second.

1. What’s going to change?
2. The quick answer is: Nothing for now.

The reason for this is simple.  The first order for me is to become a part of the parish community. 

       Yes, your new pastor comes with a lot of local, national and international experience.

       …and WAAAAY too much education. 

As I mentioned last week, I just finished 27^th Grade! 

       In due time, all that experience and expertise will be put to good use. 

       But not right now.

Now is the time to listen, to learn, to get to know each other. 

       This is a very different place than when I was here 25 years ago.

       Let’s take our time…and get to know each other.

Which brings us to the second question: What’s he like?

Actually, in the weeks, months and years to come, you are going to get to know me pretty darn well.

So instead, let me tell you what I have heard about you! 

Let’s start general and then get a bit more specific.

As you know, St. Patrick Parish was founded in 1971. The name was chosen, quite frankly, because the Archbishop’s name was Ryan and the parish was to be located on Muldoon Road. Its boundaries were drawn to coincide with the 99504 zip code, and remain unchanged to this day.

       The parish covers approximately 6.3 square miles.  

       It is primarily a residential area.  There are 15,642 households, of which 14,986 are occupied, meaning there are 656 unoccupied dwellings in the parish.

       Of those 14,986 occupied households, 1128 of them are registered parishioners of St. Patrick Parish.

       The parish is home to 40,917 people, about 4174 of whom are members of the parish.  Thus, we are a little over 10% of the population in the area.

The average household income in the parish is $92,815 which puts us about in the middle for the Anchorage Bowl.  We are not poor, we are middle to upper middle class. Statistically, 6.8% of our households make over $200,000 a year.

You are fairly generous. Last year, ordinary revenues from Sunday and Holy Day Collections and donations was $708,920.67, although this was about a 11% from the previous year of $723,780.64

       Also, I was happy to note that just this week, you have just passed your parish goal for the One Bread One Body Archdiocesan Appeal. Now everything that comes in goes directly to the parish. 

       Just to give a nudge to those of you who are still contemplating what you are going to do for OBOB. I have yet to make my own pledge, but I plan to do so in the amount of $500.  I never ask my parishioners to do something I am not willing to do myself. You may take this as a guide, or a challenge as you so choose.

As a community of faith, we have a history that is long, and colorful, sometimes magic, sometimes tragic.    

       St. Patrick’s has always known how to throw a good party.  We love to sing and dance and celebrate the best parts of life and liturgy.

       But we have also known the worst trauma that a parish can experience in the betrayal of sacred trust by the founding pastor.

       Here at St. Patrick Parish, the scandal of clergy sexual abuse is not an abstract distant concept,

for many in the parish, your new pastor included, it has a name and it has a face. It is personal.

Many of us are still hurting from this betrayal. Let us walk together on the path to healing. 

       In recent times we have also experienced a lesser tragedy with some notable earthquake damage to many parish buildings, including the probable loss of the JPII Center.  The primary result of this is not only the loss of needed meeting and classroom space, but also it also means that there is no place for your pastor to live.

       We’re going to take our time on this. There are many people in the parish I need to consult with.  I’m still finding out who they are.  But in due time we will take care of this and related issues in a way that makes the most practical and financial sense for the parish. 

Finally, I am convinced that our best and most exciting years lie just ahead. 

       In the past few years, I have noticed that both physically and spiritually, you have been embarking on a deliberate program of making something beautiful for God.

       Whether in the Sacred Liturgy, or programs of catechesis, the deliberate formation of intentional disciples, or evangelization to those in the parish who are not yet part of the parish family;

       Whether in the multitude of ministries of service already in place to those within the parish family or to those in our parish boundaries who have never set foot on the grounds;

       Whether in our personal lives of prayer, in our homes, our small groups, and finally our liturgical and other ministries of service to the parish or the community

       It is important that we build something beautiful for God. 

       Beautiful lives of faith, a beautiful community of grace

       Housed in beautiful spaces to celebrate them as only the people of St. Patrick Parish know how.

The basics of discipleship are not hard.

       As Moses said to the people:

[It] is not too mysterious and remote for you.
It is not up in the sky, that you should say,
‘Who will go up in the sky to get it for us
and tell us of it, that we may carry it out?’
Nor is it across the sea, that you should say,
‘Who will cross the sea to get it for us
and tell us of it, that we may carry it out?’

Believe me, I have been across the sea.  It is no different here than it is there. In fact, here we have a lot more fun here than in Italy, but perhaps not as much as in Africa…yet.  Back to discipleship…
       No, Moses says, it is not something far away…

…it is something very near to you,
already in your mouths and in your hearts;
you have only to carry it out

St. Paul rightly points out that the fullness of the Mystery of God’s love was revealed to us in the person of Jesus Christ.  He is “the image of the invisible God.”

       Nothing mysterious here.

Finally, in his interaction with the scholar of the law 

[Yes, my canon lawyer radar went up at the reference…]

Jesus reveals to us just how simple it is.

The exchange follows the typical style for rabbinical teaching of the day.  It is ritual dialogue.

       It begins with a standard question by the student.

“Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life.”

This is followed by an insightful answer by the teacher.

His interlocutor is a scholar of the law, so Jesus refers him to the law. With great insight, he articulates for Jesus, the Great Commandment for love of God and love of neighbor.

       Once they have established common ground, the student is expected to justify himself by asking a more probing question.   “And who is my neighbor.”

Here we dive with Jesus into the depths of understanding. Thus, the Parable of the Good Samaritan.

       The point of the story is clear.

       As disciples of Jesus Christ

       As stewards of the many gifts that God has given us here in 99504

       As a community of faith

       As the parish family of St. Patrick’s

Our task is two-fold

       We must love God, with all our heart, being, strength and mind

       And we must love our neighbors as ourselves.

       In short, our job as disciples, as families, and as a parish is to become so much a part of the life of the community in which we find ourselves that they cannot imagine life without us.

       This will be true in your home, on your street, in your neighborhood, in all of this part of the Kingdom in Anchorage which Our Lord has given us to look after for him,

known to the world simply as 99504,

but known to God and to us in the realm of grace, as St. Patrick Parish of the Archdiocese of Anchorage.

We have a mission.  

We have been given this little part of the Kingdom to do with as we please.

Hopefully, we will care for it in a way that is pleasing to the Giver.

So that in due time, we may give it all back to him better than we found it.  

To become so much a part of the landscape, that they cannot imagine life without us.

I am so very happy to be here.

       Together, let us make something beautiful for God.