Do you see the world as a sinking ship on its way to judgment and hell?  Are you grasping for the lifeboat?  I have heard numerous comments today expressing sadness at the direction our country is going.  One person said to me, "It is futile to fight in the culture war.  We have lost."  One blog post title even lamented that "Marriage is dead and so is the Church."  As another individual so aptly questioned some time ago, "Where are we going?  And why am I in a hand-basket?"

Much has been written today about “same-sex marriage,” the Supreme Court actively legislating from the bench, and the continued erosion of religious liberty in our country.  The spin placed upon these topics will certainly depend upon which media outlet you are utilizing.  My expectations for the secular media are relatively low and so I am not surprised by most of it.  However, the disheartening moments are when I read statements from pastors representing a variety of denominations expressing their support of these initiatives to legislate and legitimize same-sex unions.  In times like these it is evident that we are far from being one flock under one shepherd.

Disunity in the Church diminishes our credibility to speak effectively on issues of faith and morals.  We are in serious trouble when leaders in the Church can't even agree on basic life issues such as (1) marriage is between a man and a woman, and (2) life begins at conception.
If we struggle to agree on these basic premises of life, we simply become another opinion out in the world rather than a prophetic voice of truth and reason. 

Today has been a difficult day.  It seems that the Supreme Court initiated a celebration of sexual promiscuity by their ruling.  That is problematic for society on a number of levels, whether it is heterosexual or homosexual activity.  Going hand-in-hand with sexual promiscuity we see the issues of contraception, abortion, and infanticide.  Nancy Pelosi boldly stated that abortion is sacred ground.  If our government leaders in the legislative, judicial, and executive branch view the horrendous act of abortion as sacred, we are facing a serious moral dilemma.  When we fail to protect the weakest among us, it is easy to move into the realm of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide.  These stepping-stones have laid the groundwork for becoming a society which gives implicit, if not tacit, approval to any lifestyle of choice.  Same-sex unions will not be the end of where this road leads us.

These are the questions in my mind.

*Do Christians have the moral foundation that is needed to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth?

*Have we formed our own consciences correctly?

*Do Christians have the passion, zeal, and energy to engage the world and ultimately shape it for the better? 

I recently had the privilege of having an in-depth conversation with someone about specific endeavors within the Church to evangelize more effectively.  In the process of our conversation we watched some video clips of new material available to parish communities.  I was particularly struck by a comment made in one of the clips as the individual speaking referred to the "inertia of the Church".  I have often heard words such as apathy, indifference, and complacency used to describe the life of the Church, but I couldn't recall a time when I heard the word inertia used.  It was somewhat sad for me to have another word added to the vocabulary list of negative descriptions to describe the life of the Church.

I did some research on the internet and found the word inertia connected closely to the word torpor.  A search on the word torpor revealed the following quote.

"We find the most terrible form of atheism, not in the militant and passionate struggle against the idea of God himself, but in the practical atheism of everyday living, in indifference and torpor. We often encounter these forms of atheism among those who are formally Christians." 
~Nicolai A. Berdyaev

Inertia, torpor, and indifference aren't new struggles within the Church.  These elements have been around for a long time.  The question becomes, "Are we going to be content with having these elements firmly entrenched within our faith communities without trying to do something to lessen the detrimental effects of living this way?"  In searching for some insights in regard to this topic, I began reading a book entitled, A Faith Interrupted by Alice L. Camille & Joel Schorn.  It didn't take long for the authors to address these topics in a very direct way.  They summed it up by using the word mediocrity.  On page 10 of the book the authors stated:

"With a deep sigh, we admit that the church displays its share of mediocrity (or worse) in local celebrations of Mass and the sacraments and in preaching most of all.  Those who come to the church looking for spiritual nourishment or moral guidance have sometimes been simply bored to tears by an indifferent and passionless ritual.  Some of what passes for religious instruction may also be badly led, poorly explained, or barely funded.  Adult religious education is often nonexistent."

Since I am a member of the clergy and have a leadership position in the Church, this stinging critique certainly gives me plenty to ponder. It wasn't that any of this was news to me, but seeing it in print and stated so succinctly made the point hit home quite effectively.  As I attempt to put this statement in proper context, I recognize that society and culture have changed significantly in the last 50 years.  In many ways people have dismissed, replaced, or ignored the norms and mores that were firmly in place for generations.  However, I do not believe that we can subsequently throw up our hands in despair and allow the Church to be an irrelevant institution in our midst.  Indeed, quite the contrary, it calls us to a renewed awakening of the power of the Holy Spirit in our personal lives and in the life of the Church.  This renewal isn't just for the clergy and leadership; it is for all of us.  How do we resurrect an internal fire within ourselves if we have allowed a fire that once burned brightly to simmer to a faint glow off in the distance?  How do we change ourselves (before we start looking at ways to change everyone else around us)?   

As I sat down and began to write this post, I was a bit disheartened at the many ways we struggle as Church.  We certainly have our share of challenges to proclaim the Gospel faithfully and effectively.  The bright spot is that we can look forward in hope, because we know we have plenty of room to grow and improve.  We have not "maxed out" in our ability to share the good news of salvation.  There is ample room to replace some negatives with positives.  Move over inertia, complacency, apathy, indifference, and torpor.  Here comes a real zest for life.  Here comes vitality, vigor, and vivaciousness.

"I have come that you may have life and have it in abundance."
~John 10:10

Have you ever had one of those moments when something happened or someone said something and you were impacted more profoundly than what you would have anticipated?  Another case in point, have you ever read a Scripture verse that you have read multiple times before, but now it suddenly sends your thoughts and emotions stirring? 

In the Catholic Church we celebrated the 10th Sunday in Ordinary Time this past weekend.  The Responsorial Psalm which takes place after the first reading contained the refrain. “I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.”  Although I have heard these words many times before, on this occasion I found myself getting lost in a sea of thoughts about my need to be rescued.  It certainly wasn’t a new concept or a revealing theological insight that just occurred, but it was more of a somber realization and reminder that I needed to be rescued.  I need the grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit. 

Having an awareness of this need to be rescued is healthy.  I know that is contrary to what our society says, but it keeps me from falling into the trap of thinking I can simply pull myself up by my own bootstraps day in and day out and keep plugging away doing things my way. When I choose to go down that road I end up shutting off the flow of grace and the power of the Holy Spirit in my life.  (Yes, I have tried that a few times; it doesn’t go too well.)  Although I enjoy the admonition here in Wyoming to “Cowboy Up” when things are tough, I want my toughness to be rooted in the cross of our Lord, Jesus Christ.  In order to do this successfully I may need to keep in mind another Scripture verse which says, “But we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles.” 
~1 Corinthians 1:23

Although I am still not certain as to why the Responsorial Psalm struck me so forcefully this weekend, I am grateful for the blessing.  Has Psalm 30 touched your life in any significant way?

On June 5, 1999 I was ordained a permanent deacon in the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis by Archbishop Justin Rigali (now Cardinal Rigali).  I had no idea about what was in store for me over the next 14 years, and I will admit that it has been quite a journey.

It is common to wear many hats when you work for the Church, and I have been no exception.  I have had the privilege to learn a great deal through a variety of ministerial opportunities.  Since ordination I have served in the Archdiocese of St. Louis as a Coordinator of Religious Education for both parish programs and Catholic School programs.  This included inter-generational faith formation as well.  I was a high school religion and theology teacher at Valle Catholic High School in Ste. Genevieve, MO.  This position also allowed me two other opportunities:  I was the head boys basketball coach and the campus minister.  Lastly, while in the Archdiocese of St. Louis, I had the privilege to be an elementary Catholic school principal.  

In the diocese of Pueblo, Colorado I was a Parish Director of Religious Education in Florence, CO and was eventually asked by Bishop Tafoya to serve in the role of Vocation Director and Deacon Director for the diocese.  That was quite the move out of my comfort zone, but a very beneficial experience. 

I now serve as the Director of Pastoral Ministries and Superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Diocese of Cheyenne.  In the past 3 and 1/2 years I have been blessed to meet many of the wonderful people all across the state of Wyoming.  While the traveling can be exhausting and a bit challenging in the winter, it also brings many rewards.  Being invited to lead workshops, retreats, and parish missions fills me with abundant joy and excitement.  The faith of the people throughout the diocese truly inspires me to continue to grow in my own faith journey.  I already have many speaking engagements lined up for the next 12 months and I am looking forward to meeting even more of God's people throughout the diocese.

As I look back on 14 years of ordained ministry, I can easily see that I have learned a great deal in the process.  All of the years of schooling only prepare an individual up to a certain point.  "On the job" experience brings a whole new dimension to the book learning.  I have learned from observing others in ministry; I have learned from trial and error; I have learned from continued study and diligent reading.  

In closing, I would simply ask for your prayers--not just for me--but for all who have leadership responsibilities in the Church.  We need the support of your prayers to hold us up in our human frailty.  For me personally, I hope I have touched lives in a positive way for the most part during these 14 years of ordained ministry.  I know there have been times I have failed in that endeavor, and for those instances, I can simply seek forgiveness.  For the times when I have ministered effectively, I can simply turn and thank God for the grace and the privilege to be used as an instrument of His love.  May I continue to grow in wisdom, grace, and mercy!

St. Boniface, pray for us!
 

This weekend I read a book entitled, Bringing Out The Best In Others!  It was written by Thomas K. Connellan, Ph.D.  It focused on 5 different situations in particular but alluded to many other areas of life as well.
1. Business (specifically dealing with sales representatives)
2. Business (specifically dealing with production work)
3. Healthcare (specifically looking at departmental needs in a hospital)
4. Education (specifically dealing with teacher effectiveness)
5. Parenting (specifically dealing with motivating children)

It was an interesting and easy to read book.  A lot of what it mentioned seemed like common sense, but when looking at the details it became clear that some principles may appear to be easy to understand but a little more difficult to implement.  In our day-to-day interactions at home, school, work, or anywhere in the community, are we bringing out the best in others?  Do the words we use, the gestures we make, and our overall body language communicate what we are hoping to communicate?

Although the book never addressed the Church community in particular, I started to think about areas in which we as Church could improve upon our skills in bringing out the best in others.  Why is it that church congregations often struggle with the dynamics of human interaction as much as secular entities?  Why are the Gospel values and principles that we focus on each week not more effectively guiding our behavior towards one another?

There are probably a multitude of answers to that question, but I think this book reminded me that we always have room to improve upon our skills in how we interact with one another.  This doesn't just apply to the supervisor/employee relationship or the parent/child relationship.  It can apply to all of our relationships.  When someone interacts with us, do they walk away at the end of the exchange having been enriched because they encountered the living Christ through us and in us?  If we desire the highest and greatest good for others we want them to spend eternity with God in heaven.  Do our thoughts, words, and actions lead them in the right direction?  What is the message we consistently communicate to others?  What are some specific skills that I can work on to improve myself so that I can more effectively bring out the best in others?