Commemoration, Anticipation, and Participation
This week we begin the season of Advent to prepare ourselves to celebrate the birth of Jesus. However, this isn’t just a time to commemorate an event of the past. That is only one part of what Advent is about. It is not just a time to look backward but to look forward.
Ways to Welcome your Community Back to (In-person) Mass
Even though our churches are back to celebrating Mass in public, there are still some parishioners who are hesitant to come back for a variety of reasons. Church leaders need to reach out, quell fears, and remind them what they’re missing: the Eucharist.
Giving Until it Hurts
Christ gave differently. He gave until it was all gone. Such is the highest form of stewardship: the gift of self to the point of discomfort. It demands that we go against our human nature of putting ourselves first.
Recognizing the King
We tend to view Jesus’ kingship with human eyes instead of through the lens of faith. We prefer to see kings in splendid majesty, and here is Jesus bloodied and bruised. And so, when we join our question to Pilate’s, “then you are a king?” we betray our own blindness to Jesus’ kingship.
Writing Not Your Thing? Apps to Help with Grammar, Clarity and More
When it comes to crafting content and policing grammar, even the most accomplished writers need a helping hand now and then. Here are five websites and apps that will aid in the quality, readability, and grammar of your parish’s written communications.
The Look
Have you ever made the mistake of telling your spouse that you’re out of something — only to see them respond with The Look? Then you realize it: of course, he or she knows you’re out of butter. They knew long before you noticed.
You Can Always Find Hope
At first glance, the weeks’ readings leading up to Advent become foreboding, ominous, and even a little depressing. One has to search really hard to find the hope, but it is there. Thanks to the Resurrection, one can always find hope!
Five Letters That Will Invite School Families to Sunday Mass
Does your parish have a school? If so, it’s likely that a lot of families are only showing up during the week for Mass — meaning that both your parish community and the school families themselves are missing out on Sunday morning.
The Daily Examen of Stewardship
“Stewardship” can get a bum rap these days. When folks hear the term “stewardship” from the pulpit, their eyes tend to kind of glaze over. “Here’s Father asking for more money,” they groan inwardly, “Get ready for the passing of the pledge cards.”
The Gifts That Cost Us
The gifts we offer to God from our poverty are far more precious than those we offer from our abundance. We think we don’t have enough, so we think we have nothing to give. But how precious are the gifts that really cost us — the ones that we fear we cannot afford.
The Power of a Fresh Start
The pandemic and the “new normal” it brings has been a trial for all of us. Let’s use this moment to create a connection with our parishioners, to walk alongside them, ready to help them hear the voice of God as, together, we face whatever the future holds.
Giving as God Does
Ask yourself this question — what would you pray for if you really believed God could and would do anything for you? In my experience, we all have something. We all have that miracle we’re afraid to request, afraid we will be disappointed.