July 13: Discerning Next Steps
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
As you read this, I am on a pilgrimage to France, to pray at shrines dedicated to Our Lady, St. Therese, St. Michael, and the Martyrs of Compiegne, to whom I am particularly devoted. This pilgrimage was planned long before I became pastor, but I had to adjust the date due to my new responsibilities. But I am taking the opportunity to entrust all of us to Our Lady of Divine Providence, and with her providential guidance, to discern important next steps for Our Lady of Divine Providence family. Lately, I have been reflecting on this title of our Mother Mary, and I find it particularly fitting for us. She is the patron of those in trouble, and she offers consolation and hope. Our Lady of Divine Providence unites many aspects of Marian devotion. Among others, the devotion combines Mary’s role at Cana, with her role as the Mother and Model of the apostles, so she is the patroness of the home, of families, and of evangelization and conversion of hearts. With trust in her providential care, I am entrusting all of us to her protection and I am discerning important choices with her help, in three main areas. These three things will make our parishes more mission focused and discipleship oriented. All of these I have mentioned before, but I want to unite them together here in a common theme.
The first is the staff reorganization and the office consolidation, as I have mentioned in the past. We are working to make the parish staff workplace more efficient and effective. For years, many issues have been literally swept under the rug or locked away in closets, and we are cleaning the closets, updating, renovating, and improving all our processes, including phone lines, databases, workplaces, etc., to bring us all into the 21st Century and give us the infrastructure and communication systems we need to be missionaries under the mantle of Our Mother of Divine Providence. Second, we are revamping our religious education and sacramental prep programs, under the theme of “Radiant Hope,” so that this fall it will provide better for the needs of our children in learning the faith, and can also help to form parents and adults to understand and practice their faith better. We will combine religious and sacramental education with prayer for families. In answer to the request of many parents, part of this family-oriented catechesis will include a Sunday evening Mass for families who are bringing their children to classes (and will offer a Sunday evening option for nurses and shift workers who struggle to attend Mass on Sunday mornings). To make that possible, and to accomplish several other goals, we will be evaluating and realigning our Mass schedule, the third plank of our program of revitalization and hope. We will decrease our total number of Masses, and bring more people together at each Mass, so that our Masses are fuller, and so that I can get to see people more frequently, and music and sacramental resources can be combined. No Mass will be at the same time, so that we truly have an Our Lady of Divine Providence schedule. When finalized, this schedule will provide stability for the future, and we shouldn’t need to change it again for years to come. I am praying and discerning exactly what this schedule needs to be, with the advice of the leadership team and family pastoral council.
With all that on my heart, I am praying for all of you. And I would ask for your prayers. I especially ask you to join me in praying this prayer, composed and approved by Pope Leo XIII, the namesake of our current pope, with these words:
O IMMACULATE Virgin Mary, Mother of Divine Providence, take possession of my soul with all the fullness of thy favor and protection. Govern thou my life, and direct it along the way of virtue to the fulfillment of the divine will. Do thou obtain for me the pardon of my sins; be my refuge, my protection, my defense, my guide in the pilgrimage of this life; console me in afflictions, sustain me in dangers, and in the storms of adversity afford me the security of thy guardianship. Amen.
Under the mantle of Mary, I know that we can all become radiant with hope!
Fr. Henry
