Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time - November 18, 2018

That’s what Tim Davis asked me when I asked him what the most urgent questions are for the RocKenRo parishes of Holy Trinity, St. John of God, and St. Malachy: “Father, what’s the big plan?” We’ve heard for months about the dramatic reorganization coming to the Church of Pittsburgh, of which we are a small part, and now the transition appears to be underway. For us, the first step is to plan to plan, to put together people, prayer, and information.

People: Our Lord Jesus called people to be his followers, assembled them into the Church, and commanded them to draw all nations to be his followers in his Church. Our main identity is therefore also our main job: people helping other people to follow Jesus.

So help each other follow Jesus. Get to know each other, ask questions, listen, check to see if you’ve understood. Tell your own stories—not to aggrandize yourself, but to explain how you’ve come to put your trust in the Lord Jesus. It’s a good time to stretch outside your usual zone of acquaintances and visit events or Masses especially at the other parishes of RocKenRo.

I, too, listen to people. Every day, I hear them explain what they do at RocKenRo parishes. I’m putting together councils where I can hear advice on how to understand and lead our communities. I’ve invited you to tell me what you think I need to know.

Prayer: In the end, what matters is whether we’re following the Lord. It doesn’t help to be “successful” in the worldly sense if we’ve neglected the work that Jesus has entrusted to us. We need to be attentive to where he’s leading us and responsive to his redirection. I ask all of you to join me in prayerful reflection and discernment.

Information: If we’re going to plan to go somewhere, it’ll help to know where we are now. Who are the people coming to Masses? Enrolling in the parish? Volunteering? Joining organizations? Working for the parishes? How do we use all our buildings and properties? How do we maintain them? Where’s all the money coming from? Where is it going? How can we use our people, property, and money ever more efficiently and effectively? I have many staff and volunteers assembling information to help us answer these questions.

Ultimately, our goal is be more faithful in the mission of Christ and his Church. I promise you that our share in his mission will mean a share in Jesus’ suffering and cross. I promise you that it will mean also great joy, reward, and hope, as a foretaste of our share in his resurrection. Let us all imitate the Lord Jesus and his martyrs, giving our lives away in loving obedience, service, mercy, and trust.
                                                                                                         —Fr. Dave