May
8 , 2005
Seventh Sunday of Easter
Mother
of the Church
Stripes
Due
to the rides for the fair at the school it’s hard to see the new
addition to our school parking lot this weekend. But next weekend, you’ll
be able to see that our parking lot has finally been striped. Due to
the generosity of a friend, Larry Myron, our lot has been professionally
striped -- including handicapped parking spaces. The location of the
stripes were based on the size and shape of the lot and the legal requirements
when striping a public lot. Many thanks to Larry and his crew for a
job well done. .
I'm
Baaack!
Last week I had a nice few days visiting my uncle who is a pastor in
Callahan, Florida. The parish is tiny -- one mass on Sunday! It was
nice to visit, but I’m happy to be back amidst the vibrant wonders
of our parish.
Catholic
Ministries Appeal
I’ve pledged. Have you?
You can pledge online here!
At
College?
At St. Brigid’s we like to stay in touch through
e-mail “letters from home.”
Once a person has an e-mail address at school (or if he/she uses a personal
address), please let us know what it is so we can include them when
we write.
Here's a handy college link so you
can send this info online.
e-mail Father Ralph:
Past Columns:
May 1: On Life and Death
April 24: Habemus Papam
April 17: The Spirit Abounds
April 10: Two men on a journey
April 3: He's baaack!
March 27th: Not the best
news...yet
March 20th: What are You
Doing For Easter?
March 13th: The Stench
March 6: To Tell or Not
To Tell
February 27: Dry Mouth Dry
Soul
February 20: Good to Be
Here
February 13: And he was
hungry?
Ash Wednesday '05
February 6: Ashes Already?
January 23: Catholic Schools
Week
January 16: Continued Charity
January 9: Migration
January 2:All is bright?
Columns from 2004
Columns from 2003
Columns from 2002
It’s
Mother’s Day in the United States and it’s not always the
case that Mary, the Mother of Jesus, gets a mention in the readings for
mass. But this weekend we hear Mary mentioned right in the midst of the
apostles who are gathered after Jesus’ ascension into heaven.
When Luke writes the Acts of the
Apostles, there’s nothing accidental about his placement of Mary
here. The newly-born church is about to reach out to the world to spread
the good news of Jesus and right in the middle of this moment is Mary.
She gave birth to Jesus and now she’s involved at the birth of the
church.
As we think about the roles our
mothers have in our lives, we realize they too have a double-birth role.
First, they physically give birth to us. Then they give birth to the church
in us. Certainly this is true when they bring us to baptism, but it’s
true in how they raise us to be church. “Being church” is
taught first not by words, but by example. When mothers feed, clothe,
and comfort us, they are being church. When mothers teach, correct, encourage
and guide us, they are being church. When mothers gleam with joy or sob
with sorrow, they are being church.
When we think of the role of church
(a community of believers who does the work of Jesus), we recognize that
the lives and vocations of mothers show us what it is to be church. So
the pressure is on! A “mean mommy” can taint our appreciation
for what “mother church” can and ought to be. So too a mother
who is distant or arbitrary or intolerant or conditional or unforgiving.
So let’s pray for all mothers
-- the new ones and the experienced ones. Their position as role models
for church is quite challenging. Mary, the mother of Jesus, knew all too
well how people looked to her (and still look to her) as a role model
for church. May the life and example of Mary guide and inspire all of
us as we strive to continue to give birth to a still-emerging church.
Happy Mother’s Day!
You are Person
