It’s hard for me to believe but May marks 20 years since I graduated high school. Talk about feeling old!! My high school experience, certainly a St. Louis oddity, was a year of homeschool and then the remaining three years at a high school seminary which was a boarding school in Hannibal, Missouri. Living with your schoolmates had its ups and downs, but overall we got along great and certainly knew each other well. I recently saw one of the guys I went to school with. He was a year behind me and he was the strongest of all the students. He could lift the most in the weight room and he was the person everyone went to get advice about getting in better shape. When I saw him this past year, I almost didn’t recognize him because of how much weight he had put on! And believe me, it was not muscle gain! This is not to put him down; he is happily married and loves being a dad. We all change as we get older in every area of our lives. But it reminded me that our past accomplishments, even our previous good health, is no guarantee that we will have those same things as we grow older. We’ve all rolled our eyes at the guy who gets out on the field believing he is still the same high school or college phenom of years past. We’ve probably all had the experience of helping a friend move or joining a pickup game in the backyard and waking up the next day so sore we could barely get out of bed. What we could do in the past is no guarantee of our future abilities; we have to work mindfully and diligently if we want to preserve and refine them.
If this is true with our physical condition, it is even more so in the spiritual realm. Our relationship with God, our progress in the ways of holiness, and our stewardship of the blessings we receive are all living, dynamic things. They never stand still. We are either growing or regressing in each of them, depending on how we use our gifts, talents, and time. They are not something we can put in the bank and draw from later, anymore than we could go to the gym 30 days in a row and then take the next 30 off, expecting to stay in shape. It simply doesn’t work that way in any aspect of human existence and I think most of us begrudgingly acknowledge this, at least in certain areas of our life.
Why do I bring this up? Our parish has a legacy of being an incredibly generous, vibrant, compassionate, and spiritually-strong community that doesn’t just take care of itself but actively tries to help others. Having been here three years, I can tell you this reputation is well-earned and true. This parish is not like many others in the best possible sense. There is a spirit of giving and “stepping up” not found in other places. Praise God for that. But the past generosity and service of Incarnate Word is no guarantee of its future. It will not continue to be that way just because it always has.
We’ve had many funerals over the past year and a surprising number of them have been either founding members of our parish or parishioners who were the first to volunteer when there was a ministry or person in need. These persons were not the ones to sit on the sideline, waiting for someone else to step up. They were the first to come forward and many of them saw what needed to be done, even before the priests or staff asked for help. They shared the best of themselves and that generosity and joy became part of Incarnate Word’s identity. They have been partners in our mission of bringing the love and mercy of Jesus to our community.
Many of these wonderful parishioners are gone now and others can no longer carry out their generous service in the ways they once did because of age and illness. It’s time for the next generation of visionaries and partners in our mission to step up and help carry the torch.
What concerns me is that it is getting harder and harder to engage people in the life of our parish. To have Incarnate Word continue to be vibrant, alive, and spiritually-strong, we need the generous, joyful, and willing participation of all who pray here. It cannot just be the job of the clergy, staff, and a few people who have extra time on their hands. Sure, the clergy and staff might have a more visible role in the daily work of Incarnate Word, but I assure you we cannot do the work that needs to be done without your help. We simply don’t have the all the talents, energy, or cleverness needed to be the hands and feet of Christ in our area. Also, Catholicism is not a product we engage with as a consumer, taking what we like and moving on to the next thing. Ministers are not just sacrament machines or functionaries that wait on us for what we want, and then disappear until we need them. What makes this place a community is that we are united in our love and worship of God and support each other with the unique gifts and blessings we have to offer.
Our parish will continue to be alive with grace and compassion, if and only if, each of us is willing not just to receive the goodness Incarnate Word offers but also give something back from the best we have of our time, talent, and treasure. The least of my concerns in these three areas is money! If our government can print money in hard times to ease a recession, God will have no problems finding the funds for what is truly important in the life of this community. We are most in need of a renewed generosity in terms of the gifts of time and talent. For example, we have a perpetual adoration chapel, which many of us take for granted. People from other parishes come to pray here because their own churches are not open for them. However, we are having more and more trouble finding people to commit to one hour a week so we can keep our chapel open. Many of our adorers are in their 70’s and 80’s and are covering 2 and 3 hours at a time. There are over 6000 people registered in this parish; certainly there are enough of us to keep this spiritual treasure available by looking over our schedules to find an hour to give back? Besides adoration, there are many other opportunities for charity, service, and leadership that are being vacated by our members who are entering a new stage in their life. They were there to protect and grow the spiritual gifts that have nourished us. Now it is time for us to lead the way so the next generation can be formed and fed.
I want to gently propose we use this lent to look in the mirror in terms of our generosity with God in the areas of time, talent, and treasure. Are we willing to give something back in all three to thank Him and help this particular parish continue to be in the best shape possible? Have we been a little complacent and hesitant to step up and help; more inclined to receive the spiritual offerings from this community than to give something of ourselves. Maybe we are tempted to think Incarnate Word doesn’t need us or we have nothing to add. I assure you this is not true! Each of us has a role to play in this parish and God will make our gifts a blessing to many others. But he can’t do it until we place them at his service. Take another look at the many ministries offered here, consider calling one of the priests or staff to discern how your gifts might be exactly what we are needing right now, tell us about a blind spot we are missing and be willing to be part of addressing it, sign up for an hour of adoration (partner with a friend or another family to give some flexibility), or whatever the Holy Spirit places on your heart. The key is that we are all doing something, all trying to grow in some way in our relationship with God and in our practice of charity towards each other. Otherwise we are regressing and our souls and our parish are in danger of becoming spiritually weak. Help Incarnate Word keep it’s spiritual six-pack and continue to be alive and healthy in Christ for the many who need what is offered here!
