March 2004
March 19, 2004
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
Some sundry Sunday thoughts...
•Last weekend the first reading included the story of God speaking to Moses in a burning bush. Those who were here know that my homily included a burning bush right in our sanctuary. Because a number of folks have asked about the flames in the bush -and lest you think I compromised our safety- let me explain how our burning bush “burned.” Several years ago I bought a “flaming cauldron” at Spencer Gifts at the mall, tr [bad text] one of the altar candles and with my right hand appeared to light the bush on fire. At the same time, with my left hand, I reached behind the urn and flicked the switch on the cauldron’s electrical cord. The cloth “flames” immediately began to “burn” and I pulled the taper back and blew it out. Voila - a burning bush! No propane, lighted candles or cans of sterno posed a threat to our safety.
•A month or so ago an article by Australian writer Michael McGirr
caught my attention. He wrote of caring for his new born son, Benedict, and
of sitting in the middle of the night rocking Benedict back to sleep. McGirr’s
words:
Every parent knows that being up in the middle of the night can be a bit of
a drag. But we have also noticed how still the rest of the world is at that
time. You notice subtle sounds that, during the day, are just background noise.
We can count the cars on the railroad trains as they lumber by; we notice
small sounds of nature as it stirs from rest at some ungodly hour. Holding
a child in the middle of the night is a good way to pray. You’re not
always sure what to do or even how you are going to cope. You dream of a wonderful
future for the child but wonder how you will make it through the next day.
All you can do is trust. Holding a child in the middle of the night is a good
way to pray...
Because McGirr’s experience is that of a parent, you can be pretty sure that a celibate priest would never have had this insight about prayer. But what a wonderful universal image to help parents understand what prayer is and how many moments in our daily lives are rich with prayerful possibilities. As one who has had neither the gift nor the work of raising children, I’m pleased to be able to pass this image on to you. If you can think of other moments from your day’s routine that hold prayerful possibilities, please pass them on to me and I’d be happy to share them with others through my letters (with or without attribution, as you direct).
•As the machinations of the Constitutional Convention grind on and groups on all sides of the marriage question bring their grist to the mill, I join our bishops in recalling the importance of communicating with our state legislators. With gratitude we acknowledge that: we belong to a church which recognizes both the revelation of truth and the primacy of conscience; and that we live a nation which insures that all may freely speak the truth as they know it and their conscience as they have formed it. “For a just, true, peaceful and compassionate resolution to the debate on the definition of marriage, let us pray to the Lord...”
•You will receive in the mail (and we will make available in church) a brochure introducing “Generations of Faith,” a new approach to religious education in our parish and St. Bernard Parish (and about 35 other parishes in the archdiocese). In addition to the brochure we have scheduled two information nights: on Tuesday, March 30 at 7:30 at Our Lady Help of Christians and on Wednesday, March 31 at 7:30 at Monument Hall at St. Bernard Parish. Because we are working jointly on this effort, either meeting will address the questions and concerns of members of both parishes. “Generations of Faith” is a parish based approach for all ages, so we hope that all parishioners will consider attending one of the meetings.
Sincerely,
Fr. Fleming
P.S. Someone sent me an insert from another parish’s bulletin, with a brief note. I’m unable to read the initials with which the note is signed. If the person contacts me, I’d be pleased to respond.
March 5, 2004
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Ten years ago this week, I asked Alice Connors, then our
parish secretary, to save a little room in the Sunday bulletin for me to write
an introductory note from the new pastor. When I sat down to write that “note”
it turned out to be a letter and so Alice printed it as an insert. Even that
longer message did not offer me the space to write all I wanted to say and
so I wrote again the following week, and the week after that, and... thus
was born my weekly letter in the bulletin. I hadn’t planned on writing such
a letter but I soon realized that it offered me a forum in which to address
a variety of topics in ways and at times the scriptures and my homilies could
not support.
It was ten years ago on Monday, March 1, that I arrived in
Concord and that means I’ve written to you over 450 times! I’ve sometimes
been critiqued for writing letters that are too long and at other times chastised
for failing to write. Generally, however, I believe my letters have established
a line of communication that has been helpful for me and for you. Especially
in the last several years, I’ve been grateful to have this forum in which
to look at issues that have touched our lives and our faith so deeply. I hope
that my efforts in this space have helped me through these difficult times
and I hope and trust that they have helped you, too. I know that many of my
readers are among our “virtual parishioners” from around the country who visit
us weekly on our parish web page (olhc.org). And I’m pleased to know that
many of you copy and send my letters to family and friends, for a variety
of reasons.
A decade is at least a milestone if not a long time but,
truth be told, these past 10 years have not seemed a long time at all to me.
Of course, I can feel the difference 10 years make! I arrived at the age of
47 and now, well... you do the math! I know that you who are 67 or 77 or older
will tell me not to complain - and I’m not! I do realize, however, that what
I did fairly easily 10 years ago draws more from me now than it did then.
But I am blessed to live and work in a parish with such a wonderful community
of people and a staff whose dedication and generous spirit are the stuff of
every pastor’s dreams.
Your pastor’s biggest dream, on his tenth anniversary here,
is to add another person to our staff: a full time pastoral associate who
would develop and coordinate parish programs and participate ministerially
in the lives of our parishioners. I just had lunch with my brother, John,
the pastor of a parish in New Hampshire, a parish a little larger than ours
but whose median household income would be lower than ours. John has two full
time pastoral associates on his staff and he was telling me about their work.
For example, one of his associates coordinates an outreach program to bereaved
families (at the time of death and later in the grieving process) that could
serve as a model for other parishes - and that is only part of her work. My
brother’s parish Lenten program is also coordinated by one of his associates.
The list goes on. Ours is a wonderful parish but there are need here that
simply cannot be met by the work of one man. While our religious education
program is already entrusted to three generous and capable women on our staff,
my desk overflows with requests and needs and possibilities that often go
untended or unanswered because I simply cannot reach out to everyone and everything.
Unfortunately, our parish budget cannot at this time support the salary of
another full time staff person. I will be writing more about that to you soon.
Forgive me: I have digressed from my anniversary reverie!
These past ten years have been, in so many ways, the best
of my life. I have enjoyed very fine assignments through my 31 years of ministry
but OLHC is certainly the best of all. It is a joy to serve as your pastor
and I thank you for all you have done to welcome me into your parish, your
families and your hearts.
Sincerely,
Fr. Fleming
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