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Twenty-Fifth Sunday of the Year
22 September 2007
Praised be Jesus Christ! Now and Forever!
Dear Friends in Christ,
We speak of our parish as a spiritual family, but who belongs to that family? In other words, who is a true parishioner of St. Mary’s Church? To be a parishioner of St. Mary’s, one must:
1. Be registered with our church office. Coming to Mass without being registered here does not make one a parishioner, and if you are not receiving contribution envelopes in the mail, you are not registered and are therefore not a parishioner.
2. Attend Mass every Sunday and Holy Day of Obligation, except when work, travel, or illness prevent it. Being registered without attending Mass does not make one a parishioner. A Catholic who does not faithfully keep the commandment to honor God and keep the Lord’s Day at Sunday Mass is a lapsed or non-practicing Catholic and not a true member of the parish family.
3. Contribute financially to the parish every week according to one’s means by using the envelope system or electronic funds transfer. Supporting the work of the Church with one’s financial resources is an essential and intrinsic part of Christian discipleship and stewardship. Our bishop requests that every Catholic give 5% of one’s income to the parish and 1% to the diocese.
4. Be involved in the life of the parish by participating in and contributing to some activity, group, ministry, or community outreach. Coming to Mass “to get something” without participating “to give something” betokens an incomplete understanding of the cost of discipleship.
Notice that nowhere in the above description is there a requirement to be Catholic or to be able to receive Holy Communion at Mass. Many of our most active and dedicated parishioners are non-Catholic Christians (usually married to a Catholic) or Catholics who are married outside the Church and so cannot receive Holy Communion. All persons who observe the norms listed above are true members of the spiritual family of the parish and are welcome at St. Mary’s. I invite every member of this parish family to help create a living sense that we are a community of brothers and sisters gathered by Christ to give our lives to our heavenly Father, not a random gathering of strangers who bump into each other every week. Get to know your fellow parishioners, and encourage those who may have fallen away to return to active participation in the life of their spiritual family.
Father Newman