Pastor’s Corner
Parish Column 3/16/25
Dear Parishioners:
How is your spiritual perception? 20/20? Or maybe it varies from day to day. What I refer to is the graced ability for us to “see into,” to “peer into” any moment of our lives with the eyes of faith and understand God’s presence. At times, this is natural and forthcoming. We welcome a newborn child into our family or we behold a majestic sunset, and we almost immediately find words of praise to God on our lips. At other times, it might not be too evident. We go through a very mundane day or a prolonged spell of melancholy and we wonder if God is anywhere nearby. We can also pass through tragedy, loss, and severe suffering, both physical and emotional. That’s where our spiritual perception comes in: do we have eyes of faith to glimpse deeper into that moment and find God’s presence? The experience of the Transfiguration in the Gospel today is meant to sharpen this perception. The disciples are journeying with Jesus up to Jerusalem, to the moment of the Cross, yet they aren’t quite sure of it all. They have questions, doubts, grumblings. They even become disengaged and inattentive. And Jesus opens the experience of the Transfiguration, in which he is revealed fully in the glory of his Father, so that these disciples might truly see. So that as they walk forward, they can be assured that every moment—even unto the horrific moment of the Cross— is a moment to behold the glory of God in his Son, Jesus Christ. This kind of spiritual perception, seeing into things with faith in Jesus’ glory, will transfigure our own hearts, minds, and lives.
God’s peace,
Fr. John
Parish Column 3/2/25:
Dear Parishioners,
There’s a rather direct saying that goes: “garbage in, garbage out.” I believe that its original usage developed in the world of computing, as it became very evident that when data machines were fed “bad data,” their programs would be tainted and generate “bad results.” Hence, garbage that goes in, spits out garbage as a product. It also can relate more broadly to our living, to our lives as Christians. It’s what Jesus speaks about in the Gospel today: a good tree is seen to bear good fruit. A well-nourished, cared-for tree will naturally give forth a healthy, fresh produce. Conversely, when a tree is malnourished, when a tree is in a poor environment, when a tree is infected with harmful substances, it will fail to bring forth good fruit. We can easily see what Jesus means to say for our lives. What we take in, what we ingest into our hearts, is a good indicator of what actions we will do and how we will do them. We are continually, at every moment, taking in so much in the way of opinions, information, perceptions, choices, and content. Can we take a deeper moment to pause and consider what is going “in” to us? Is it “garbage in,” or is it the Word of God, unfiltered and received from Jesus himself as the Word of life for us, meant to transform us and bring forth a harvest of goodness worthy of Christ? That way, it becomes “grace in, grace out.”
As Lent is right around the corner, I do encourage you to consider taking part in our Lenten group series this year occurring on Wednesdays. To sign up, please contact our parish office. Also, please note the schedule for Masses on Ash Wednesday (Wed, March 5).
God’s peace,
Fr. John
Parish Column 2/22/25
Dear Parishioners,
Have you ever had that sneaking suspicion, deep in your heart, that you have more to give? Sometimes it’s a nagging feeling, or it can be a whispering, little voice that wants to urge us into new territory of giving, loving, serving, and living the fullness of our Christian faith. That can be an interesting moment because it puts us at a significant crossroads: do we follow that intuition to go further, or do we return to our very normal, habituated ways? Even a small step in that deeper direction can really begin to transform us. The words of Jesus in the Gospel today probably are behind those sneaking suspicions that we experience in our hearts because he is laying out the full picture of Christian love. Love surely involves caring for our family, being forgiving to our friends, and generally contributing to our community. These are all tremendously important ways of demonstrating love. And at the same time, these words of Jesus about “loving enemies,” “blessing our persecutors,” and ceasing judgements, are meant to urge our love go deeper. It’s the love that Jesus shows on the Cross, poured out for all across the face of the world and all time. We all know the moments when our capacity to love like Jesus is challenged to grow. We live in times when it is incredibly easy—dare I say, it is the default tone and content—to unfairly judge others from a distance, demonize the “other” who has a different background or ethnicity, and consider the gift of our love only for those within our own orbit. Do you sense God’s Spirit urging you to a deeper love, to the love that Christ has for you—and for all people? That’s the kind of love lived now that guides us into the eternal kingdom.
God’s peace,
Fr. John
Parish Column 2/15/25
Dear Parishioners:
Jesus presents the Beatitudes in the Gospel today, coming from Luke’s version of these declarations that Jesus makes about blessedness and happiness. In case we’ve blunt their impact, they really are a reversal of our usual expectations. Jesus declares that the disciple who is poor, hungry, and rejected will in fact find true satisfaction. Contrary even to common sense, Jesus proclaims to his followers that they are blessed as they encounter loss, failure, and external adversity. I think what shocks us is that we ordinary think that “more is better.” We tend to believe very strongly that our lives are like material containers that constantly need to be filled up with “stuff.” Yet the key that Jesus conveys is that our full humanity before God is something entirely different. We are not like car engines that constantly need to be on “full.” We are sons and daughters, children of God, who find true blessedness by not cramming our lives with “stuff” but remaining open to the powerful effect of God’s grace in our lives who fills us with that which truly matters.
I also want to formally announce that we will draw a close to the “Transition Column.” I am particularly grateful to all who contributed their reflections over these past few weeks. As we journey forward as a renewed community, may we hold in mind our continued call to hospitality, faith, and service to God and one another.
Finally, as an important reminder to all who serve in any volunteer role in our community (i.e. lector, Eucharistic minister, sacristan, catechist, church cleaner, prayer group leader, etc.), we are ensuring that all volunteers are up to date in required safe environment training. This includes a series of steps to make sure that all our volunteers are equip to foster a safe, accountable, and virtuous environment in our community. If you are a volunteer and have not completed this process, or need to update your training, contact the parish office as soon as possible to do so. We will be reviewing all volunteer positions to ensure everyone is brought up to speed in this important matter.
God’s peace,
Fr. John
New Parish Column 12/22/24
One of the uplifting trends, which we’ve seen in the first couple weeks as a joined community, is the increase in the size of our worship community. While cumulative attendance at Masses is not the only important indicator of parish vitality, it has shown that our worship together can take on new fruitfulness. As we join together with our fellow Catholics, there’s an encouragement, joy, and spiritual strength that comes from being united in the same place, lifting our hearts and voices up to God, and reclaiming ourselves as Christians who are assembled to serve God and neighbor, together. I’m grateful for the patience, openness, and hospitality that has been shown in these first weeks together. I’m also mindful that the Lord continues to do this work in our midst, to call us farther along the path of sharing our common faith and drawing others into his Church. One of the things that I always note when I’m celebrating Mass and look out at the pews is: who isn’t yet with us? In those spaces where people are not sitting, who does God want in those pews, right next to us? Who is God calling us to reach out to share our faith, to pray for, to help along the journey of a relationship with the living God? Maybe it’s people who have been with us yet are now elsewhere. Perhaps it’s the person in our life struggling with faith. So perhaps some food for thought, as we approach Christmas: who else is God calling to be with us, to worship and serve with us? Our joining together as this renewed community is not the end point—it’s the launch point.
New Parish Column 11/27/24
On this weekend that we mark the first Masses of the people of St. Clare and OLMC together, I want to offer heartfelt words of gratitude. As many of you recall, last weekend marked farewell events at St. Clare campus, and I am extremely grateful for all those who were present, helped in the planning, and served in many ways to make it a positive, meaningful, and truly blessed moment. Although there is sadness in parting, we know that God continues to guide, strengthen, and bless us as his family, his people. I am also very thankful for those who, this first weekend at OLMC, have helped to serve, minister, and prepare a time in which we can come together and get to know one another. This is a new time and a time in which we find the call to grow and strengthen community. If you see someone you don’t know (or you do recognize), take the moment at Mass to say hello. Let’s see the power of coming together around our worship and service to the Lord Jesus—it will renew us and strengthen our faith.
Also, we will be introducing the transition prayer at our Masses. This prayer, which I shared with you a few weeks back, will prayed as a spiritual practice to keep our hearts and minds centered on what matters most in this time of transition: God’s desire, plan, and grace for us.
Transition Column: 11/17/24
As the time for this transition grows closer, I hear from some parishioners about the choice that lies before them. For some, particularly those from St. Clare, there can be a hesitation and indecision about “where we are going.” This time of transition ahead means doing things di@erently, adjusting to change, and forming new community bonds. I can surely understand how many of you may feel concerned, undecided, or simply curious about where things will be heading. And to tell you the truth, neither do I. I do not have all the answers or a complete roadmap. What we do have is the power of our common faith in Christ, the presence of the Holy Spirit, and our shared mission to proclaim the goodness of God to the world. As I listen to parishioners, I also hear something that I am positive is God’s grace. It’s the faith, generosity, humility, and openness from both communities that says: God is with us and will see us through. I hear the good will and love of parishioners who want to work together, who are excited about what can be ahead, and who trust in God. I see people who are committed to unity, fellowship, and a welcoming spirit. I pray and invite each of you to take this step with me and this new parish community.
Finally, I ask for your continued and earnest prayers as St. Clare’s prepares for the weekend of Nov. 23-24 on which farewell Masses and events will be o@ered. All are invited to those Masses (Nov. 23 at 6PM in Spanish & Nov. 24 at 11AM). Due to capacity constraints, the receptions to follow are being managed through a ticketing process. May God sustain us, and St. Clare pray for us!
Transition Column 10/13/24
As we continue to look out toward the official launch of our new life as gathered parish community, I want to remind everyone that it will take place on the weekend of November 30- December 1. This will mark the first time that we come together in worship, faith and community. Once we have finally determined a revised Mass schedule (for which we have distributed a feedback form this weekend at Masses), we will be able to publish more of the coming details. Although I recognize the bumps and challenges, we’ll have along the way, I think it's important to note what truly is meant to bring us together. We may have come from worshiping in churches and spaces that look different, but we receive the one Lord. We may have been baptized in different looking founts, but we all share the same baptism and calling. We may have varying ideas of service, yet we all serve the one Lord. That is to say, in this movement together, can we see our faith building us into a renewed community? Relatedly, on a practical level, our transition team has been discussing the ways in which we will be able to express, foster, and build community among ourselves. We are quite hopeful and confident that into the year to come, we will be able to offer gatherings, activities, and a spirit of loving community that builds us up.
Finally, if by chance you missed the opportunity in Mass this weekend to submit feedback on the revised Mass schedule, please feel free to email us at parishoffice@saintclare.org. If you need assistance with recalling the two options that were presented for consideration, please give our office a call or email us.
Transition Column 10/6/24
One of the questions that we might each ask ourselves—or I hope we will ask!— is how can I be of help in this transition? Whether I’m currently at OLMC or St. Clare, what can I do to be of positive help, to contribute, to be a “builder” and not a detractor. Well, plenty of things come to mind, and perhaps one of the most important is this: growing in our communal practice of hospitality. Let me illustrate with a personal story. When I travel, it’s one of my secret joys to go to churches for Mass to “see what it’s like.” Often as a priest it’s hard for me to get an “outside” sense of what my own parish communities are like, so such an experience can be eye-opening. On one such church visit, I walked in around the time of confessions on a Saturday afternoon. I didn’t see anyone at that time, nor did I expect to at that hour. Several minutes after sitting and praying for a while, a gentleman came down the aisle. He looked to be “on a mission,” and as he came closer, I reasonably thought he would exchange words of greeting. And yet, to my surprise, he rather sharply asked me “do you know where Father is?” Caught entirely off guard, I mumbled something, but I of course didn’t know where the priest was at that moment—I was a visitor and had no clue about the priest’s schedule! The gentleman shrugged his shoulders and lumbered on off to conduct his business (I assume he was a minister or staff). It was all rather off-putting. I recall that moment as a poorly missed opportunity for welcome, hospitality, true encounter among us as Christian-Catholics who come together for the same purpose, same mission, the same Lord Jesus. What can we do? No matter who we are, we are the people who gather together in the name of Jesus. In our interactions, in our conversations, in our ministries and service, can we see ourselves as active agents of hospitality? What will someone new say after visiting us on a Sunday?
Transition Column 9/29/24
This week, I’d like to provide a few general updates on the transition work. We are underway with preparations for farewell events at St. Clare, to take place according to below schedule:
Saturday, November 23: 6PM Mass (in SPANISH), with reception to follow in Hall sponsored by Hispanic Community. **NOTE: there will be no regular 4p Mass at St. Clare this Saturday, 11/23.
Sunday, November 24: 11AM Mass (in English), with reception to follow. For St. Clare parishioners interested in attending reception, we are in the process of setting up a system to manage space capacity.
Please do note, no other Masses will be held that weekend (Nov. 23-24) at St. Clare as we concentrate our community efforts on being together as we remember, support one another, and journey forward.
In addition, our transition team is diving into designing and planning our inaugural weekend together, Nov. 30 – Dec. 1. We hope soon to finalize a revised Mass schedule as well as communicate the special ways that we will mark those weekend celebrations. Our earnest hope is that this inaugural weekend, celebrated on the First Sunday of Advent, will draw us together as Catholics awaiting and already discovering here and now the glorious presence and power of Christ in our midst.
In the coming weekends, we are inviting and welcoming members of the transition team to be present at Masses of their counterpart parish. That is, members from OLMC will be visiting St. Clare, and vice-versa. I hope this will be an informal, “low-entry” way for these two communities to know one another better, foster mutual respect and goodwill, and start to build lasting connections of faith and love. I encourage you to say hello to these folks in the coming weeks.
Transition Column 9/22/24
Amid the significant changes that this transition process is bringing into play, it’s quite easy to default into perceiving all such change as negative or undesirable. There’s a human tendency for us all to stay as it is, to protect what we have, and remain rather comfortable. And yet change, hard as it is on the practical level, also can hold great possibility. Pope Francis has often said that God is masterful at bringing growth out of situations of crisis and change. It’s what he has continued to do with his people and his church over the centuries. When times of transition and newness arrive, God is seeking to do something, to work something, in our midst. And the question for us all in this time is to ask and pray about what that is. What is God seeking to do in the midst of our communities as we join together? What does God want to see as the fruits of this work of rebuilding, renewal, and unity? I hope each of you can ponder and reflect on this question in a most serious and consequential way. Let me say this: I see this process as a prime opportunity for us as Catholics in this area to grow stronger in our commitment to share and spread our faith. While we can become focused inward, God continues to call us outward, to witness to his love, to serve the poor and needy, to draw others into the light of God’s love for them. If we can positively pursue this conversion of our own hearts and in our practice of the faith, I believe we will see God’s grace in new and wonderful ways.
Transition Column 9/15/24
This weekend, I’d like to pass along at few informational updates in this time of transition. We’re ready to announce the farewell events at the St. Clare campus. I do thank everyone for their patience over these past weeks. These moments will take place on the weekend of November 23-24, 2024 according to the following schedule:
Saturday, November 23: 6PM Mass (in SPANISH)
Sunday, November 24: 11AM Mass (in English)
No other Masses will take place at St. Clare that weekend. Following each Mass of farewell, there will be a reception to take place. Due to capacity limitations, we will have a ticketing system so that we can plan and prepare accordingly. Soon we’ll publicize steps to request those tickets. I also do respectfully ask that given the nature of this farewell moment, those parishioners associated with St. Clare would be afforded the first priority for attending the reception. There will be open seating at both the Masses.
Also, I want to formally present the members of the working transition team. We have met several times to discuss a variety of topics in this time, and I am deeply grateful for their commitment, service, and desire to make this transition faith-filled, hopeful, and an experience of community.
Rita Kurek (OLMC)
Kathy Wandishin (St. Clare)
Carmelina Mosier (OLMC—se habla español)
Ivan Rios (St. Clare—se habla español)
Dave Czawlytko (OLMC)
Tom Grzymski (St. Clare)
Gil Lookingland Jr. (OLMC)
Paul Blitz (St. Clare)
Nkem Okagbue (OLMC)
Barb Smith (St. Clare)
Beverly Perkey (OLMC)
Vicki DeRuggiero (St. Clare)
Transition Column 9/8/24
As we move toward this transition, one of the topics on the minds of many is about space. That is, in this new arrangement, what will things look like in the church, where will parking be, what is the process for accessibility, and how will everyone be accommodated? Admittedly, it is a challenge ahead to take the existing campus and facilities of OLMC and creatively adapt them such that we together make an atmosphere that is mutually welcoming, accessible, safe, and functional. Over the last few months, I have sought to give planning and resources to these matters. It is important to ensure that the spaces we will be utilizing as a new parish community will bring out the best in us and serve as vehicles (not impediments) to worship, unity, and hospitality. We have recently added several new handicap parking spaces in close proximity to the handicap entrance to OLMC Church, which is found at the base of the bell tower. Once inside that entrance, there is a stairlift platform that transports a person standing, sitting, or in a wheelchair. This is meant to decrease the effort needed to find a handicap space, enter the church, and reach the upper level for Mass. We also are in the midst of cleaning the front exterior of OLMC Church by removing aging trees, renewing and painting major surfaces, and increasing visibility. Our ongoing planning has also sought to ensure that we will be utilizing the available public spaces (i.e. gathering spaces, meeting rooms, etc.) most effectively.
Of particular note is the space of the church, the most important location where we are called to worship God together as a community of faith. Whether you’ve been at OLMC for years or you’re coming from St. Clare and don’t know what to expect, my hope is that the church will become a living reflection of both parish communities. This means that we can all anticipate adjustments to the existing worship space at OLMC so that it visibly reflects and balances the spiritual heritage of each parish. While I do not yet have any firm deadline for this project, I am in contact with a consultant to determine a plan forward. I also will be in communication as things move ahead.
I also ask for your patience in these matters. Believe me, there is a lot that can be done to enhance this transition onto one campus. As it is, it all takes time, resources, and effort. I remain committed to dedicating planning and resources to these areas so that over time we can experience a smooth transition.
Transition Column 9/1/24
New Parish Transition: “What’s new?”
Welcome to this section of the bulletin that will help to communicate information, updates, and expectations as we approach the joining together of the parishes of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St. Clare later this year. As most of us know, this decision of merging was announced earlier this summer, and now we are beginning the significant work of preparing, planning, and undertaking the necessary steps. Let me first once more acknowledge—and ask that all of us be aware— that this transition is hard. It means loss, change, pain, and newness for everyone, whether you’re from St. Clare or Our Lady of Mount Carmel. There are no “winners and losers” here. Our first task as Christians is to be understanding, have compassion, and truly walk with one another as people of faith.
What is happening now and what can we expect? Recently, I have called together a transition team, a 12-member group of parishioners who equally represent both OLMC and St. Clare. Their job will be to assist me with the planning, discernment, and implementation of this merger. I am grateful for their generous service and will also soon communicate how to be in touch with this team with any questions or comments. One of our first discussions is about the final Mass and farewell celebration at St. Clare campus. Those deliberations are underway with a final date and details forthcoming. Along with the transition team, I recognize the need to ensure that everyone, particularly those yet unacquainted with the OLMC campus, knows how to navigate: where is parking, how does handicap accessibility work, where can I get more information. Finally, we can expect, as we anticipate the full joining together of the communities on the first Sunday of Advent, Dec. 1, a revised Mass schedule. I will be looking for ways to collect input in this area as we seek to address the needs of this newly established community.
Please continue to look here every week for more…and in the meantime, and I say this in all seriousness: please, pray for one another. Pray that God, who gives us all we need, will help us along this new path, giving us his grace, his unity, his Spirit to make us more faithful, fruitful followers of Christ.
-Fr. John