Memorial of St. John Vianney

     Today, we celebrate the memorial of St. John Vianney, patron saint of priests.  He is an inspiration to all priests, not because he barely got through seminary, but he dedicated himself to Christ and allowed Christ to use him for the sake of the salvation of those he was called to serve.
     Today, we have the opportunity to remember those priests in our lives that have dedicated themselves to the priesthood.  Those priests that we got along with and those that we do not.  Those that have hurt us and those that have healed us.  Those that we will never forget for the genuine example of service and humility and those that are still diamonds in the ruff.  Of course, every priest is human and we will not like every priest we come in contact with and we might not even agree with his theology or liturgical practices.  However, he is a priest that hopefully knows himself well enough to know his failings and humble enough to apologize when he messes up.
     If I have learned anything in the last three years is to be honest with those entrusted to me.  Have I annoyed some, yes.  Have I angered some others, oh yes.  Have I been true to Christ, by the grace of God.  I have found when I have messed up, I try to email or call the person and apologize and clear the air.  Does it take away the facts of the situation, no.  However, it allows the other person to know that I am aware of my humanity and my mistakes and I am trying to work on it, one day at a time.
     The flip side of the coin is that parishioners want to give words of thanks when things go well, and say thank you when I go to anoint their loved ones or preside at their funerals.  This is where I find fulfillment, in the receiving and dispensing of the sacraments.  Christ uses me as an instrument of his grace.  A fact that St. John Vianney was focused on and espoused.  God transforms lives and I am invited to be his instrument.  Nothing better in the world!
    Thus, please...please...please....pray for your priests, whether you like them, agree with them, or adore them.......We are human beings and we will make mistakes, however by the grace of God, we continue to serve as his instruments.

Change: An invitation out of Mediocrity

As you read in the last blog post, I am assigned to St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church, in Sun City, AZ.  While most of my parishioners qualify to be my grandparents, great grandparents and even great great grandparents (for a few), there has been one entertaining theme through my last year which is they do not like change of any sort.  I do think there are several reasons for this that are to be considered and respected. 

First, they have the experience of many years of trial and error.  Second, they are used to certain routines and the possibility of confusion is possible if the routine is changed causing anxiety for them.  Third, they see no issue with what they are doing so why do we need to change things. 

While routine is good for the balance of our lives, routine can lead us into a state of mediocrity where we no longer examine what we do, why we do it, or even if we should continue doing it.  This state of mediocrity can slip into our spiritual lives and we start to plateau in our relationship with God but also with our relationship with Church.  This struggle of balance and routine needs to be monitored and we need to continuously evaluate if we are growing in love of God and others or not.  If we are not growing, then we need to shake things up and adjust the routine.

This evening, we are beginning a five week series on the mass and it's biblical foundations.  As part of the series, we will be introducing the new mass parts and I will be talking about the history of the change and the process that the Church has gone through to come to this momentous occasion.  I will also be exposing the parish to the new translations of the Eucharistic prayer and a few other fun things so they can hear what is actually coming and integrate the catechesis into our prayer life and begin the process of adjusting. 

For the new translation to take root in our spiritual life, we have to do several things on our part.  First, we have to be open to deepening our relationship and trust in Christ.  The Church belongs to Christ.  It is not mine, I simply am an instrument of God.  Second, we must be open to stretching our routine and cadence and not just throw out the translation as rubbish because we do not know a word, or dislike the gender of a few words.  Third, we must grieve the past.  This might not be obvious, but we have used the current translation for close to 40 some years.  This translation was used to bury my mother, celebrate my first mass, and my ordinations to the diaconate and priesthood.  Yes, it is what I know and have grown up with, however, the Church is not static and we are called to retire a translation that can be linked to very emotional and life changing events in our life.  Thus, emotions might run high as we move into this new chapter in our liturgical history.  The past will not change.  Those memories are safe, however, we do not know the future and we can only live in the present.  Thus, instead of cutting ourselves off from the grace of Christ and his workings in the Church, we move slowly methodically and openly work through his grace to grow to know and love what He has given us.  Thus, the reason for our series on the mass.  

If you ask me, I will tell you that I am excited for the change in the language.  It will be a transition. However, I think my own faith will grow as I allow Christ to speak to me through the new texts and will help our understanding and faith in Christ ultimately expand as individuals and as a Church, if we are open and not stuck in mediocrity. 

Time to restart the blog!

Oops.... I did it again.....Of course, things are busy. Things will always be busy. I remembered that I had a blog so I thought I would start using it again.... Currently I am in my third assignment at St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church in Sun City, AZ. I have been here since April of 2010 and is my longest assignment yet. I work with a great pastor and all is going well. Things have really been interesting and I will be blogging more on what is happening in my ministry and life. So for the first big update, I placed the following note to the parishoners last week to update them and stop some rather entertaining and untrue rumors that were floating around my parish.

A note from Fr. Arthur

Greetings from the clean desk of the Parochial Vicar!!! Over the last several months, many parishioners have commented to me that I did not look well or that I was pale at times. The truth is they were right. I have had issues for several years and in May I was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease. This disease is a lifelong autoimmune disorder that attacks the digestive system. I have been receiving treatment and will continue to, so that we can mitigate the symptoms and I can live a full active life. As I continue to adapt my life and diet to this new reality, I ask for your prayers and patience. I look forward to continuing to serve you here at St. Elizabeth Seton. May God bless you and know that I am praying for all!

In Christ,

Rev. Arthur Nave, Jr.

Parochial Vicar

St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church

So to say life has been easy, not so much, to say life is manageable, definately. To say life is amazing and a gift, DEFINATELY. Every day is a gift from God to serve and honor him. More to come in the next few days.

Fr. Arthur