Sunday, February 9th, 2025
Dear Friends,
Since arriving at St. Maria Goretti in July of 2022, I have invited the Finance Council, Renewal Journey Coordinating Team, Buildings Committee, and Staff to begin our meetings by praying the lectio divina for the upcoming Sunday that is printed in the bulletin. Now that I am also pastor of St. Joseph, I have extended the same invitation to its Pastoral Council and Finance Council to do the same. I think it is important and fruitful for the discussions and work of these groups that we ground our time together on praying with the Word of God. My hope is that dedicating 15 to 20 minutes of our meetings to lectio will enable us to be receptive and responsive to God’s vision and promptings.
At the St. Joseph Pastoral Council meeting this past Monday, we prayed over the Gospel that we hear proclaimed this Sunday. By the start of the meeting, I had already begun my weekly prayer and study of the Sunday Gospel, in preparation for writing this article and my homily. I led the lectio prayer and read the Gospel passage three times. When I invited the participants to share what they heard, one of the council members made mention of the part of the passage where St. Luke tells us that, because of the large number of fish they were catching, Simon and those in his boat “signaled to their partners in the other boat to come to help them.”
To be honest with you, up until that moment, I had not noticed or given any attention to that part of the passage. I had simply glanced over it without thinking much about it. But as soon as I heard someone else point it out, it struck me how much that simple line can tell us at this moment in the history and relationship of St. Joseph and St. Maria Goretti. Such is the power of praying together with Scripture!
Over the past two-and-a-half years, I have been a witness to the great catch of people that God has invited the people of St. Maria Goretti to make. For example, I have seen it in the care that the Baptism preparation ministers extend to families celebrating the birth of their children into the life of Christ, I have seen it in the catechists collaborating with parents in forming young people as disciples, I have seen it in the bereavement ministers who accompany families mourning the passing of loved ones.
In the short time I have been at St. Joseph, I have already witnessed the Lord producing a great catch of people. I have seen it in the women’s ministry gathering, where those present seek to grow in their faith together. I have seen it in the men’s ministry, where so many men from the parish support each other on their walk of discipleship. And I am sure I will discover many more ways God is producing an abundant catch.
I share all of this with you because I believe that we find ourselves in a situation very much like that of Simon and his partners nearly 2,000 years ago. The Lord has been asking members of both parishes to put out into the deep, and he has helped us to make a great catch. But the catch that the Lord is producing is so abundant, that we probably need each other to bring it to shore. As unexpected as the new reality of having me serve as pastor of both St. Maria Goretti and St. Joseph is, I am coming to recognize that it is no accident. I believe that God wants us all to be partners with each other, the way Simon relied on his partners in the other boat, in making and gathering a great catch of people in our own day. At this point, I don’t know what that means concretely for the two parishes. But I am sure the Lord will reveal his dream for us all at the appropriate moment and in surprising ways.
In the meantime, I take great consolation and encouragement from the fact that the Lord continues, at both parishes, to enlighten us with his Word and nourish us with his Eucharist. As we gather on Sunday to listen to the Lord and to deepen our communion with him and each other, the Lord continues to invite us to put out into deep waters and to risk having to call on others in the nearby boat to join us in bringing in a catch that will amaze us all.
Peace,
Father Leo