The Priesthood: We need your help!

Dear Parishioners,

Here is the final segment of the information which I have been sharing with you over the past few weeks.

Pope Benedict XVI
(Meetings with Italian Priests July 2007)

Q: How can priests handle growing responsibilities and multiple parishes?
A: "[Bishops] must see clearly how to ensure that the parish priest continues to be a pastor and does not become a holy bureaucrat.”

“Furthermore, I think it very important to find the right ways to delegate…; [the priest] should be the one who holds the essential reins himself but can rely on collaborators. This is one of the important and positive results of the council: the co-responsibility of the entire parish, for the priest is no longer the only one to animate everything.”

Wrap Up

• We have a challenging vision of parish
• There are significant changes in parish life
• Key question: How best do we organize parish life to maximize
  the gifts and talents of pastors and the community?

- Fr. Carl

The Priesthood: We fight fires, too!

Dear Parishioners,

For the past two weeks, I have shared some interesting ideas and data which I received at a convocation with Archbishop O’Brien. Today, I’ll share a little more of that information with you.

Workload
In a study of various Christian denominations in the U.S., it was found that Catholic priests work the longest hours per week – an average of 56 hours per week. Percent of time per week administering parish/congregation’s work and attending meetings:

• Protestant Pastors    14%
• Catholic Priests        31%

Satisfaction Levels

• 30% of parish priests say they are too busy to adequately
  meet the pastoral needs of the people they serve. 
• 88% of all non-retired priests agreed that they were satisfied with their lives. 
• 87% in a 2007 survey said they were “very happy” with their jobs –
  well ahead of the second place, firefighters, who came in at 80%. 
• 86% of U.S. Catholics agreed, in a 2007 survey, that their pastors
  were doing a good job. 

Catholic Optimism
73% of Catholics were optimistic about the future of the Church despite some recent difficult issues.

(To be continued...)
- Fr. Carl

The Priesthood: Growing diversity

Dear Parishioners,

Last weekend I began to share some interesting ideas and data which I received at a recent convocation with Archbishop O’Brien. Today, I’d like to share a little bit more of that information with you.

Growing Diversity
One third of all Catholics in the U.S. are Latinos. Over half of Hispanic Catholics identify themselves as charismatic. 68% of all Latinos are Catholic. Hispanic population will nearly triple by 2050 expanding to 497 million from 132.8 million. (Census Bureau Statistics) In 2010, 25% of all 5-year olds in the U.S. are Hispanic – up from 19% in 2000.

Catholic Stewardship
Percent of income donated to Church:
Protestants: 2 - 2.4%
Catholics: 1 - 1.2%
Average hours volunteered to Church:
Protestants: 3.0%
Catholics: 1.6%

Declining Youth Attendance at Mass
Age:
62+          52%
44-61       38%
18-43       21%

(To be continued...)
- Fr. Carl

The Priesthood: Doing more with less

Dear Parishioners,

Last week Archbishop O’Brien met with the priests of Baltimore to discuss ministry in the Archdiocese in view of the declining number of priests, and how to do more with less. Some very interesting ideas and data surfaced in those two days which I will share with you today and over the next several weeks.

Between 2004 and 2020 there will be a 21% drop in the number of priests for parish ministry. 54% of those ordained 5–9 years are pastors and believe their preparation for administration is very low. 17% of all priests in the U.S. who began ministry since 1985 are foreign-born, and the number is rising (survey 2006). In 2007, 33% of new Ordinands were foreign born.

            Parishes     Catholics
1985     19,244     53 million
2010     17,958     65.6 million

(To be continued….)
- Fr. Carl

Plan for the Future... today!

Dear Parishioners,

In today’s gospel (Luke 16:1-13), Jesus tells the parable of the manager or steward who dissipated or wasted his master’s property. He was not guilty of theft or embezzlement, he simply did not take care of it. Perhaps he was careless or lazy or didn’t pay close attention to the details of over-seeing his master’s property. Fortunately, he learned of his master’s return in advance and used his initiative to ingratiate himself to some people who needed help. Certainly they would not forget him in the future. He was clever in setting himself up for his future in this world.

Jesus encourages us to set ourselves up for the world to come by sharing with the needy – giving them some of our time, talent, and treasure. The time to start is now because when we honestly look at our lives, we are that careless manager. We have not always used our Lord’s gifts of time, talent and treasure as he would have liked. Let us pray for the grace to become better stewards of the gifts God has bestowed upon us.

- Fr. Carl

Is it okay for Catholics to receive communion in a Protestant church?

Last week a parishioner told me he was going to a wedding in a Protestant church where holy communion would be offered. He asked if it would be okay for him to receive. I told him there are a number of things we believe about the Eucharist that are different from our Protestant brothers and sisters. Among them is the belief that the Eucharist is a sign of unity. When we receive Holy Communion, it is a sign of our common Catholic faith – seven sacraments, heaven, hell, and purgatory, the primacy of the pope, the real presence of Jesus (body, blood, soul, and divinity) in the Eucharist, apostolic succession of bishops, and the necessity of valid orders to confect the Eucharist. We are in communion with the Church and one another. However, since we are not in communion in faith with our Protestant brothers and sisters, it would be a false sign for us to receive communion in one of their churches and for a Protestant to receive communion in a Catholic church. Furthermore, the Catholic Church does not believe that Jesus is present in the host at a Protestant service. To respond Amen (I believe) when offered a host at a Protestant service, is not what the Catholic Church believes, and we would be disloyal to do so.

All of this is not to put down our Protestant brothers and sisters, there are many good people among them and there is much good in their churches. They just don’t have the fullness of what Christ wants in his church. That only subsists in the Catholic Church.

Let us pray for our Church and for the day when all Christians will be united in faith.

- Fr. Carl

A Heartfelt Thank You…

Dear Parishioners,

It has been a gift from God to be part of St. Jane Frances Parish these past 2-1/2 years. The support shown to me, and the sincere faith of the parishioners, has been inspiring. I’m also grateful for all of the wisdom and camaraderie of Fr. Carl and the parish staff, and also the efforts of the parish secretaries to help keep me organized.

Please keep me in your prayers as I embark on my new adventure in ministry at Sacred Heart and St. Charles parishes. I will remember you frequently in my prayers and as I celebrate the Eucharist.

In The Lord,
Fr. John Jicha