Fr. Dave's Articles and Updates

As I was reading some of the feedback we received about the renovation of our sanctuary, one thing that became clear to me is the wide variety of reasons that people come to Mass. Some mentioned the music, others talked about the preaching or community, and some even commented on the donuts after Mass. How would you answer the question, “Why do you come to Mass each weekend?” Of all the things you could do on a Saturday night or Sunday morning, why choose Mass?

Above all, the most important reason for coming to Mass is to worship God. There may be other reasons, but they should never be more important than our worship of God. If you are in that category where the worship of God is not the most important, the challenge for you is to ask God to help you realign your reasons for coming to Mass. Unless that happens, there is always going to be that tendency to make the success of the Mass focused solely on your experience there. You find yourself wondering what you got out of it.

When we come to Mass, we are not the audience. We are not the ones sitting back and watching like we do for a performance or show or sporting event. We are not at Mass to be entertained. We are the performers and God is the audience. Worship must always be focused on God. How would God rate our performance each weekend?

The Mass is the most perfect form of prayer. It was given to us by Jesus Himself. At each Mass, we are called to experience mystery and reverence and awe. As we come before the altar during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, Jesus is made present to us. The Mass is where heaven and earth collide. It is mind-blowing to imagine that the creator of the universe is present to us at each Mass.

Over the next few weeks, I will be writing more about our worship at Mass. Specifically, I will be addressing things that can help us in our worship. Until then, what is one thing you can do to help your next Mass experience be focused on worship?

Many of you are probably wondering who will be replacing Fr. Matt. Unfortunately, the Archdiocese will not be assigning an associate pastor to our parish. If there was a priest available, we surely would have welcomed one. I am hoping that within the next year or two we will once again have an associate pastor.

This change will affect us in several ways. Beginning June 20th, we will no longer have confessions or Mass on Monday mornings. The confession and daily Mass schedule will remain the same for the rest of the week except for Saturday morning. Morning Mass with confessions following it will only be offered on the first Saturday of each month. The biggest challenge will be scheduling funerals. With two priests, we could usually accommodate a family's request along with the other Masses we offer at our school, the care centers and senior living facilities. Going forward, it will not be as easy.

For almost a year, Fr. Matt and I have been celebrating Mass on Sundays at Regina. We are working with Regina to see how they plan on moving forward without a priest available on Sunday. I will continue to offer the sacrament of anointing and viaticum (last rites) to the residents in senior living and patients in the hospital.

One area that we are still working on is what to do when I am not available for emergency situations. On my day off or when on vacation, I could always count on the associate to take care of that. When we have a procedure in place, we will let you know.

Many school parents have asked me if I am going to take Fr. Matt’s place at recess for kickball. After pondering that for a while, my answer remains - no, unless Pope Francis makes me. I am getting too old. I will see if Deacon Rod would like to take Fr. Matt’s place. I will continue to offer Mass each week at the school and be present in the classrooms and at lunch.

We are trying to turn this into a blessing for our parish. We are coming up with ways to invite parishioners to be more involved in the life of the parish. There are many things that can be done that do not need a priest present. I am also meeting with Deacon Rod to see where we can use his skills and pastoral presence.

This shortage of priests also reveals to us the need for more vocations. We are blessed to have our own parishioner, Deacon John Utecht, who will be ordained a priest in just a few weeks. We are in the process of starting a vocations committee for our parish and we know there are young men and women being called by God to a religious vocation.

Please pray for Fr. Matt and our parish during this transition. Change is difficult but we know that God is in the midst of it. We place our trust in God who will make us stronger and more faithful during this time.

You probably know that our Church believes that all life is sacred. As we continue to rediscover the sacred, I want to focus on the sacredness of young families in our worship at Mass. I recently read an insert that a parish placed in the pews of their parish. I think they state it wonderfully.

Dear Parents of Young Children,

Welcome! We are grateful that you and your family have joined us for Mass. It is our hope that your little ones will grow up to be vital members of our parish family. We are grateful that you begin this journey with us.

Please relax! We know that it’s not easy to get your whole family to Mass, and it can be even more difficult to keep all of your little ones still throughout, but your kids should know that this church is their home and we, the community, are all brothers and sisters. They should feel welcome and at home in this place of worship, in the house of God.

We invite you to sing, pray, teach, respond, and explain what is going on at Mass with your children. Our liturgy is full of life and our little ones learn how to worship through you and your participation. Children learn by example and your dedication to coming to Mass and attentiveness to it will be their best lesson.

Also, everyone knows that children sometimes cry, make noise, or escape from your watchful care. Don’t be overwhelmed, and don’t be afraid to ask for help! We are one family, and in christian charity we are called to help our brothers and sisters.

Here at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, we need to go out of our way to welcome and encourage young families. That effort can go a long way in helping our families feel that they are part of our parish family. So rather than giving a dirty look or making comments about a young family who struggled with their children at Mass, offer to help them or give them some supporting words after Mass. Young families at Mass are such a sign of hope. Let us make sure that each young family knows how much of a treasure they are to our parish family.

For the past two weekends, I have mentioned how we are trying to “rediscover the sacred.” For some, the word sacred often brings up images of monks in a monastery or Sisters living in a cloistered convent. Their pace of life is routine. There is a lot of silence. Some would even say it is somber and very serious and boring. Those who live in a monastery or convent would probably disagree with that assessment but that is our perception. Is that what we want here in our parish and in our life? Is that what sacred will look like?

Our celebration of Easter reveals an aspect of the sacred that is often forgotten. There is a lot of JOY in the sacred! Imagine when Mary Magdalen realized that Jesus was alive, or when Peter and John understood that Jesus was not dead; those were incredibly sacred moments. On the road to Emmaus, imagine the sacredness of the moment when the two disciples realized Jesus was in their midst.

Those sacred moments were filled with joy! There is nothing somber or serious about them. That is the sacred that I want all of us to experience. Every encounter with our living God is both sacred and filled with joy.

The challenge for us is to find the sacred in our daily lives. Where do you see the sacred in your daily life? Whether it is in your work or family or nature, the resurrection of Jesus allows us to see everything differently. You may have heard that we are called to be Easter people. No matter where we are, we can have hope and joy because we know there is something greater waiting for us. God is not only with us at Mass but also in every moment of daily life.
During this Easter Season, let us ask God to help us see the sacred. As we see and experience God, let us be like those who experienced the resurrection of Jesus. Probably a bit surprised, but more importantly, filled with joy that our God is alive and is always with us.

I have some good news! I am not going to talk about finances in this article. Instead, I want to talk about something that has been on my heart for a while. I think most of you know that something is not right here in the parish. Many of you notice the empty pews at mass that should be filled with our family and friends.

Much of what Catholic parishes have been doing over the past 40-50 years has not kept people here. One of the mistakes we have been making for decades is that we have been trying to evangelize through the Mass. Unfortunately, the Mass is not meant for evangelization. The Mass is for our worship of God. Yet, we have tried to make the Mass more accessible. In doing so, the Mass has lost its sense of awe and wonder. We only need to look at the low percentage of Catholics who believe in the real presence of the Eucharist to realize that these changes did not have the desired impact. In fact, many expect the Mass to be like the other secular activities in their lives. When people come to Mass and step into the church, there should be a drastic difference from everything else they do the rest of the week.

Because of that, we at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton are implementing our mission of forming disciples who make Jesus Christ known and loved. That will always be at the forefront of what we do as a parish and school. I read a bulletin article about a parish down south that said they were trying to “restore the sacred”. For our parish, I would suggest that we “rediscover the sacred”. For too long, we have lowered the bar on what the Mass should be. We no longer expect people to dress up for Mass. We don’t expect people to be silent when in the sanctuary. Even the architecture in churches has changed to where we see it as a space to gather rather than a sacred and holy place to encounter and worship our God.I want to address a number of these things over the next few weeks.

Next week, I want to discuss some significant renovations to our church that may help us rediscover the sacred. Some of you may be wondering if this is about going back to pre-Vatican II times. I don’t believe in looking back or living in the past. Yet, there are some aspects of our church history that stand the test of time. A beautiful church that inspires our worship is one thing that has been true for centuries. I look forward to what happens at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton as we rediscover the sacred.

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