FEBRUARY 5, 2006

"Third time's a charm! This cliche from our culture proved true for our third scheduled Town Hall Meeting regarding the "new regime" of our parish. Held in St. Mary's Church on Monday Night, almost 200 people attended to discuss the topic of our sacramental life. It appeared to me to be the smoothest and most productive of the three-the most-"charming". A lot of ground was covered, but I will try to summarize here as best I can.

The Catholic Church is organized geographically into parishes, one of whose tasks is the administration of sacraments. Jurisdiction is necessary - that means some pastor is responsible for seeing people qualify for and have the opportunity to have the sacraments. Sacraments cannot be denied, but they can be delayed until the recipients fulfill all the laws of the Church.

1. Baptism: Anyone who is not baptized can be baptized, if they wish to become Christians and practice the Catholic faith. Adults must signify this for themselves. Infants can be presented by their primary caretakers, but the pastor must be certain that the child is raised in the faith. He usually ascertains this by verifying that the family is practicing by attending Mass, contributing to the support of the parish, being currently registered, etc. At least one practical, practicing Catholic is necessary to serve as a sponsor for the one to be baptized, apart from the parents. Baptism will be administered several times a year at Sunday liturgy, (Easter, for example) normally by the pastor. Baptism outside Mass can be scheduled otherwise, and the deacon or one of the assisting priests will usually be the minister. Visiting clergy are welcome, but they must speak to the pastor for delegation. Non-parishioners may be baptized here, but only with a letter of permission from their proper pastor.

2. Communion:There will be a "class" or group First Holy Communion scheduled for the parish each year, but other arrangements may be made by families.

3. Confirmation:Beginning next year, minimum age for Confirmation will be 9th grade. We will run a special preparation program each year that is also suitable for adults who had been Baptized and received Communion, but were never Confirmed. We will most probably schedule Confirmation for the fall of 2007. Sponsors for Confirmation have the same requirements as those for Baptism.

4. Reconciliation:Confessions will be heard each Saturday at St. Mary from 3:30 to 4:15 PM, and after the 4:30 PM Mass. Twice a year, Lent and advent, communal penance services will be conducted. Confessions can be heard by appointment as well.

5. Anointing of the Sick: Beginning the Sunday after Easter, the Anointing will be offered automatically every Sunday immediately following the 7:30AM Mass. Once a year a communal service will be conducted in the Church, and we will try to visit shut-ins twice a year to anoint. Emergency circumstances of course will always be responded to.

6. Matrimony:To be married in the parish, one must be canonically free to marry, a practicing and registered parishioner, and make the first contact and arrangements with the pastor. Visiting clergy are welcome, but they must call the pastor. Visiting clergy are welcome, but they must call the pastor personally to receive delegation. Non-parishioners may use our Church for a stole fee of $500 and by providing their own clergy. Only the pastor can enter a wedding reservation in the book after consultation. Wedding times on Saturday are 12:30, 2:30 and 6:30PM. Weekday wedding times are negotiable. This is the most complex of the sacraments and a full written policy will be available in the near future.

Holy Orders:Ordination to the diaconate and priesthood are the sole prerogative of the Bishop, not the parish. However, I strongly encourage vocations to the clergy. I can use the help and I would like to retire.

Funerals:To be buried from the parish, you must be dead. There is no jurisdication in death. A stole fee of $250 will be collected by the funeral director for the parish. This includes the services of the musician and other ministries. Christian burial is the right of any of the baptized. however, we can only guarantee the presence of the priest for one of the stations of burial - the Mass most notably. Prayers at the wake and cemetery may be conducted by laity, who have been trained. We intend to initiate a full bereavement ministry for such purposes in the near future.

Some general observations:
A. Stole fees are donations to the parish, not the priest. Considerations of money will not deny the services of the Church to anyone. Financial arrangements may be discussed in confidence with the Pastor.

B. St. Mary Church is the core site now for our sacramental life. Under special circumstances, exceptions can be made if there is a strong enough spiritual necessity. Each and every case is at the discretion of the Pastor to exempt from the norm. We are one parish (St. John of God) and we have one pope, one bishop and one pastor. That unity is to be evidenced in our sacramental celebrations.

C. Other prayer opportunities and para-liturgical gatherings (novenas, stations of the cross, revival, missions) will be scheduled as appropriate in the cycle of our liturgical and sacramental life.

The third Town Hall Meeting, I hope was the "charm" for our progress as a parish. There will be a general Town Hall Meeting following the evening Mass on Ash Wednesday in St. Mary Church. Maybe it will be even more charming. Stay tuned...