APRIL 8, 2007

When I was assigned to St. Peter on the North Side, most of our parishioners would go to either the then Divine Providence Hospital or Allegheny General. Both were an easy stroll from the rectory. Each time I went, I would pass first the basketball court in front of Providence. Day or night, there would be a pick-up game going on: 10 young men racing up and down the court with all the intensity (and a good bit of the skill) of a professional NBA match. About a dozen others would be around the court, not only watching, but obviously waiting their turn to play the next game. The area was lively, definitely a useful and well used part of North Side's scene.

Continuing on a few blocks, I would then pass two other basketball courts by Martin Luther King, Jr. School. There would never be a soul in sight. It was quiet and abandoned. The surface of these courts was riddled with cracks from which were growing lines of weeds. Although built around the same time, of the same materials, and for the same purpose as the courts at DPH, for whatever reason they remained unused, and had therefore become unusable.

At one time, with a large populace, the Churches of the Stowe-Rocks-Esplen area were like the first basketball area: active, filled, lively, with large numbers of people flowing in and out of the Masses, and therefore many Masses were part of the schedule. Now, many of our Masses resemble the MLK courts: more empty pews than filled ones. And sometimes I have this nightmare that as the Church becomes unused, it may become unusable.

But then a day like today, Easter, comes upon us, and almost like magic the pews are filled, the choir loft tries to absorb the overflow, and there is standing in the aisles. It becomes like the first set of courts: lively and exciting. And I then know that the people are out there, the potential is not bankrupt, that the Rocks does still have the base of a congregation that can fill the Church and use it to the best advantage, instead of becoming a decayed derelict.

We are constantly trying to gather our resources and put them to the best use of serving the needs of our people liturgically and otherwise. And we wish to extend the number who worship with us on a regular basis. No one is a stranger in God's house, all belong, and so we must be as open and inviting as we can. I am overjoyed to see so many today. At the same time, I fear returning in weeks to come to empty pews again, with visions of the weeds growing through the cracks at the court, a feeling of desolation.

"Like olive branches around the table of the Lord, so God's people in His Church." A Blessed Easter to one and all, and a sincere invitation to return regularly. Alleluia!