On Pope, Yankees, future

If Pope Benedict XVI looks over his shoulder as he celebrates Mass April 20 in Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, he will see a symbol of the "Called to be Church" process in the Albany Diocese.

Behind him, beyond the outfield wall, a new Yankee Stadium is rising. The Bronx Bombers will move there when the baseball season starts in 2009. That's when Catholics here will begin implementing many new things of their own: the results of two years of planning in parishes throughout 14 counties.

When something new comes in, something old goes out. It happens in our homes when a carpet is installed or a TV delivered. It occurs at our work when a new boss arrives or a new policy is implemented. It even happens in our parishes when times change, the numbers of priests fall, and populations shift from cities to suburbs.

Baseball fans in New York who root for the Yankees or the Mets know about change. The Mets, too, will inaugurate a new stadium next year. As the new fields grow, literally next door to the old ones, feelings of nostalgia naturally arise...memories of "what used to be" surface...questions about the necessity of change are posed...people wonder, "Will it be the same?"

One answer is, "It will be better, but it will take some getting used to. Be open to it because what used to be isn't coming back."

It's sometimes difficult to let go of what's familiar and embrace change, but we do it all the time when we buy a new house, take another job, or say goodbye to children going off to college.

If we can do it in our own lives...if we can do it to beloved stadiums...then we can do it with our parishes. The Yankees and Mets will still thrill us inside their new ballparks, and our faith will still sustain us within different walls.

If Pope Benedict looks out toward center field on Sunday, he will not be thinking about that. But Catholics in the Diocese should be.

(04/17/08) [[In-content Ad]]