April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
REFLECTION
Plant a seed; grow the Church
Plant a seed; grow the Church
But what happens if we don't take care of it? That plant will never see its true potential, will it? It will never grow. It will never be all that it was meant to be.
So it is with our faith. Like a seed, our faith needs to be nurtured, fed and shared. If we don't grow a seed of faith, we could be planting a seed of doubt.
In June, our pastor, Rev. Jerry Gingras, was giving a homily after the Gospel reading about faith the size of a mustard seed. One of his questions was, "How do we grow a Church?" He pointed out that we, the baptized, are the seeds that are planted to grow our Church.
I have been thinking a lot about that question ever since (which is why I love his homilies; they are often thought-provoking and challenging): How do we grow a Church?
I think courage is how we grow our Church. Good homilies and fantastic liturgies help, but we need to instill courage in the hearts of the faithful -- the courage to talk about our faith and our God. Such courage will allow our parish families to share their faith both within the Church and outside it.
Have you ever been in a situation where you had to take a stand - maybe against friends or relatives? Maybe a friend or relative didn't speak with you for a while. It probably made you very uncomfortable, but you knew in your heart that you were doing the right thing. You had to be courageous to stand up for what you believed. So it is with our faith.
Sharing faith can be pretty scary. We often don't even talk about our faith with our fellow "pew people." We say hi; we ask about the kids, the dog, health and so on; but how often do we lead a conversation before Mass with, "Hey, what did you think when the Pope said...?"
It could be because we don't have confidence in the subject matter or how it will be perceived. Maybe we don't want to come across as a "crazy old church person," or we just don't think the conversation is important enough. We are very concerned with how we are perceived in public.
But, if we can't discuss our faith in our own church, it's very hard to do it outside.
One definition of courage is "the ability to do something that frightens you." Courage often forces us to go outside our comfort zone. But isn't that how we grow?
Participate in an experiment with me. Invite a friend or relative to attend Mass with you one weekend. It's okay if they say no. You're planting a seed. Ask them again in October and November and see what happens.
Second, extend the sign of peace at Mass beyond where you normally go. Reach an extra row in front of you or behind you. Walk across the aisle. After Mass, take a moment and introduce yourself the people to whom you gave the sign of peace. A gesture this simple can make people feel welcome. You could be giving someone just what they need at that moment in time. You could be the only human contact the person has had all week.
You just never know -- but if we could all be courageous and try this, I think our Church will grow.
(Ms. Klementowski is coordinator of RCIA and adult faith enrichment at Immaculate Conception parish in Glenville. She graduated from the Albany Diocese's Kateri Institute for Lay Ministry Formation in June.)[[In-content Ad]]
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