My dear friends,

 “Now that Christmas is over, Father, you will have time to relax!” Yeah, right! It’s Sunday afternoon and I’m waiting at my computer for the HVAC repair man to call. He has to come and repair the system at Immaculate Conception. I may as well keep myself busy typing this letter in the lag time. I have TV Mass tomorrow, along with a deanery meeting, calls to return, paperwork to do, notes to type for Bible study, and a school board meeting in the evening. I have no illusions that there will be any quiet time now, or for quite some time to come!

In the next few weeks I need to work with the Human Resources Office of the Archdiocese to find out all the next steps in the creation of a staff for the coming merger. Job descriptions will have to be drafted. I will have to meet with employees from every one of the five parishes to go over options. We will have to find out who plans to apply, retire, or just not seek a position in the new parish. All that needs to be settled before May1st, so everyone has a few months to settle plans. That will be January, and interviews will go through February and March.

January and February are the time that pastors meet with business managers, trustees, and finance councils to review the yearend figures. There is paperwork to be submitted to the Archdiocese each year, and now is the time to compile the reports. Once we submit the forms and pay the cathedraticum, we prepare the annual report Father Joe’s Notes for the parishioners. I will be busy with that for the next month.

We have to begin the process for a new corporation soon. There is paperwork to meet the requirements of the civil codes and the canons of the Church. Trustees of the new corporation will have to be appointed.

We have to cover issues with a merger and a change of names. Finance councils will have to help plan for dealings with banks and the investments. Parish councils will have to develop norms and procedures for a new group.

I will be somewhat busy for the next few months. The great trick will be keeping all the information straight in my head. It is a busy time. (Oh, and I am just back from Immaculate Conception. They have to order a part to repair the heating unit for the church. Hopefully, it will be here by the time you read this!) If you can spare one, please say a prayer for me!

Hopefully yours in Christ, Fr. Joe

         

 

My Dear Friends,

My college roommate wouldn’t eat fish. He wasn’t allergic; he hated it. He never tried it, but he was convinced it was horrible. We lived at the shore in Rhode Island where we had access to all sorts of fresh fish. Still, he was convinced he wouldn’t like it. Recently, he told me how much he loves sea food. I laughed. Now he lives in Chicago, where the fish has to be imported. When he had complete access to it fresh from the water, it was a no. Funny thing how we can convince ourselves something good is terrible, simply because we say it’s so.

Many times we convince ourselves things will be terrible when they’re new or outside our comfort zone. We want to keep the old and familiar. We want life to be the way it always was. Why change? Well, because life changes all the time. I can’t wear the clothes that no longer fit. I could try, but it would look ridiculous! If I’m injured, I need to adjust my tasks. I shouldn’t try running with a broken foot; I could do some serious and permanent damage. Change isn’t the end of the world, it just means adapting to new conditions. We all have to do it in life.

I’ve been hearing, “Father, we’ve all been talking…” a great deal lately. That’s never followed by, and we want you to have a raise! It comes with some litany of things people hate. “You’re a tyrant, making us all wear masks.” No, I’m just trying to protect the health of the children and the immune compromised, on advice of medical professionals specializing in infectious disease. It isn’t political, it’s a health thing. It’s also trying to show mercy to people who are not able to make certain choices. It’s a change to help in a time of illness. That’s all.

The most common complaint is about the changes coming to the Mass schedule. “Father, why isn’t there a Mass at St. Dominic’s?” There is. “Not on Saturday.” No, but we have two Masses on Saturday. “Why isn’t there a Mass in Father Joe’s Notes English at Immaculate Conception?” There is, on Saturday evening. “Well, that doesn’t count. It isn’t Sunday!” Trust me, it counts. “Why doesn’t Mary Our Queen have a Mass?” It does. The 4PM vigil Mass is at Mary Our Queen. “We don’t go on Saturday!” There are other Masses on Sunday. Many people have convinced themselves it will be terrible and it will never work. That decision has been made before we have even tried it!

Let me explain a few things: Am I happy about all the changes? No. Do we have to make changes? Yes. How did we arrive at this schedule? The pastoral planning committee, with representatives from each of the parishes in town, looked at the data we have. We took the October counts, a head count of people attending all Masses in each church we do every year in the Archdiocese, and looked at the number of people attending at different times. We then looked at the seating capacity for each building. We matched that to the number of people attending at different times. We also needed to make sure every church building was being used, as we need to use each space we have as long as we have them. While also managing to find a time for a Mass in Polish to accommodate that need, we arrived at the schedule you have seen. We developed it this way. Will it work? I don’t know. We hope it will, but we can adjust it if needed after a few months. We can’t declare definitively how awful it will be before we see how things work. We need to try something, and this will help us meet the needs of changes that have already come and must be addressed. If it works, it works; if not, we will adjust. We won’t know until we try.