This past summer, I often found myself thinking of two great prophets. One is the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah, and the other is a modern-day prophet, the pope of my childhood: Saint John Paul II (pope from 1978-2005).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I am definitely one of those who call\nhim John Paul the Great, and I believe that he had prophetic insight and an\nuncanny ability to read the signs of the times. One of his deepest prophetic\nconvictions was that we are now entering a \u201cnew springtime of evangelization\u201d\nin the Church as we go forth boldly into the Third Millennium. He urged us with\nthe words of Jesus to \u201cput out into the deep waters\u201d for a great catch. With\nJesus, he often exhorted us: \u201cBe not afraid!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I remember twenty years ago when some\nof us would ask ourselves, \u201cWhy does he keep saying that? What is there to be\nso afraid of?\u201d Today I can say with truth that these are sad and scary times to\nbe a close follower of Jesus. AND they are times of enormous hope, great\npromise, and signs of new life. We can weep and lament the great ruin and\ndestruction of much that is fair and beautiful AND notice the new growth and\nnew life that is springing up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The prophet Jeremiah captures the paradox perfectly, by appealing to seasons of the year. I had an \u201caha!\u201d moment this summer while reading him. So much has changed in Church life, and it often leaves her members feeling disoriented, confused, or angry \u2013 even when their parishes make good and healthy changes. Part of the challenge is that the seasons have changed \u2013 and that means changing how we approach our labor in the Lord\u2019s vineyard. With occasional exceptions, we in the Church today are not living the fall, in a time of fruitfulness and harvesting. We are passing through a harsh winter and beginning a new springtime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The destruction and decimation has been going on for some time \u2013 especially for those of us in Catholic institutions. Our programs are often geared at children (in schools and in CCD programs), but the parents themselves \u2013 if they come to church at all \u2013 are often part of a second or third generation of Catholics who did not learn how to have a personal relationship with Jesus and who did not learn the basics of their faith. For at least fifty years now, when teens receive their Confirmation, they leave. We used to tell ourselves lies that they would come back eventually \u2013 when it was time to get married or to have their children baptized. A small percentage of them do; the great majority never return. Many of them specifically identify themselves as \u201cex-Catholics\u201d or even \u201catheists.\u201d Church marriages are down \u2013 way down. I could go on and on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Much has been lost. God\u2019s Temple and\nGod\u2019s vineyard are lying in ruins. There is cause for lamenting here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When bad things happen, our human\ntendency is to avoid grieving \u2013 it\u2019s so painful and hard. We typically pass\nthrough various stages as we grieve \u2013 denial, anger, blaming, bargaining,\ndepression, and (hopefully) eventual acceptance. If we do not somehow express\nour grief and anguish, our anger and bitterness, we will not come to true\nacceptance. Presently, we are living in a toxic culture that does not\nknow how to grieve in a healthy way. Most anywhere we turn, we are invited to\nnumb our pain with addictive behaviors or to funnel our rage into political or\necclesial divisiveness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By contrast, the prophet Jeremiah\nknew how to lament, how to express sorrow and anguish to God. So much did he\nturn to God and lament that there is an entire book of the Bible entitled\n\u201cLamentations,\u201d traditionally attributed to him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There was much to lament. The\nBabylonians had invaded Jerusalem, destroyed God\u2019s Temple, and taken most of\nthe people into captivity. They were left with a mere remnant \u2013 just as the\nprophet Isaiah had foretold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Weeping over ruins of once great cultures,\nonce great nations, once great churches, and once great institutions is a holy\nand healing exercise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I think the crumbling and ruin has\nbeen especially hard for longtime Catholics. With so many things changing or\ncollapsing around them, they desire that their own parishes be the one hub of\nstability, the one constant in their life. But we can\u2019t do that \u2013 not if we\ncare about saving souls!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most of our American Catholic\ninstitutions were built up in a season of summer and autumn. Our immigrant\nforefathers had a tenacious Faith and didn\u2019t hesitate to sacrifice everything\nto build up these institutions. They were serious about prayer and serious\nabout discipleship. Their children learned the faith from their parents and\npracticed it in the home. There was a great boom in the number of priests and\nreligious sisters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The programs set up in our parishes\nwere all about harvesting the fruits from healthy vines that were already there.\nThe presumption was that all the members were unquestionably committed to Jesus\nand to his Church. As long as most of them were, parishes were booming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That was a very, very long time ago. The destruction has been enormous. Over half of those vines are now dead. Only a remnant remains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I remember as a seminarian hearing our bishop (now the world-famous Cardinal Burke) express with the Psalmist: \u201cFoundations once destroyed, what can the just do?\u201d (Psalm 11:3). I remember as a young priest amidst teens in the high school, feeling the sad truth of those words and taking them to prayer. I remember God speaking clearly in my heart a hope-filled answer: REBUILD THEM. I received great peace and much motivation from those God-given words. I still do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We will find more strength to rebuild if we allow ourselves time to lament. Lamenting is a lost art. When we truly express our grief, God comforts us. We find ourselves having new strength and new resolve. The writings of Jeremiah do not end in despair or anger, but in renewed hope, with many promises of replanting and rebuilding. A new springtime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We are not in a season of summer and\nautumn anymore. We are living amidst a harsh winter that is transitioning into\nspring. What is more, the majority of the vines in our vineyard been ruined and\ndestroyed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of us need to do much lamenting\nand much grieving. We have more pain in our hearts than we care to admit. God\nwants to hear our cries. He wants to comfort us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then, when we are ready, he will show us what replanting and rebuilding look like. Many of the things that have passed away will never return again \u2013 not in the same way at least \u2013 and that is worth the shedding of tears. Meanwhile, the new growth is already there in our midst. Amazingly, from the very ruins, new vines are appearing. They are very vulnerable at this stage and need much nurturing and caring. But they are beautiful!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If we would like to see those new vines grow and bear fruit, we need to learn how to live in the seasons of winter and spring. Our parishes need to step back from the \u201csame old\u201d way of doing things and ask what it means to replant and rebuild. Instead of spending most of our time, money, and human resources on the vines that clearly are bearing no fruit, we need to recognize new and divine growth when we see it (sometimes it shows up in surprising places!). We can then focus our energy and attention there. New vines are fragile and need much protecting, much nurturing, and much gentle encouragement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It may take many years to see the new fruitfulness \u2013 God alone knows. Sometimes we sow and others reap. But we can take hope in the fact that Scripture often promises otherwise. We are promised that the sowers will be overtaken by the harvesters (Amos 9:13), and that those who sow in tears will reap with joy (Psalm 126:6).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This past summer, I often found myself thinking of two great prophets. One is the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah, and the other is a modern-day prophet, the pope of my childhood: Saint John Paul II (pope from 1978-2005). I am definitely one of those who call him John Paul the Great, and I believe that … <\/p>\n