Our Next Chapter

The purpose of this writing is to challenge each of us on our ministries to date and also to be afforded the opportunity to consider our individual and collective pastoral future.

As a point of clarification I wish to state that the thoughts and suggestions being made in this presentation are my own and that I have undertaken this of my own accord and without any outside influence or pressures. I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the fact that my health journey since 2021 has encouraged me in this writing project.

Model of St. Ignatius of Loyola

We remember that Ignatius often ended his letters to the Jesuits going to the missions with the expression ite, inflammate omnia—“go, set the world on fire.” What did he mean by that? Maybe it was just a rah-rah expression of the day, the kind of thing a football coach says when he tells the team to go out on the field and “kick butt.” But I don’t think so. I don’t think Ignatius had a cheerleader’s personality. He was a serious man who chose words carefully.

Given our recent experiences with destructive wild and forest fires, the term “Set the world on fire” may seem to be a curious expression for us to digest. Fire destroys; the world is already on fire with hatred, resentment, greed, lust, and other passions that consume individuals and whole societies. But fire purifies too. In the Bible, flames burn up weeds and the refiner’s fire purifies gold. Then, there are the tongues of fire that that descend on the Apostles at Pentecost, giving them the power of the Holy Spirit. I think this image was in Ignatius’s mind when he told his Jesuits to set the world on fire. He wanted everyone to be set afire with passion and zeal for the Kingdom of God.

I have chosen this reference of Ignatius as my initial desire to set a foundational focus to this presentation.

Introduction

I began this presentation with the following scriptural anchor - Isaiah 6:1-2a, 3-8, Psalm 138:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 7-8, 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 and Luke 5:1-11.

Knowing each of you as well as I do, it's not difficult for any of us to see where these Scriptures lead us — to obviously reflect on our call to be disciples.

In the first lesson, we have an example from the Hebrew Scriptures, the time of Isaiah, his call to be a prophet, and the overwhelming experience it was when he was in the temple praying. He had this extraordinary vision experience of God — that he, Isaiah, was in the presence of God. He felt himself totally unworthy and wanted to depart.

But after Isaiah had proclaimed, "I am a person of unclean lips and I live among people of unclean lips," God forgave and healed. Isaiah realized that when God then spoke and said, "Who am I to send?,” he was able to answer, "Here am I, Lord. Send me."

So he received HIS call during that deep experience of prayer and became a prophet, one of the most extraordinary of those who proclaim God's Word.

In the second lesson, we have the example of St. Paul, where in his letter to the people at Corinth, he reminded them about his own conversion.

Here, too, we have an example of someone who judged himself to be unworthy, a sinner. "I am the least of the apostles. I do not even deserve to be called an apostle because I persecuted the church. Nevertheless, by the grace of God, I am what I am, and God's grace towards me has not been without fruit."

A sinner, again, but God calls and God makes it possible for this sinner to become a disciple, one who follows and learns and proclaims the message of Jesus.

Then, in the Gospel lesson, it's so clear. The disciples, led by Peter, talk about the same experience that Isaiah and Paul had when Jesus called them. Peter, especially, has this extraordinary sense of Jesus as being the living power of God in their midst and feeling so overwhelmed and unworthy. "Depart from me. I'm a sinner."

But Jesus doesn't depart from Peter or send Peter away. Rather, he calls him: "Come, follow me. I will make you fishers of people. You will be my disciples."

Have we ever thought about the moment when God called each of us? It's something we should think about and pray about because each one of us has been called. That's why we're here gathered together in this community of disciples of Jesus, this church. We have been called!

Maybe we don't think of it that way, but it goes back to our baptism. Most of us, I suppose, grew up thinking of baptism when our sins were washed away or we began

to live with the new life of God as sons and daughters of God, brothers and sisters of Jesus. But it's more than that.

There's part of the baptism ceremony that very explicitly makes that sacrament the call to be a disciple. After being placed into the water and rising up to new life (that symbol of what the waters of baptism mean, that symbol of dying by being plunged into the water and rising to new life), the minister of baptism anointed us and prayed, "God now anoints you with the chrism of God's saving love. As Jesus was anointed priest, prophet and king, so may you live always as a member of his body."

That's our call: to live as a member of the body of Jesus. We carry out that life by being priest, prophet and leader. Very briefly today as we explore our call, and I hope renew our commitment to follow, we need to talk about what that means.

Prophet means to speak on behalf of God, to proclaim the good news.

Priests first and foremost.

First of all, we need to think about priesthood. First of all, we're a priest, which means we take on the role of Jesus when we come here to church to celebrate the Eucharist. Think of the words of consecration, Jesus saying, "This is my body given for you." That's over the bread.

Then the cup, "This the cup of my blood, the blood of the new and everlasting covenant. It will be shed for you and for all so sins may be forgiven." It's the work of Jesus as a priest.

Each of us is called to be a priest. I think sometimes we come to church and think of ourselves as being part of an audience. We're spectators, we're watching, we're listening to what's going on, and perhaps trying to bring ourselves to enter into it. Actually, we should be actively engaged in the offering because what is happening when Jesus says those words, "This is my body; this is the cup of my blood," Jesus is fulfilling what is proclaimed in the letter of Paul to the church at Philippi.

There's a beautiful passage in the second chapter where Paul is speaking about Jesus and says, "Though he was in the form of God, he did not think of equality with God as something to be clung to, but he emptied himself, became human, fully human, giving himself over to death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God exalted him and raised him up to be the Lord, to live life with God forever pouring forth that love upon the world."

This is what we must do when we celebrate the Eucharist — try to have that mind in us which was in Christ Jesus… that we are giving ourselves over with Him to be bread for others, giving life to others, being poured forth in love for others as Jesus was.

So when we come to offer the Eucharist, we come not as spectators. We have been anointed priests to offer and share the priesthood of Jesus. We actively celebrate that and live that when we come each week to the Eucharist to give ourselves over in love for all. It takes a little effort to do this, to remain aware of what we're doing, and to do it actively each time we celebrate the Eucharist, not as a spectator, not as someone simply watching and listening, but as someone actively engaged with Jesus in this action of the holy Eucharist.

Then we are prophets. Prophets are those who speak for God. How do we speak? Not so much in words, but by our life and through our jurisdictions or communities. We are those who are called by speaking through our actions every day by the way we live, the way we carry out our daily activities.

We are proclaiming the good news, which, more than anything else, is summed up by St. John in his letter to the early community of Christians about who God is: "God is love. Where there is love, there is God. This is the love I mean: not that we loved God, but that God first loved us." That's the message that we proclaim. God Who first loved us never stops loving us. God is love.

So when we proclaim by our lives who God is and live according to the way of God, we bring God's love into our daily lives, into our homes, into our families, into our communities, into our world. That love can transform. It can make those who do evil, if we forgive, show love. We can change and transform a situation. We need to be ready to reach out, to give of ourselves as Jesus did. God is love and in every way possible, in every circumstance in our daily life, in our community life, in our life as a nation — whatever way it is, we must find a way to show love, which means forgiveness and reaching out in reconciliation by showing love. That is the way to speak as prophet, the way to speak God's message, which God spoke through Jesus.

In John's Gospel towards the end, when Jesus reflects on His own coming death, He says some very profound words: "I, when I am lifted up, will draw all people to myself."

When I am lifted up — of course, that means on the cross when He is being tortured and murdered and yet, He pours forth love. "I will draw all people to myself." That's the same thing.

Profound as it seems or difficult as it seems, we must try to do it. That's how we are leaders. We draw people because we follow the way of Jesus and choose not to coerce, use force, but rather to love and pour forth love. "I, when I am lifted up, will draw all people to myself." That is the role of leadership, to live authentically the way of Jesus.

So today, we listen about those others who were called by God, and I hope we reflect more deeply how we are called by God to be priest, prophet and servant. Perhaps as we do reflect and try to deeply understand this call that we have been given, and renew our commitment, we can join with Isaiah, "Here I am, Lord. I will go," when God is searching for someone who will proclaim the Word.

"Here am I. Send me." Each of us, I hope, can make that declaration today as we continue our celebration of this holy Eucharist. Here am I, Lord. Send me to be your priest, your prophet and your servant.

Theology of Stewardship

We recognize the hallmark of priestly stewardship as one who:

• Receives God’s gifts gratefully

• Cherishes and tends God’s gifts responsibly

• Shares God’s gifts in love and justice

• Returns God’s gifts with increase. Stewards acknowledge that God is Creator and Owner of all and shares their gifts out of love for God and one another.

As members of the Body of Christ, Jesus calls us to be disciples. This has astonishing implications.

• Mature disciples make a conscious decision to follow Jesus, no matter what the cost.

• Christian disciples experience conversion, life-shaping changes of mind and heart, and commit their very selves to God.

• Christian stewards respond in a particular way to the call to be a disciple. Stewardship has the power to shape and mold our understanding of our lives and the way in which we live.

We stewards recognize God as the Origin of Life, the Giver of Freedom, and Source of All. We are grateful for the gifts we have received and are eager to use them to show our love for God and for one another. We look to the life and teachings of Jesus, the model steward, for guidance in living as priestly stewards.

The Bible contains a profound message about the stewardship of material creation: God created the world, but entrusts it to human beings. Caring for and cultivating the world involves the following:

• joyful appreciation for the God-given beauty and wonder of nature;

• protection and preservation of the environment;

• respect for human life – shielding life from every threat and assault, doing everything that can be done to enhance this gift and make life flourish;

• and development of this world through noble human effort – physical labor, the trades and professions, the arts and sciences – our work.

Stewards of God’s gifts are not passive beneficiaries, but collaborators with God. We are obliged to be stewards of the Church, collaborators and cooperators in continuing the redemptive work of Jesus – the Church’s essential mission. This mission, proclaiming and teaching, serving and sanctifying, is our task. It is the personal responsibility of each of us.

All members of the Church have their roles to play in carrying out its mission:

• Parents, who nurture their children in the light of faith;

• Parishioners, who work in concrete ways to make their parishes true communities of faith and vibrant sources of service to the larger community;

• All Catholics who give generous support – time, money, prayers and personal service according to their circumstances – to parish and diocesan programs and to the universal Church.

The life of a Christian steward models the life of Jesus. It is challenging and even difficult in many respects, yet intense joy comes to those who take the risk to live as Christian stewards. Women and men who seek to live as stewards learn that “all things work for good for those who love God” (Romans 8:28).

Building Success

Doesn’t every entrepreneur and/or business owner start and maintain a business in order to see it grow? The answer seems obvious. But as many top business coaches will tell you, some business leaders who attain a certain level of success are content to stay at this plateau. They feel assured within the space their business occupies in the marketplace and have little motivation to change anything.

The same attitude exists within the pastoral community.

This is a risky stance for any pastoral jurisdiction and its leadership to take. Growth isn’t just important for a jurisdiction—it’s absolutely essential. Without continued growth, the life and function of the jurisdiction can stagnate or disintegrate!

Plenty of other reasons spur successful jurisdictions to adopt a “continuous growth” mindset.

A growing and thriving jurisdiction often enjoys many opportunities to engage in new pastoral forms of outreach.

Bishop Costa

For many within the Autocephalous Catholic jurisdiction, Bishop Costa serves merely as a connection for claimants to profess apostolic successions for their jurisdictions and themselves. The failure of this limited embracement of Bishop Costa comes with a great price.

Anyone who has taken the time to research and learn the story of Bishop Costa cannot help but see that in many ways Costa’s views of the church in the world were a prequel to the Theology of Social Justice and Peace, Reconciliation Theology and Liberation Theology. Nor can we NOT see that many of his calls for reform and change in the Church WERE adopted and implemented in the Second Vatican Council.

It is not this paper’s goal to encourage anyone to following the same vocational journey as did Bishop Costa. Costa was committed to make the

Church aware of its time and to open the window and doors to address the needs of the People of God.

I believe that we who reside on our side of the Catholic boulevard should be willing to embrace and incorporate the charisma of Costa in our lives and vocations.

There has been a recent biography of Bishop Costa entitled Carlos Duarte Costa: Testament of a Socialist Bishop written by Edward Jarvis and published in 2019. This book also offers a commentary to Costa’s Manifesto to the Nations that is also worth reading.

I hope that you may agree that the Evangelical Catholic Church has embraced and integrated historic Catholicism with the unconditional application of the theology of Social Justice and Peace and the renewed spirit of faith witnessed by Bishop Costa.

Our doors are open to you.