St. Mary's Church, Roslyn: Pastor's Page

Dear Friends:

Thank you for the warm reception and goodwill that you, the people of St. Mary’s Church, have extended to me since my arrival, however unexpected it was: for me as well as for you! Fr. McCartney left our parish in great shape, both pastorally and financially, and the best tribute to his tenure at St. Mary’s is to begin a new era, confident in the grace of the Holy Spirit.

To wit, many parishioners have expressed their views concerning the state of our beloved Church, both local and universal, as well as exciting ideas about what we might accomplish in the future. Indeed, I have many personal convictions I would like to share with you, but since I’m the newcomer, it seems better to listen to your concerns first, and only then to implement any changes gradually.

I am therefore scheduling two town hall-style meetings before our parish goes into vacation mode. They will be held on two consecutive Tuesday evenings, June 11 and 18, at 7 PM at Msgr. Ryan Hall on Round Hill Road. Refreshments will be served.

The first meeting (June 11) will focus on people’s thoughts, feelings, and reactions to the state of the Church at large, and of St. Mary’s in particular. Given the delicate nature of individual experiences in the Church, I would respectfully ask that those who attend be over the age of 21, and that attendees agree to engage in loving dialogue, in the best tradition of St. Mary’s. This means that we restrict our comments to our experiences, not to criticism of individuals.Beyond this, there is no “agenda” for the first meeting. Tell us what you think. With apologies to Mayor Ed Koch:”How are we doing?” What are the strengths of our Church at present? Any weaknesses or failings? In the case of the latter, I trust that our loving congregation will be sensitive to those who have been alienated from the Church, and that we will be accepting and edifying in our dialogue so as to be, in the words of St. Francis,”an instrument of God’s peace.”

The second meeting (June 18) will focus on ideas for the future of St. Mary’s. I have already heard dozens of creative ideas about different directions we might explore regarding sacred worship, sacramental preparation, religious education, and outreach to the poor, the elderly, and young people. Many of these ideas are “high concept/low tech,” by which I mean they are a simple solutions requiring little to no financial investment, and yet have a big effect. Other suggestions about the infrastructure and efficient use of our facilities may demand an investment of resources for the future. Prudence also demands that certain projects take priority over others, given the time and attention they require.

My first concern will always be the spiritual welfare of the good people at St. Mary’s. You deserve a beautiful, carefully-prepared celebration of the Eucharist and the other sacraments, a mature presentation of the Catholic Faith, and a welcoming, hospitable environment for people of all ages, backgrounds, and perspectives.

Let us pray to Christ the Good Shepherd to lead us into the future…and have fun along the way!

Faithfully,

Fr. Valentine

Dear Friends,

In Matthew 18:3, Jesus tells his disciples, “Unless you change and become like little children, you will not enter the kingdom of God.” This saying has the effect of a spiritual mirror, eliciting almost as many interpretations as the number of those hearing it. What does it mean to “become like a little child”? Must one become infantile? Radically dependent upon another? Utterly naïve and unconcerned with the serious dimension of human existence? Somehow, I suspect not. The Lord came so that we might have life, and have it to the full (John 10:10), and not so that we might be stuck in a state of arrested development.

Then in what sense are we to become as little children? I suspect that it has something to do with what St. Mary’s Church experienced this past weekend. Under the expert leadership of Mrs. Regina LaFaire, Sister Pat Koehler, OP, and a wonderful team of volunteers, our parish community held the Family Funday on the grounds of Msgr. Ryan Hall on Round Hill Road. What a joy it was to see the families in our community playing, singing, sharing food and drink, and generally enjoying each other’s company. (We do these things far too infrequently in the Catholic Church at present, and these occasions are vitally important – I won’t say “serious” – to the ties that bind us as a family.)

As a priest with no children of my own, I find it a particular joy to observe the interaction between parents and their young children. Whether in the “bouncy house,” or on the baseball field, playing a game of hide-and-seek or making up rules as they go along, children pay laser-focus attention to the kind of activity that the rest of us too often dismiss as frivolous or trivial. (Is there anything trivial about a child’s laughter?) They have yet to make the “adult” distinction between work and play, for everything they do is important business. Every activity is a joy, a pleasure, an adventure. It needs no justification beyond itself. Can we say the same?

In tracing the Catholic sensibility toward play, Hugo Rahner states that “God’s activity toward and in all his creation is like that germinal, undifferentiated activity of a child, which is both work and play, both serious application and spontaneous activity for its own sake.” Of course, we must return to work on Monday morning with briefcase and laptop in hand, but a sense of play and spontaneity can, for the Catholic Christian, transform what might otherwise seem to be mere obligation and drudgery. Our job can become an exciting endeavor, a creative imposition of order, just as God undertakes in the act of creation: something to be embraced, savored, and enjoyed. In the end, an attitude of play indicates that human beings, who are held, protected, and cherished by the loving hands of God, find their end in light-hearted self-forgetfulness. Fr. Rahner understands this as a glimpse of heaven itself: “Church, grace, and liturgical action become for [the Catholic] no more than a prelude to that final carefree gaiety of the heart which he will experience one day in the everlasting game of the Beatific Vision.”

Dodge-ball, anyone?

Faithfully,
Fr. Valentine