CLC Models: A Flourishing Apostolic Church

 

MY COMMENTS ARE IN BOXES No other document, whether from the Pope, or the American Bishops, or any diocese or any parish has been as relevant to my life as this letter. It indeed seems as if the bishop has written it personally just for me. Why is that?  How can that be? First, the bishop asks us to do simple basic things. He asks us to read the letter carefully as something meant for us personally.  He asks us to begin talking about it with others.  He asks us to devote fifteen minutes a day to improving our relationship with God. He asks us to find a social network where we can share the story of our lives and discover support for our concrete unique missions of service in the world.  Second, the bishop recognizes the dignity and worth of each person and the value of personal initiatives. He suggests we personalize the letter by underlining it and making notes. He wants the letter to facilitate our conversations about these basic things. (This post consists of some of my underlines with comment boxes to start conversations). The bishop is confident that we will discover what forms of prayer are best for us personally. He understands that the best support network may be one that we form ourselves starting with families, friends and neighbors. We each have our experiences, talents and gifts; therefore, our stories and missions will be unique. If we pour our uniqueness into our initiatives, the letter will become relevant in very different yet very personal ways for each of us. About twice as many Catholics pray daily as go to Mass each weekend. That is true for other Christian denominations.  Talking about daily prayer could become a non-threatening way of opening conversations about our spiritual lives with Catholics and other Christians. Conversations about daily prayer bypass questions about where, when and how often we go to church. These conversations should be easy if we agree with the bishop that there are many ways to pray, and that each person decides what is best. In our conversations about prayer, let us emphasize using FIFTEEN MINUTES OF QUALITY TIME each day to improve our relationship with God.  If we focus too much on fifteen minutes as a minimum some may assume the more the minutes the better the prayer. Scripture warns us against being proud because we pray more than others. We can all be equal in the desire to improve our friendship with God by fifteen minutes of quality time no matter how many minutes a day we are accustomed to pray.  Suggested Personal Initiative We could begin our practice of fifteen minutes of quality prayer a day by contemplating the meaning of this letter for our own lives. As we underline and make our notes to share with others, let us be open to the Holy Spirit in discerning the following.  What might the letter mean for our relationship with God? For our relationships with families, friends, and coworkers?  For our relationship with parish and diocesan ministries?  How can we best tell the story of our spiritual experiences in ways that invite others to do likewise? How can we talk about our talents, gifts, and missions in ways that will not only get be supported by others by also help them identify their talents, gifts, and missions?