Diocese of Toledo, Ohio

Browsing From the Pastor

On-Going and Upcoming Opportunities to Proactively Witness to Our Faith

   One of the most powerful ways that we can witness to our Faith is by gathering faithfully to celebrate Mass. A number of circumstances can make this practice challenging. Coming to Mass can be a real sacrifice when persons with whom we live and associate see no value for themselves in doing this. I marvel at persons with challenging conditions who make it to Mass even when the weather makes it difficult to travel. When I visited a Glenmary Parish in southern Georgia a few years ago, I was impressed by the fact that some families had to travel from 30 to 40 miles to come to Mass. (In parts of southern Georgia, Catholic churches are few and far between.) Coming to Mass consumed a significant part of the day for these persons. And yet, an upbeat spirit exuded from these individuals and families.  

   I’m grateful that there are significant occasions during the liturgical year when the Church does not insist that we participate at worship. Three of these are Ash Wednesday, Holy Thursday and Good Friday. It was heartening to note the number of people who did gather for the Masses on Ash Wednesday. What a meaningful opportunity this offered to begin our Lenten observance!

   Holy Week and its up-coming observances offer powerful occasions for us to reflect upon God’s love for us and to be strengthened to witness of this love to all persons. Even though the Church does not insist that we participate at the liturgies on Holy Thursday and on Good Friday, I hope and pray that our churches will be filled to capacity.

   Holy Thursday marks the occasion on which the Lord gave us the Eucharist as the most powerful expression of His willingness to reach out to us. In the Gospel for the Holy Thursday Mass, we are reminded that we are called to love one another as Christ loves us. The Oils blessed by the Bishop at the Chrism Mass are presented at this Liturgy.

   When I grew up, there was a solemnity about Good Friday that pervaded the entire community. Even the Jewish tailor in our neighborhood closed his shop between 12 noon and 3:00 p.m. on that day.

   Nowadays, coming to church on Good Friday is counter-cultural. As Catholics, we are not mandated to come to the Good Friday Liturgy. This non-mandated liturgical observance of Good Friday is as it should be. On Good Friday, we commemorate the fullest expression of God’s love for the human race in the Death of Jesus, His Son.

   God wants all persons to experience the salvation that He has gained for us in Christ, but He will never force or impose His love upon us. Hence, the fitting nature of making the Good Friday liturgical observance optional.

   I really hope that our churches will be packed on Good Friday as an outward expression of the conviction that Christ did not die for us in vain. By participating in the Good Friday Liturgy, we are giving outward expression to the desire and willingness to make God’s saving love for us in Jesus Christ our own. Hopefully, the spirit in which we gather for worship on Holy Thursday and on Good Friday will express the spirit that leads us to gather to celebrate Mass at all times during the year.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Fr. Nelson Beaver – Pastor

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