On being mission-minded: the follow-up

Remaining static is tantamount to choosing an untimely death. An acceptance of ones current state, a resting on ones laurels, is contrary to the divine plan. Even in the heavens, the liturgy reminds us, there is a call to constantly cry out His glory:

Celebrant: All the orders, the companies and the heavenly hosts: angels, archangels, cherubim, seraphim, thrones and dominions, invisible and innumerable, unceasingly praise and glorify and with incessant mouths and unspeakable voices they sing the hymn of victory and cry out and say:

People: Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty; heaven and earth are full of His glories. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is He Who came and will come in the Name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.

Surely the heavenly host have sung enough? Surely their praise is now sufficient? Certainly He has heard enough? Certainly not! The liturgy in fact exhorts us to join in. In Luke we are told, "And I say to you, everyone who confesses Me before men, the Son of Man will confess him also before the angels of God; but he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God." The simple truth is this: Not working to grow the parish is a decision to work against Christ. Just as not telling someone the whole story is a lie, taking Christ's gift of the Church and not sharing it with others one becomes a liar and denier of His words. Your parish is not yours, it is His.

There is a fear in the mind of the parishioner who wants things to stay the same that in accepting the new that what is cherished and old will be subsumed. This is an entirely natural fear and one with precedent as new converts or large groups of immigrants can dramatically change the face of a parish. If the face of your parish changes you should expect it just as you expect the change of seasons. A garden is no more beautiful than when it has been tended properly and is in full bloom, but even the most assiduously cared for garden will look different from year to year. We are fed by our fellow created beings and we feed others by our existence as well until we are called to move on. The goal is beauty and strength, not changeless uniformity.

The parish is not a fortress to be defended, but a hospital whose doors should be opened wide for the care of all. Take in those weary, lost souls as you would those coming from the field of battle for they have stumbled along blindly before finding their way to you. "The gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it." so Matthew tells us. Thinking of your parish this way how can you turn away the help offered by these new faithful? Are you so strong that you can give succor to the whole of the unconverted world by yourself? Can you clothe them all, feed them all, dress their wounds? Work is made lighter by the hands of many and the occasional cries of young children that echo through the nave are the hope of future aid to come.

You are an active participant in the work of the Church, not a passive member of the audience. Theosis is transformation through putting into practice His commandments. He has given you the gift of His mysteries and expects that you shall make good use of them.

13.	"Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.
14.	"For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them.
15.	"To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey.
16.	"Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents.
17.	"In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more.
18.	"But he who received the one talent went away, and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.
19.	"Now after a long time the master of those slaves *came and *settled accounts with them.
20.	"The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, `Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.'
21.	"His master said to him, `Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.'
22.	"Also the one who had received the two talents came up and said, `Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more talents.'
23.	"His master said to him, `Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.'
24.	"And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, `Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed.
25.	`And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.'
26.	"But his master answered and said to him, `You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed.
27.	`Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest.
28.	`Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.'
29.	"For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away.
30.	"Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.