Posts tagged parish life
What to do when you want to Quit
Jan 21st
Jesus I trust in You
Long, unappreciated days come when you are working in parish ministry. Volunteers forget to come, youth never say thank you, Father forgets your name, and there is no end in sight.
These are the days when you think, “I’m done!”
We have all been there. Not just once, but many times. I believe it comes even more when working in the Catholic Church due to the spiritual work that is taking place. The Catholic Church can be a tough place to work. Fulfilling the will of God is always hard in everyone’s life.
5 Simple Remedies When You Want to Stop Ministering
-Take a Break – Just take a day off, an hour, 5 minutes and relax. Everything will be there when you come back. The weight of the world is not on your shoulders. The Lord is carrying the cross with you.
-Identify the Problem – Take a look at your activities, work, and ministry and target the areas with the most stress. Instead of allowing these to be placed under the rug, face them.
-Pray - Ask the Lord for help and guidance. Make Him your partner in everything you do. Don’t allow a decision to be made without counsel.
-The Mission – What is your mission? What is your purpose? This must be clear and those who work with you must be on board. If not, reevaluate you goals, and share them. Maybe this means moving to another ministry, parish, or group. Or cultivate your team to be on the same mission as you.
-Share – Elicit some feedback from those you minister to and with. Tell them what you are thinking and you will find out that you probably are doing a great job. Or a reality check will come and it will be a clear sign that your gifts and talents may be best used somewhere else.
Remember, Calvary is a big hill to climb, but at the top is the prize.
What do you do when you want to quit working for the Catholic Church?
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Loading ...How to Fix a Bad Liturgy Planning Committee
Jan 19th
The Vatican
Imagine. Mass is about to begin. As you kneel down to say your prayers you look up and see a multicolored sheet placed over the alter, 100 candles placed below the tabernacle, 25 sets of flowers, and all the statues removed from the Church.
Ok a little much, but we have all seen some pretty crazy things at a Catholic Mass.
The Liturgy Committee
First the need the right leadership, second members, third formation, forth prayer
Where is the committee going? Who ever leads the committee should have a solid understanding for liturgical norms. They should also have the intention to follow them. In addition they should be able to relate the intentions of the Church to the other members.
Members of the committee also need to have some understanding of liturgical norms, but be willing to listen and follow direction. These members are essential to the parish because without them who would help prepare for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass?
The leader and members must be formed in the truths of the Church. It is important that the pastor selects members who desire to follow the Church’s rubrics and not create their own.
Without prayer the committee will run astray. Prayer is essential to participating in the liturgy. Asking the Lord for his grace and guidance will provide a more productive committee.
The Bad Committee
If you are so unlucky to have a ‘bad’ liturgy committee let’s go over some remedies.
First – Start with the prayer element. Begin the meetings with the rosary. It’s an easy prayer and will bring many graces. In addition the priest could offer a reflection on scripture or could offering a teaching as the beginning of each meeting.
- Monthly Holy Hours
- Weekly Mass attendance
- Frequent Confession
- Yearly Retreats
Second – Personal Formation. The leader should know a little bit about each person. Does someone have an agenda or are they just misinformed? Is it time for someone to retire or just change their role? Helping someone understand the liturgy and grow in their prayer life should be essential to the role of the leader. If the committee members have a deeper faith life and understanding of Mass they will be more willing to follow liturgical norms.
Third – Resources. The Vatican and many diocese offer extensive documents on do’s and don’ts of liturgy. Start reading and following them. Don’t go astray. Check your local seminary and see if they have courses on Catholic liturgy.
Fourth – Disband. Yes it’s an extreme, but sometimes you just have to start on a new foot.
What do you think are some remedies to making Sunday Mass more beautiful?
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(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...12 Principles to Follow to Become like the 12 Apostles
Nov 23rd
1. Develop a prayer life and keep it.
Many people think they don’t have enough time in the day to pray, however 15 minutes is only 1% of the day. Increase your prayer, decrease your selfishness. A successful youth minister must first know how much God loves them, before they love the teens they minister to. Make prayer more than just a habit, but a way of life. Every action and thought should become a gift to God. As St. John Bosco said, the three spiritual fountains are the Eucharist, Devotion to Mary, and frequent confession.
2. Attain a positive attitude.
If you think you will never succeed, you never will. God is love and God fills us with joy. Joy like we will never no. If we walk around moping and doubting that our ministry will work or is working, then why would anyone want to be a part of it at all? Teens are attracted to momentum and are searching for joy. Be filled with trust in Jesus Christ, because with Jesus all things are possible.
3. Set goals and write them down.
Visualizing your goals leaves you accountable. Achieving your goals develops accomplishes. Looking back on accomplished goals builds up your confidence and gives you the feeling of accomplishment.
4. Dedicate yourself to becoming a Saint.
Everyday have a continual conversion to Christ. Learn something new everyday and write it down in a journal. In a year you will have 365 new ideas. Learn about the lives of the saints, youth ministry techniques, prayer, catechism, speaking and writing, working with youth, technology, etc. In 3 years you will have learned 1,095 new techniques. Imagine if you spent 10 minutes everyday for 3 years. That’s 182 hours! Four years of college usually only averages 120 hours of class.
5. Write a plan and execute it.
Developing a plan will allow you to put your ideas onto paper and guide you as the days and weeks get hectic. Start with a 6 month game plan.
6. Be a Leader.
Young people want a fearless leader who takes charge and leads them to Christ. If you are not a leader, read about how to become one.
7. Obtain Mentors.
Find a mentor in different areas and ask them for guidance and advice. Meet with a mentor on a regular basis. Maybe once a month, maybe more. Develop a pool of teachers so you can emulate there best talents and ideas.
8. Give.
The more you give the more you get. Give to the young people and you will get their attention. Give to the people you work with and they will help you. Give to God everything you do.
Follow Your Heart. God speaks to us through our hearts.
9. Follow Your Heart
As Andy Garrity a famous business manager from Philadelphia faithfully said, “Follow your heart and the money will follow.” In following your heart make sure to have fun. One day I realized I love what I am doing. It doesn’t even seem like work. Yes it’s hard. Fishing is hard, but it is considered relaxing.
10. Know Youth.
Learn, listen, and adapt. Learn about the youth culture. Listen to what your youth are saying to you and is being said to them. Adapt your program to fit their culture. Don’t water down the teachings of the Church, adapt the way you communicate the truth so the youth can hear it. Example. If youth are listening to iPods get the Churches message on there.
11. Devotion to the Blessed Mother.
Mary leads us to Christ. She is the perfect role model for a Catholic life. God came to man through Mary, so we should go to Him through Mary. She should be part of your daily life and your daily youth ministry program. Daily rosary will uplift your life and your ability to minister to teens.
12. Utilize the Sacraments.
The sacraments unite us to Jesus and prepare us for heaven. Personally utilize them for yourself and use them for your youth ministry as much as possible. Two themes should always be present in everything that is done is Jesus and Mary. The Eucharist and Mary are the center of every successful youth ministry I have ever seen.
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