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Written by • August 9, 2024• 2:33 pm• Pastoral Notes

Breaking Self-Exile: Returning to Community and Christ’s Love

Pastoral Reflection The first reading from the Book of Leviticus and the gospel passage from St. Mark’s Gospel stand in sharp contrast to one another. In the first reading, if someone thinks they might have leprosy they are to go to the priest who will confirm the diagnosis. If the priest agrees, the leper is to make himself look disheveled and exclude himself from the rest of the community until he is healed or dies. There were practical reasons for this, of course. The self-exile was intended to protect the rest of the community from infection. But soon enough these self-exiled people were looked down upon, forgotten, and thought to have brought disease upon themselves. No one was to touch them or approach them. By contrast, in the gospel, a leper approaches Jesus (something he should not have done) and asks if it is Jesus’ will that he be healed. Jesus does will this man’s healing and he is healed! No longer is he “on the outside,” but now he is back, restored, renewed! How often do we exclude ourselves from others because of our past or current mistakes, addictions, or problems? Do we “self-exile?” Or, in other cases, do we feel judged and excluded by the community? It is Jesus’ will that we be healed, restored, and renewed! As Ash Wednesday approaches this week, let us take the opportunity to return to the Lord who loves us beyond all measure with all our hearts! Call to action: With the beginning of Lent on Wednesday this is an important time to reach out to your people, especially those we may not have seen in a while. Two full years after the Covid emergency Churches still haven’t returned to previous levels of active participation. Our job, like that of Jesus, is to reach-out to those “self-exiled” and to offer God’s grace of healing love and the renewal of life and spirit. Use your GC Smart Tools to reach out to everyone on your email and direct mail lists! We have email and letter templates you can adapt to your own parish for free. Please use them to renew souls and restore hearts! Call your people home for Lent. Pastoral Action Points GiveCentral has hard evidence that using our GC Smart Tools increases participation and giving. Check out our End of the Year report for more information. Read our Year in Review Report! Save your seat for our upcoming webinar on Monday, February 12, 2024 at 12:00:00?PM Join us to learn the many ways GiveCentral can support you in welcoming and engaging parishioners and visitors throughout the Lenten and on Easter Sunday. Learn the best welcoming and engaging practices. Save your seat now! Use your GC Smart Tools to email, text, or direct mail to your people Lenten messages of renewal and hope. Do this weekly and you will see growth in your participation. Sending a mass email or text literally takes only seconds with GC Smart Tools! Stay up-to-date with news & information - follow us on social! Toll-free: 833.716.2612 | Email us at: support@givecentral.org

Pastoral Reflection

Pastoral ReflectionThe first reading from the Book of Leviticus and the gospel passage from St. Mark’s Gospel stand in sharp contrast to one another. In the first reading, if someone thinks they might have leprosy they are to go to the priest who will confirm the diagnosis. If the priest agrees, the leper is to make himself look disheveled and exclude himself from the rest of the community until he is healed or dies. There were practical reasons for this, of course. The self-exile was intended to protect the rest of the community from infection. But soon enough these self-exiled people were looked down upon, forgotten, and thought to have brought disease upon themselves. No one was to touch them or approach them. By contrast, in the gospel, a leper approaches Jesus (something he should not have done) and asks if it is Jesus’ will that he be healed. Jesus does will this man’s healing and he is healed! No longer is he “on the outside,” but now he is back, restored, renewed! How often do we exclude ourselves from others because of our past or current mistakes, addictions, or problems? Do we “self-exile?” Or, in other cases, do we feel judged and excluded by the community? It is Jesus’ will that we be healed, restored, and renewed! As Ash Wednesday approaches this week, let us take the opportunity to return to the Lord who loves us beyond all measure with all our hearts!Call to action: With the beginning of Lent on Wednesday this is an important time to reach out to your people, especially those we may not have seen in a while. Two full years after the Covid emergency Churches still haven’t returned to previous levels of active participation. Our job, like that of Jesus, is to reach-out to those “self-exiled” and to offer God’s grace of healing love and the renewal of life and spirit. Use your GC Smart Tools to reach out to everyone on your email and direct mail lists! We have email and letter templates you can adapt to your own parish for free. Please use them to renew souls and restore hearts! Call your people home for Lent.Pastoral Action Points GiveCentral has hard evidence that using our GC Smart Tools increases participation and giving. Check out our End of the Year report for more information. Read our Year in Review Report!Save your seat for our upcoming webinar on Monday, February 12, 2024 at 12:00:00?PM Join us to learn the many ways GiveCentral can support you in welcoming and engaging parishioners and visitors throughout the Lenten and on Easter Sunday. Learn the best welcoming and engaging practices. Save your seat now!Use your GC Smart Tools to email, text, or direct mail to your people Lenten messages of renewal and hope. Do this weekly and you will see growth in your participation. Sending a mass email or text literally takes only seconds with GC Smart Tools! Stay up-to-date with news & information - follow us on social! Toll-free: 833.716.2612 | Email us at: support@givecentral.org

The first reading from the Book of Leviticus and the gospel passage from St. Mark’s Gospel stand in sharp contrast to one another. In the first reading, if someone thinks they might have leprosy they are to go to the priest who will confirm the diagnosis. If the priest agrees, the leper is to make himself look disheveled and exclude himself from the rest of the community until he is healed or dies. There were practical reasons for this, of course. The self-exile was intended to protect the rest of the community from infection. But soon enough these self-exiled people were looked down upon, forgotten, and thought to have brought disease upon themselves. No one was to touch them or approach them. By contrast, in the gospel, a leper approaches Jesus (something he should not have done) and asks if it is Jesus’ will that he be healed. Jesus does will this man’s healing and he is healed! No longer is he “on the outside,” but now he is back, restored, renewed! How often do we exclude ourselves from others because of our past or current mistakes, addictions, or problems? Do we “self-exile?” Or, in other cases, do we feel judged and excluded by the community? It is Jesus’ will that we be healed, restored, and renewed! As Ash Wednesday approaches this week, let us take the opportunity to return to the Lord who loves us beyond all measure with all our hearts!

Call to action: With the beginning of Lent on Wednesday this is an important time to reach out to your people, especially those we may not have seen in a while. Two full years after the Covid emergency Churches still haven’t returned to previous levels of active participation. Our job, like that of Jesus, is to reach-out to those “self-exiled” and to offer God’s grace of healing love and the renewal of life and spirit. Use your GC Smart Tools to reach out to everyone on your email and direct mail lists! We have email and letter templates you can adapt to your own parish for free. Please use them to renew souls and restore hearts! Call your people home for Lent.

Pastoral Action Points

  1. GiveCentral has hard evidence that using our GC Smart Tools increases participation and giving. Check out our End of the Year report for more information.
    Read our Year in Review Report!
  2. Save your seat for our upcoming webinar on Monday, February 12, 2024 at 12:00:00?PM Join us to learn the many ways GiveCentral can support you in welcoming and engaging parishioners and visitors throughout the Lenten and on Easter Sunday. Learn the best welcoming and engaging practices.
    Save your seat now!
  3. Use your GC Smart Tools to email, text, or direct mail to your people Lenten messages of renewal and hope. Do this weekly and you will see growth in your participation. Sending a mass email or text literally takes only seconds with GC Smart Tools!
 
Stay up-to-date with news & information – follow us on social!
Toll-free:  833.716.2612   |   Email us at: support@givecentral.org
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Last modified: August 9, 2024

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→ Pastoral Reflection The Epiphany of the Lord, and tomorrow’s feast of the Baptism of the Lord bring to a conclusion our Christmas seasonal celebrations. The gifts brought by the Magi signify a transition in the story of Jesus’ birth by pointing to his future as King, his divine nature, and his death for our freedom. And we know that this story marks a transition for Joseph and Mary who will have to go haste, once again, to exile in Egypt to save the life of this child. Our lives are filled with transitions, aren’t they? Some are joyful, like the birth of a child, and some are full of anxiety, like the flight into Egypt and wondering what the future may hold. Whether our transitions are joyful or anxious, we can turn to the one whose name is Emmanuel -- “God is with us.” Jesus has come to accompany us in all our joys and sorrows, hopes and griefs. Jesus accompanies us especially in his Word, the gospels; his living body, the Church; and most especially in the Holy Eucharist, where, in his body and blood, he continues to enter our humanity so that we might share in his divinity. Emmanuel -- “God is with us.” Call to action: In the United States we are in a special year devoted to a deepening of our understanding of the Holy Eucharist. It is a special time of catechesis and an invitation to encounter Our Lord in the mystery of his Sacramental Presence – body and blood, soul and divinity. Use this year as a time of invitation. Let the beauty of the mystery of the Lord’s Eucharistic presence speak to the hearts of his people – especially those who have been away. The Church has understood that there are three important “portals” that open the door of the soul to an encounter with God. They are sometimes referred to as the transcendentals: goodness, truth, and beauty! Through telling the stories of the Eucharistic saints we may demonstrate the power of goodness. Through clear but gentle catechesis we may demonstrate the truth of Christ’s real presence in the Eucharist. But most especially through beauty will the hearts of believers and non-believers alike be opened to the love of Christ made known in the Holy Eucharist. Pope Benedict XVI, of blessed memory, said that it was beauty, in the end, that would save the Church. Then let your Eucharistic celebrations be beautiful, and Christ will speak for himself! Pastoral Action Points Use your GC Smart Tools as a means for educating your people about the Holy Eucharist through texts, emails, and direct mails. There are many who, for various reasons, may not be able to receive the Eucharist at this time. Yet, they can still attend mass and adore the Lord in the Holy Eucharist. Take advantage of the opportunities for Holy Hours and Benedictions, and even Eucharistic processions as ways to include the many. GiveCentral has some exciting new tools coming your way later this month! Stay tuned for more information. As always, GiveCentral stands ready to assist you in using the full array of GC Smart Tools to make your ministry more effective and easier. If you need some help or just want to know more, contact us at support@givecentral.org. Stay up-to-date with news & information - follow us on social! Toll-free: 833.716.2612 | Email us at: support@givecentral.org Next Story
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