32nd Ordinary Time (B), November 12, 2006
Theme: The Widows Who Gave Away All They Possessed

• The readings today recount the stories of two widows who gave away all they possessed
• However, unlike the widow who gave Elijah from what little she had and then was rewarded for her generosity,
• We don’t know what happened to the “poor widow” in today’s gospel.
• Jesus points her out to his disciples and notes that she, “…from her poverty, had contributed all she had.”

• In our parish settings I would want to acknowledge today the work of all who minister both in all encompassing ways and in small hidden ways.
• All people who faithfully serve the needs of the parish and the local community:
• The small prayer groups;
• The Greeters, Ushers, Lectors and Eucharistic Ministers at Mass;
• Those who prepare food in the Social Service’s kitchen for the hungry
• Those who visit the sick and homebound;
• The parish office staff; and parish committee members
• The Carnival volunteers
• The Teachers in the School and the Catechists in the Religious Education program;
• Such good people! - Our parish couldn’t survive without them.
• Even more – they are the heart and soul of the parish and the Church

• Meeting November 7 – 9 with Cardinal Mahony, the bishops (6), the deans (20), members of the Council of Priests (?), plus assorted other priests, nuns and lay persons.
• About 50 in all
• We came together to plan how to staff the 291 parishes of the Archdiocese, given the shortage of priests, especially of priests who can serve as pastors

• The reality is that the number of Catholics is increasing dramatically
• Yet, the number of priests is diminishing due to death and retirement, and due to the small number of seminarians.

• Cardinal Mahony was good:
• Homily: “In once sense this is a wonderful problem to have.”
• The number of Catholics in Los Angeles is growing by leaps and bounds – even in the midst of the scandal in recent years.
• 100,000 baptisms a year in the archdiocese – more than the archdioceses of Chicago and New York combined
• We actually need to build at least five new churches to accommodate the tremendous growth especially in the San Fernando Valley.
• Many of the churches we now have in Los Angeles are too small for the congregations that attend Mass on Sunday
• God is working in our midst.
• We need to be open to how the spirit is leading us

• Context is, “What is it to be a Eucharistic Community”
• More than Sunday Mass and Daily Mass
• It has to do with celebrating the presence of God in our midst.
• However, one very important aspect is through the celebration of Mass

• How do we staff these parishes with a limited number of priests ?
• We are not talking about changes that will happen ten years from now, nor even five years into the future.
• These changes are happening now.
• Parishes with no resident priest are very common in the San Bernardino Diocese.
• One or two parishes with no priest pastor already exist in this archdiocese

• Several Options and Combinations of Options are forecast
• Twinning of two parishes with one pastor:
• Does this mean that the priest would simply have twice as much work?
• Not a good way to keep priests alive.
• One example of twinning: St. Kevin and Precious Blood are staffed by three Missionaries of Jesus from the Philippines. One man is pastor of both parishes.

• Parish Life Directors: Non-priest, Religious, Deacon, or Lay person would pastor the church
• St. Agatha: Sr. Karen is PLD, a priest associate works with her.
• Priests would become basically the celebrants of sacraments in several parishes.
• How will a parish pay the salary of a non-priest lay pastor with a family?
• Who will pay for the PLD in a poor parish?

• Clustering parishes – several distinct parishes would share common services – e.g. CCD programs, RCIA programs, Social Service programs, etc.
• We have some examples of clustering already.

• These changes will affect not only poor parishes, but wealthy parishes as well:
• Parish staffed by Religious Orders and those staffed by local clergy will be touched;
• Every parish in the archdiocese will be affected.

• Most of us will have difficulty with some or other of these changes – “This is not the Church I remember as a kid.”
• Of course there are not many things around today that are the same as when I was a kid.

• From the point of view of many of us, the long term solution is:
• The Ordination of Women
• The Ordination of Married People
• However, I may never see it, because the Catholic Church in many parts of the world, especially in the developing world, is not ready for it yet.

• In the meantime, there is a Double Strategy:
• Encourage Young Men to think about a vocation to priesthood or religious life
• It can be a very loving and good way of life.
• Provide training and support for competent Lay Men and Women to take on even more leadership in the Church of today - a very hopeful sign.

• The challenge is great, but the resiliency of the people is tremendous
• We know that God will never abandon his people.
• We know that some people are called to heroism like the Jesuits and their housekeepers that were martyred in El Salvador.
• Most of us will be called to be as generous as the Widows in today’s readings.
• Personally, I am happy to be walking down this road with all of you.
• It is actually kind of an exciting time.
• It is our church.
• With God’s help, we will build and maintain it together.

• Amen

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