Looking back at the weekly messages of Father Paul Counce, first published in The Carpenter, our weekly Parish Bulletin
Published: May 08, 2016
I’m very happy to report that the “waterproofing project” that we began before Christmas has finally come to an end here at the Cathedral. The wonderful folks from Associated Waterproofing, Inc., not only finished repairing and waterproofing the exterior of our venerable church, they also painted the building’s walls and windows. In particular, the front façade of the Cathedral now looks stunning again. And if your eye is keen, you’ll notice that now the colors of the church building and our Parish Hall are now coordinated! Finally, as a little lagniappe, we got the railings around the front Plaza of the church and the various walkways sanded and repainted as well.
With the Cathedral and the Parish Hall now looking fine, you may be wondering what’s next in the “building and maintenance department.” Well, honestly, Bishop Muench is interested in upgrading the lighting and sound systems inside the Cathedral, but this won’t be done until next spring at the earliest. The only time which we can conveniently utilize for interior scaffolding is always just before and during Lent, when no weddings are scheduled inside the church. And just between us, I’m sure that having this long lead time will help diocesan financial officials figure out how they are going to pay for these upgrades. They are not something that have been part of the parish’s plans!
So what are our plans? Frankly, some work needs to be done in the rectory (the priests’ living quarters). While the parish’s office building and the rectory both need to be waterproofed and repainted, and their roofs looked at, I don’t think we can afford these at the present time. We may have to content ourselves with pressure washing the exteriors and just praying for the roofs! The more pressing concern is that the rectory’s bathrooms have not been upgraded since being built in 1966. If you’re old enough to remember what plumbing and fixtures were like back then, you’ll know how inadequate and uncomfortable they are now. For my part too, I’m very concerned that we should install handrails and make other improvements to accommodate elderly and disabled residents and guests. I am at the moment the only resident, but I’m not getting any younger, and indeed while we otherwise have room for a retired priest or maybe even two to live here, these safety concerns would prevent this at the moment. So if the parochial Finance Council agrees – and if we can count on your usual generous stewardship in supporting this effort – this may be the next physical project: a real “home improvement” one!
What will be our next spiritual project? Well, the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy is continuing until the Solemnity of Christ the King this coming November. Rediscovering and reinvigorating Christ Jesus’ great gift of mercy in the Sacrament of Penance is “Job 1” for us all in this holy time. I continue to be edified by the number of people who in the past few years have come back to the practice of regular confession – for most people, the practice of monthly reconciliation is best – so that now they are devoting real attention to the practice of virtue in their lives. There’s really no way to have a worthwhile spirituality if it doesn’t include regularly acknowledging our limitations. In other words, it’s impossible to pray well and effectively unless freedom from one’s sins becomes a reality as well. If it’s been a while, even a long while, since you last went to confession, please give some thought to it. If you’d rather not just come and stand in line before daily Mass or on Saturday afternoon – and those times really are not conducive to an in-depth “reconciliation restart”! – just give me a call and I’ll be happy to meet you in the reconciliation room some afternoon or evening. Confession is one of the sacraments which can be celebrated anywhere, anytime, so we should be able to make it happen!
And what will be our next administrative project? In keeping with the thrust of the new diocesan Pastoral Plan, and as you know from recent homilies and Bulletin articles, we are actively studying our regular schedule of weekend Masses. Our neighbors to the east, Sacred Heart and Our Lady of Mercy Parishes, reduced their Sunday Mass schedules in years past, in response to changing demographics and ministerial availability (Sacred Heart a couple of years ago, and OLOM a decade earlier); it may well be our turn soon. Fortunately, St. Joseph Cathedral Parish has for many decades been something of a “destination parish,” which people readily go out of their way to affiliate with. This unique kind of interest, that draws from well beyond our borders, demonstrates a flexibility that other parishes may not so readily enjoy. And as I’ve said before, our facilities now can accommodate increased attendance at services still without crowding people in. Many have already shared with me their preferences and ideas for the future, for which I’m grateful; continued prayerful consideration of how we can best use our space, personnel, and other resources in the future is appreciated!
In the Risen Lord,
