Tending the Holy

I attended a special prayer service at Sacred Heart Parish on a recent Friday night.  A wonderful atmosphere arose from good readings and the repetitive, moving music of Taize. This refrain still haunts me: ”Sacred is the call, awesome indeed the entrustment: tending the holy, tending the holy.”

What does it mean to tend the holy? 

Maybe we tend the holy when we stoke the fire of the Holy One within. Or maybe we tend the holy by simply sitting silently, muting all our inner chatter.    

Or maybe we tend the holy when we help the man with the flat tire or hug the woman who mourns her husband or lend money to the one whose pension is spent.

On a plane ride home from Israel I think I tended the holy when I held the fussy baby whose mom went to the restroom. What a surprise that was for me.   

How have you recently ‘tended the holy’?

                                                 Majorities and Minorities

The biggest problem in the early church was integrating Gentiles into the Christian community. It was a real mess until Sts. Peter and Paul had a meeting of the minds in the Council of Jerusalem. (Acts 15)  They agreed that Gentiles didn’t have to follow most Jewish customs. So the Gentile church group grew and it ultimately became the majority. 

That situation comes to mind as we face similar issues in our country and in our Catholic Churches too. Demographic studies tell us that within 30 years Anglos will be a minority in the USA.    

I assume that’s why White Supremacist groups are on the rise. 

It’s not easy being a minority. Just ask Latinos or Blacks who’ve had to deal with that reality for a very long time.

In the light of this, what can Pastors or Congregations do to oppose hate groups and to help our communities face the new reality? What have we learned as the ethnic make-up of our Churches and Pastors has changed over recent years?  What helps us and what hinders us?   Send email responses and comments to rjgramza@gmail.com