The Church is something that transcends St. Mary's parish in Oak Ridge, TN. Our parish does not exist outside the realm of a higher authority from which it has been joined to. We are bound together with other believers who are joined together by one faith. We are joined at the reality that we have Sacraments and priests who are able to make these Sacraments manifest within the community of believers. If we ever separate ourselves from this reality we must say that we have separated ourselves from the Church that is the Body of Christ. Under this banner that is known as the Church we find hierarchy and authority that binds us together as believers. To disconnect ourselves from this authority and tradition that has been past down by Christ would cause a part of the body to fall away from the whole. As a Catholic parish we belong to the authority of a bishop and exist within the jurisdiction of a diocese that is aligned with the authority of the pope of Rome. Therefore we must be concerned with the well being of the diocese as much as we are concerned with the well being of our parish.
As many of you know our bishop's appeal will be made next week. I know and thank you for the sacrifices and contributions that each of you continue to give to this parish community. Your contributions help to build up the Kingdom of God at the parish level. With them we are able to not only keep our lights on and doors open, but are able to assist with the various ministries that we give to the community. With these contributions we are able to keep open our parish school, accomplish empowering our youth through the use of youth ministry, offer faith formation classes for adults, serve the needy with the food pantry, along with many unmentioned items that are so immense that they cannot be named. I must also thank you for your prayers and time that has been bestowed by you upon this parish community. The use of volunteers helps many tasks to be easily accomplished and your prayers help to build up this parish community.
I have heard it said that I support my parish and that should be enough. We must realize in conjunction with our obligation to support our parish that we must support our diocese. In many unseen ways our diocese helps this parish community and helps to spread the Catholic faith throughout the whole territory of this diocese. The contributions that are made to the diocese aid with seminarian education and the formation of our deacons. These are important to our parish because these are the future priests and deacons who will come to serve this parish community and bring the sacraments of the Church into the life of the faithful. A percentage of the money that will be collected will also go to aid Catholic Charities with the many good works that they offer throughout our diocese. At times families of our own parish may partake of the counseling services that they offer or be in need of the aid that can be given through Catholic Charities. Other areas where this money will be allotted will also aid this diocese in its mission of evangelization with efforts of justice and peace, Christian formation, and campus ministry.
In giving to our diocese our money may not be kept locally, but we are able to express our belief that our Church is universal and not just local. When we proclaim the Creed we state that we " believe in one holy, catholic, and apostolic church." In this theological statement we are able to agree with Saint Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians where he was acknowledging our need to be united to the whole Body of Christ. In being united to the whole body we are not able to cut ourselves off from the body because that would lead us astray from Christ. Instead we must remain connected to the whole because only this way are we able to live out the true faith that has been founded upon the apostles. Without the universal Church that is our diocese we are unable to exist as a parish and therefore any aid that we can offer our diocese be it money, prayers, or your own talents are to contribute to the well being of not piece, but of the whole.
St. Paul invites us today to become and remain a part of the whole body that is the Church. Our faith does not teach us that we should do what serves our own needs, but that we may live our lives totally in accord with God's teachings. When we follow after our own desires without being informed by faith we begin to build up our own church that has been constructed in our own image. This self constructed entity has become disconnected from the fullness of the body that is concerned not with the well being of one, but of the whole. No matter if our disagreement has to do with birth control, abortion, the sanctity of marriage, the priority of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, the Holy Eucharist as being truly the Body and Blood of Christ, the authority of the pope of Rome as being the head of the Church, priests being the successors of the apostles, the need to attend the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass each Sunday, or any other disagreement; we must still believe and allow ourselves to be educated in the faith and not by popular opinion. In doing such we can remain connected to the living body that is the Church.
We are all blest to find ourselves inside of the living body that is the Diocese of Knoxville as it prepares to celebrate its 25th anniversary. May we take the time necessary to pray concerning the bishop's appeal and what we can give to our diocese. In making our contribution we show that we desire to not only serve the local area that is our parish, but show that we desire to serve the Church as a whole as well. May this also be a time of inspiration for each of us that will aid us in reflecting upon our faith and questioning if we allow ourselves to remain totally connected to the body that is the Church. If we for any reason hold any of the truths of the Church to be untrue we have begun to separate ourselves from this body. May we not allow ourselves to grow comfortable in working on our own accord, but may we see the beauty that lies in the body that works as a whole. In the Eucharist we are bound together in our faith because our "amen" expresses that we believe in the Church and her teachings and the reality of the universal Church of which we live.
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