Christmas Greetings!

Have you been busy being a saints?  From Dec. 9-12, Jennifer Belock and I (along with 15 youth ministry leaders from our diocese) attended our national youth ministry conference (NCCYM) in New Orleans, LA, where we celebrated the theme “March with the Saints!” Obviously it was a very appropriate theme for the location, but it was also a tremendously powerful theme in terms of our faith. We were reminded throughout the weekend of the power of the communion of saints – those who have gone before us in our faith tradition, those who have gone before us as saints and faith mentors in our own personal lives, those who march with us side by side today as living witnesses, and those young people who we are preparing to be saints, marching into the future.

One of the speakers I most enjoyed that weekend was Dr. Carole Eipers, who presented a keynote on Saturday morning entitled “Saints’ Marching Orders: Procession, Protest, Parade.” (You can download and listen/watch for personal/professional enrichment!)  Carole reminded us that “Saints don’t care if people are watching, or if no one is watching; saints live a life of integrity.” She helped us to see that saints march in different ways at different times:

• Procession: We are all “stand-ins” for the Real Teacher and we must march in procession to the symphony of faith. We are always disciples, and the order to march in procession reminds us of our role to mark sacred times and places, always pointing to Christ. Where are we marching? Who are we marching with? How are we marching?
• Protest: As saints (or saints-in-the-making!) we must stand for and witness to Gospel values, and stand up against those things that contradict Gospel values. While we don’t really know what Jesus looked like, we do know how he looked at people. The order to march in protest reminds us to be people of justice, with eyes and ears open to perceive oppression, and hands reaching out to build bridges of peace and hope. How will we use our gifts to bring the reign of God more fully present in our world today?
• Parade: Everyone loves a parade! Are we joyful saints, who invite others to join us simply by the joy and energy of our marching? The order to march in parade reminds us that our walk in faith must be an evangelizing march that people are eager to join. “Joy is the infallible sign of the presence of God.” (Teilhard de Chardin) Can others see God in our joyful march?

To commemorate this inspiring conference – and more importantly, to remind us all of our call to march in procession, protest and parade – I bought a gift for our department and division at the conference. It’s a poster entitled, “Come March with the Saints” and it is a reproduction of an original piece of artwork commissioned by the local conference organizers to reflect the spirit of New Orleans and our Catholic faith. The proceeds benefit the youth ministry office in New Orleans, which is still rebuilding itself from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. (They lost everything – all data, all files, all resources, the offices, etc. Can you imagine?)

At Christmas we celebrate “God with skin.” What an appropriate time to remember that because of the great gift of Jesus at Christmas, all of us can look forward to being (unofficial) saints, living with God forever someday . . . and in the meantime, all of us can be “saints-in-the-making” – being “God with skin” for others in small, if imperfect, ways.

If you are in the area, please come by our department to see our new addition. Thank you for being part of the communion of saints that we are so blessed to serve with here in ministry. May you and your loved ones have a most holy Christmas!

The Church, then is 'the holy People of God,' and her members are called 'saints.'" (CCC 823)