Volunteerism

03-13-2016Weekly ReflectionFr. Brian Jazdzewski

I've fielded several comments about my homily last weekend when I reference 66.66% of the parishes in our cluster will be discussing volunteerism. Now, its seems, is as good a time as any to offer a few remarks about volunteerism on the parish level and on a personal level. For some of us, our first inclination is to provide explanations as to why some people are not volunteering within our parish context. We might cite things like: busy lives, different priorities, other volunteers were too critical, don't feel qualified, too long of a commitment, someone else will do it; and the list goes on and on. I'm sure you've heard your share of excuses. On another angle, there might be some effect of cultural influences. Consider your family of origin and how its members did or did not volunteer at your church.

Shifting gears, our council meeting dialogues have looked at volunteering in another way. We took some time listing the activities at which people do volunteer. Overall, there is more volunteerism than we may think. Of course we are tempted to suggest these are often the same people doing multiple tasks. Whatever the case may be, its worth considering the volunteerism that remains the backbone of our parish.

The conversation then turned to prioritizing parish volunteer opportunities. We quickly arrived at a point which suggested our weekend and holy day worship is the most important. That reminder is refreshing. We need to continue remembering that what we do around the altar of sacrifice is the source and summit of our lives as Catholics. From our prayers inside the church is where we are reminded of our mission from Jesus to "go out to all nations."

At the risk of getting a little more personal, you might consider just how much you volunteer within our parish. I hope you are delighted in the list of activities you assist in throughout the year. If not, that emptiness inside might just be a prompting from the Holy Spirit to become just a little (or a lot) more involved. Secondary to that reflection is a consideration to become more aware of just how many volunteer opportunities our parish provides. Some of them come around annually, others on a regular basis. Now is the time to consider being a more faithful steward with your time and talents and step forward to serve Christ, His Church and His people.

Finally, because we are in the season of Lent, reflecting upon our generosity is not limited to what we can measure with dollar signs and decimal points. Being generous, especially as a volunteer, has consequences which we may never know. Somehow, we ought to look deep within ourselves and stir up that tender heart within and do just a little more for our parish. We are the people who will set the standard for the future. We are the people who will leave a legacy for the future. In the context of our Lenten reflections, we reopen our minds to Jesus' summons to be generous to Him. As many of us know, those hours spent volunteering can make us feel so good inside because of the choice we made to be generous. Its that feeling we continue to seek out be making putting volunteerism back as a priority in our lives.

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