Be More
For the past two years we have used the simple statement BE MORE as a guide for our overall spiritual enrichment here at Holy Family. I first introduced it based on the sacred action that is essential to the Eucharist. The Documents of the Second Vatican Council urge us to embrace the Eucharist as the “…source and summit of our faith lives.” The Eucharist is the source of spiritual enrichment for all of God’s people and certainly for us here in the Holy Family Catholic Community. The Eucharist is the ONE thing that brings us all together in the greatest gifts of life – God giving HIMSELF to us in Jesus Christ…Jesus Christ giving HIMSELF to us in the Eucharist…and us giving OURSELVES to God and to each other.
These are what I call the greatest three gifts of love, and this giving and encountering is no more powerfully celebrated than in the Eucharist.
Steeped in this love I have been inspired for many years to reflect on, share analogies of, and convey many images and metaphors pertaining to the REALITY of Christ’s REAL presence in the Eucharist. With a BE MORE attitude my hope is for all of us not merely to receive or consume the Eucharist, but to BE MORE of a Eucharistic people sealing our identity as the Body of Christ by encountering and taking the Body and Blood of Christ into our very selves – to become MORE than we are.
One of my strongest beliefs is that simple bread and wine are transformed into something MORE in the Eucharist. The Holy Spirit makes those elements MORE, because that is what Jesus Christ intended at the Last Supper. I believe that staying true to His intention to give us not only a gift but HIMSELF to us, he also gives us a paradigm for life in this Sacrament.
Simply put, the paradigm is –The Ordinary becomes Extraordinary by the action of the Holy Spirit.
If we take the encounter with God through Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit seriously, we will also accept the challenge for the same Holy Spirit empowering us to BE MORE.
My good friend and theologian Jack Shea says, “Jesus instituted the Eucharist not only to change bread and wine, but to change you and I.”
Such change has begun here at Holy Family leading us to BE MORE…
• Aware of grace
• Aware of an age-old term resurrected by Pope Francis and supported by Pope Leo called synodality meaning walking together
• Aware that we are walking together into our future
• Aware of what we have accomplished in forty years as we celebrated that anniversary engaged with each other in living out the principles of Catholic Social Teaching
• Aware of the mission statement of our community – “To empower all to experience New Life In Christ through sacramental living, transformative worship, lifelong spiritual growth and community in service to others.”
• Aware of the importance of LISTENING to each other, particularly in the Conversations in the Spirit that carry out the process of synodality and give structure to our walking together
• Aware that these, and more, constitute a Movement of Growth,
We will continue to emphasize the two major parts of BE MORE:
• Conversations in the Spirit and
• Eucharistic Renewal
I am asking for your commitment to these two aspects of the overall call to BE MORE.
I know that we as a community of faith can grow, evolve, and BE MORE. I have used our beautiful Cross of New Life to reinforce the importance of our call as a community to BE MORE in pointing out that the hand of Jesus is indicating that the Kingdom of God is here…it is at hand in our midst. However, his gaze is beyond the gesture of what is here. His gaze is a vision for us to BE MORE.
I want to thank our Movement of Growth Leadership Team, our Directors, Ministry Leads and all of you who have participated in a Conversation in the Spirit. If you have not done so already, please sign up for one or more of these Conversations. Movement of Growth cards are available in the narthex and in the parish office. Use the QR code to express your interest. You may also contact Mary Whiteside at mwhiteside@holyfamilyparish.org and she will help you sign up for a Conversation.