Homily Series:

Frequently Asked Questions

In short, we are refocusing our efforts and energy on God’s purposes for the church. We as a Church have a clear mission from Christ, and we can always get better at it. We strive to take living our mission and purpose to the next level of excellence.

Yes, and more than that! Fr. Trout is the driving force behind this renewed focus on mission, relationships, and growing as followers of Jesus. He gave us the task of implementing this renewed mission-focus before he left on sabbatical.

Jesus has given us a clear mission:

• Love God (Matthew 22:38)
• Love Others (Matthew 22:39)
• Make Disciples (Matthew 28:19)
• Popes past and present, the Church’s Constitution (Lumen Gentium),  the Catechism, the Archdiocese, and our Pastor have boldly underlined this mission from Christ, and call us to focus on it and live from it. 

So the question that we need to answer is: Are we accomplishing the Mission of our Church – LOVING GOD, LOVING OTHERS, AND MAKING DISCIPLES?

Asking this question is utterly Biblical, utterly Catholic, and utterly timely. 

While it is not everyone’s preferred style, our hope is that it will resonate with many young families and young people. This could provide an entry point for reconnecting them (or connecting them for the first time) with Christ and with the Catholic Church. This was a major priority we heard from parishioners in the Synod, and it is on our Pastor’s heart as well. If you’re a young family or young person reading this: welcome to St. Joseph’s! We care deeply about you and hope you find connection with God and this community when you come and check us out! 
 

The Catholic Church faces a crisis to which we are challenged to respond. Father Trout once shared this quote from Cardinal Cupich, which the Cardinal shared at a Confirmation Mass : “Are you the last generation of the Church?” One in three people raised in the Catholic Church have walked away, making “former Catholics” the third largest religious designation in the United States.  With the impact of COVID-19, we’ve experienced this decline right here in our own parish:

1.      Weekend Mass attendance has decreased from about 4,000 to 2,100 attendees.
2.      Volunteers involved in ministries have declined by 30%. 
3.      Students in the Children’s Faith Formation program have declined by 37% (800 to 500). 

For the Clergy, Staff, and the Parish Pastoral Council (PPC), the real wakeup call was the lack of participation in the Synod questions in March.  The Synod was a great opportunity for parishioners to share their hopes and dreams for our Parish Community. Unfortunately, only a small percentage of the parish participated.  Clergy, Staff and the Parish Pastoral Council had two choices – Do Nothing, eg. keep doing all the same things as if we are not in a different time 'post-COVID'... or TAKE ACTION to lean into our Christ-given mission in a time when people are leaving the church.  
So...we are heading on an adventure to enliven our faith and purpose by implementing an improved Mass worship experience:

• Saturday 5 pm Masses starting September 10th  will have contemporary music, an enhanced call to worship, and a next-level welcoming ministry 
• Launching a new 6-week Homily Series called GROW for all Masses. The whole parish will GROW in discipleship together with focus and intentionality. One church united in one message. 

It’s a logical first step to start refocusing on our purpose when and where the community of faith is gathered: at Mass on the weekend. In our effort of making disciples, if someone who is disengaged is going to come to church at all, it will most likely be at a weekend Mass. 
Refocusing on our purpose takes all of us. This means we all need formation, more connection with God, and more connection with one another. This happens on the weekend more than any other time in the week. 
 

At the Saturday 5pm Masses, the homily will focus on a specific theme over a series of weeks. From week to week we build on the theme, which is based on the Scripture Readings, and explore it from different angles. It also includes relevant weekly digital content online including written reflections and journal questions to go deeper into the theme on your own or in a small group.

• PLUS the 5pm Saturday Masses include contemporary music connected to the theme.

No. This is so much more! It is one part of a bigger picture: living out our Christ-given mission. Using themes along with an enhanced Welcoming Ministry and vibrant music at the 5pm Saturday Masses, we seek to focus on particular aspects of being followers of Jesus as a to really mature and grow stronger in that area together.  Consistency is the key with forming good habits of discipleship.

It's what we are trying out as a way to more clearly live out our mission of Loving God, Loving Others, and Making Disciples. It is about maturing as disciples, taking our discipleship to the next level. 

Also, why not? No matter who we are or where we are on our faith journey, we can always develop more in our identity as followers of Jesus. This series gives us time and space to be intentional. This is time to be one church and one Body focusing on one theme.

It makes sense to focus over a period of time on this theme because it takes focus, persistence, and continuity for a theme to really settle into our minds and hearts and to create good habits. 

Focusing intentionally on a theme in order to follow Jesus more closely helps us remain focused on our Christ-given mission with greater drive and momentum. When we are all moving in the same direction, we gain more ground!