Pride in Faith: Supporting Mission Work and Unity at Saint Patrick Parish

Two weeks ago, we had Deacon Steve from the Diocese of Lexington, KY, with us at Mass. Deacon Steve spoke about the work his diocese is doing in serving the people of Appalachia. His talk was a part of what is called the Mission Co-op. It is sponsored by the Catholic Propagation of the Faith. At least once every three years we have someone representing a missionary organization within the Church speak, and of course we offer our financial support with a second collection. As Deacon Steve mentioned it is also important that we offer our prayers for the work the Diocese of Lexington is doing and for the people of Appalachia, who make up just three percent of the population. 

It is unusual to have someone representing a group doing missionary work in our own country. Generally when we think of missionaries, we think of people who have been sent and are providing services in another country. However it was good to be reminded of the needs of people right here in our own country and the work others are doing to provide assistance. When I look out at our church on a Sunday morning, it is hard for me to imagine a church with just ten people in the pews. But then to think that that tiny congregation has a food giveaway program that serves more than two hundred people during the week is simply amazing. Hearing the work that the Catholic Church is doing in Appalachia to feed the hungry and clothe the naked makes one proud to be a Catholic. In addition, knowing that our parish is sending nearly $10,000 to aid the Diocese of Lexington in its work from the collection that was taken here makes me proud to be a part of Saint Patrick Parish. 

Likewise it was great to hear from a few staff and parishioners who attended the recent Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis. There are three things I heard repeated by those who attended. They were most inspired by the Eucharistic procession that took place in the heart of Indianapolis. They were surprised by the many young women religious who they saw and young people in general. And they felt a tremendous sense of unity among the thousands of people who were there – compared to many large crowds of people where division is found. These experiences again provided those who attended the feeling of being proud to be Catholic.

The good news is that we don’t need to travel to Appalachia or a Eucharistic Congress to experience pride in our Catholic Faith. During the month of July we had twelve baptisms. This should give us a sense of being proud to be Catholic. This past week, over one hundred kids participated in Totus Tuus or Vacation Bible School. Again we should have a sense of pride in this. Hearing the gospel readings these weeks from the Gospel of Saint John about Jesus being the bread of life, hearing the music we sing at church, and seeing the people who come to adore Christ during the week in our chapel, should all give us a sense of pride to be a Catholic at this time in the world and a part of Saint Patrick Parish. 

Now at this point, I think someone who is reading this is contemplating reminding me that pride is a sin. In fact, it is one of the deadly sins. The writer C.S. Lewis spoke of pride as the most serious of sins. Of pride, C.S. Lewis spoke, “There is no fault which makes a man more unpopular, and no fault which we are more unconscious of in ourselves. And the more we have it ourselves, the more we dislike it in others.”

However when we have pride in our faith we are acknowledging the power and goodness of our God. Such pride is not sinful because with this pride we are being emphatic that we want God to be our God. It is less about being proud, and more about being faithful. So let us all find a reason to be proud to be Catholic this week and not afraid to even share the good news with someone else.