The beautiful gospel story of the Road to Emmaus is a favorite of mine
and perhaps of yours. I love its pensive quality - the calm, reflective
way in which Luke tells us the journey of those two downhearted
disciples who walked with Jesus along the road that Easter evening not
knowing it was Jesus.
Luke tells us that
Emmaus is a village seven miles from Jerusalem but I find it interesting
that, even though it appears on nearly every pilgrim map of the Holy
Land – and we paid a visit there on our recent pilgrimage – still, many
scholars are not convinced that the real Emmaus has ever been found. For
that reason, we can think of Emmaus as representing every place - not
just one place - and of the road to Emmaus as every road we travel.
Isn’t it wonderful to think that no matter what road it is we travel in
life, Jesus is our companion? Even if we don’t always recognize him,
he’s no less a companion for that.
And along the road come
dark and difficult days as we, much like those two disciples of old,
find ourselves short on hope and maybe even lost in sadness because
Jesus seems to be absent. But the Emmaus story tells us that if we hold
on during the dark times and invite him to stay with us, he will. And
not only will he stay with us, he will find a way to open our eyes and
make himself known to us in the Breaking of the Bread.
My friends, this opening
up of minds and hearts takes place here week after week when we gather
in this holy place where Jesus makes himself known to us in the
scriptures proclaimed, in the Bread that is broken, the cup that is
shared, and in one another. How blessed we are to have a wonderful
parish like this. How blessed we are not to be alone on the road of
life, the road to Emmaus.
But this parish is not
an island. Far from it. It is part of the Archdiocese of Seattle, a
large network of parishes, communities, ministries, and services, each
of them, in one way or another, helping people to meet Christ along the
road of life and to come to know him and love him. This morning we are
asked to think about that larger Church and how we can support it
through the Annual Catholic
Appeal.
Did I get your
attention, cause a little whiplash, maybe? Not my intention! The Annual
Catholic Appeal really is about the journey of faith and about helping
people meet Christ along that journey. Let me remind you of a few of the
ways you help people meet Christ by your generous gift to the Annual
Catholic Appeal.
Your Annual Appeal
contribution supports the education of our seminarians, the ongoing
formation of lay leaders and lay catechists, our extensive network of
Catholic grade and high schools, our CYO Camps and athletic programs for
kids. It also supports the pastoral and strategic planning efforts of
the archdiocese as well as the great work of Catholic Community
Services: housing for the elderly, the poor, the disabled, veterans,
migrant workers and their families; shelters for homeless people;
pregnancy support and adoption services.
These are things you
know well. You know, too, that each year the Archdiocese sets an Annual
Appeal goal for the entire Archdiocese and one for each parish. The
overall goal this year for the Archdiocese is $11 million. Our parish’s
share of that - our goal - is $383,376, a huge sum of money, for sure,
and the only way we can possibly meet that goal is if each one of us
steps forward and gives generously – maybe even more generously than in
the past. This is what you’ve always done and I have confidence that you
will do it again this year. And let me remind you that everything you
give over and above our goal will come directly back to us as a rebate.
Let me say a word about the rebate and how we plan to use it this year.
I have this dream of re-envisioning the Terry and Marion entrance over
there. That entrance, as you know, has become the Cathedral’s main
entrance. Hundreds and hundreds of people flow in and out of it each
weekend and, while it works, it’s not as beautiful or as welcoming as it
could be. And it should be both!
With some
imagination - and some dollars - I’m convinced we can create an entrance
that is worthy of this great Cathedral, an entrance that says ‘welcome’
to everyone who comes in. I’m envisioning filling the vestibule and
hallway with light and making some much-needed upgrades to the restrooms
and hallway. What we have right now, you have to admit, is pretty
utilitarian. Eventually, I dream of making changes to the exterior as
well, but for that you’ll have to stay tuned!
At this point,
what I have is a dream, not a price tag, but my plan is to use the
rebate from this year’s Annual Appeal as a down-payment on this capital
project. Our goal for the rebate is $180,000. More fund-raising will be
needed as we move ahead, but the rebate will jump start the project.
My friends, we are still recovering from the pandemic. There are still
many empty pews, many ministries in need of people to help. My hope is
that this project will be one more step toward recovery from the
pandemic, one more way we can invite people in to encounter Christ here.
We’ve made good strides in that direction: I think of our two livestream
Masses each Sunday to a congregation that now stretches across the
country and even the world. I think, too, of our Sunday morning early
breakfast, and of our ‘new and improved’ hospitality after the 10:00
Mass on Sundays. All good, but we need to keep finding ways to be more
welcoming, and I believe the Terry and Marion entrance project can be
one of them.
Let me return to
the gospel story. The Road to Emmaus is every road we walk. Our
challenge is to realize that Jesus is our companion along the road, to
listen to him, to welcome him, and, as we do now, to recognize him in
the Breaking of the Bread!
Father Michael G. Ryan
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