Every so often, a question rises in my heart that refuses to leave quietly. Lately, that question has been: Where is grace today?
Sometimes, it even screams at me and demands an answer.
As someone like you who sits in the very real crossroads of our diocesan life, my inbox and voicemail sometimes become a place where people pour out their fears, frustrations and wounds. And it is such a gift.
I hear from parishioners who feel unheard or unsettled by change. I hear from priests who are carrying more than most people will ever know, some of them exhausted, some of them hurting. I hear from parish staff who are doing their best with limited time and resources, trying to hold together communities they love while feeling stretched thin themselves. They remind me how fragile we can be with one another when we’re afraid or overwhelmed.
Earlier this week, I met with a group of parish communicators and listened to their struggles, their desire to heal and fix and assure and teach and relay all the right words in all the right ways with all the right tools. They remind me how deeply people care about their parishes, their faith and their church. I wish I had the magic words that would help everyone be at peace with the hard decisions we are all facing. I don’t.
What I can do is ask you to extend grace. I see grace in the steady faithfulness of those who keep choosing the mission of Christ over the comfort of the familiar. Those who have the strength and courage to ask themselves, “Do my actions build up the Body of Christ or fracture it? Do I bring peace into the spaces I enter, or do I add to the noise?”
If you’re one of the people who has called or written with hurt and fear, thank you for trusting us with your story. Every voice reminds me that being our loving Lord’s disciples was never going to be easy. He didn’t say it was going to be fun. He said, “Take up your Cross and follow me.” Whether that means following him a few extra miles down the road, welcoming him in the new faces we will surely encounter, looking for possibilities instead of problems or simply extending a little bit of grace to those who really are trying to serve the mission of the Church, every day gives us another chance to practice our faith again and to love one another as he loved us.
Thank you for your thoughtful message during this time of transition. As life changes, God remains our steady anchor, present in uncertainty and providing strength for each step forward.