St. Anastasia Roman Catholic Church
Business Manager Update

I’d like to thank those of you that have sent notes of encouragement to me over the last week in support of our efforts to increase our security here at St. Anastasia. It’s good to know that a great majority of you understand and support the initiative. To update you, we have had three security agencies out here to quote on installing an anti-crime system and I expect those quotes back in the next week or so. We’ve also arranged with the Troy Police for additional drive-throughs. We as a staff have taken measures to be more aware of what is going on in the building during business and non-business hours as well as which areas of the complex need to be accessible and which areas can remain locked up due to inactivity. I attended a security seminar put on by the Troy Community Services held at the Troy Fire/Police Training Center on John R; it was sponsored by the Troy Police/Fire Department. There were about 10 other churches represented covering many denominations. It was outstanding…not only did we learn about security programs that we as a staff can implement with little or no cost, but we were made aware of assistance offered by the Troy Police and Fire (we’re taking advantage of that!) in developing a security plan. The Troy Police and Community Services have agreed to make this meeting an on-going activity…I volunteered St. Anastasia as the site of our next meeting set for October of this year.

I WANT FLYING CARS, BUT NOT CAR FLYERS

As I understand it, some of you left Mass last Sunday to find that someone had placed a company brochure under your windshield wiper. This has happened in the past and we have had to address it. No one has permission to place anything on your car while you are here. Not only is it private property, but I understand that there is an ordinance against it. We were going to contact the company and inform them, but the police want to do that dirty work. If we want you to get some info, we will hand it to you directly, put it in the “Good News” or mail it to you.

JUST KIDDING -REALLY!

A parishioner stopped Fr. Mark and myself last week and asked us to stop making negative/humorous comments about each other. The concern was raised that someone may think we do not like one another or that we are doing this to hurt the other person. Let me make it perfectly clear that Fr. Mark and I enjoy one another and get along famously. The intent was to simply razz one another, bring some levity, and hopefully make you laugh. When Fr. Mark filled my sitting room with 700 balloons I thought either he really likes me and wants to have some fun, or he is mentally unstable. In Fr. Mark’s case, it happens to be both (just kidding – really!).

As many of you know last weekend we had our annual golf outing to help support the youth ministry here at St. Anastasia. The weather was perfect and all the participants had a lot of fun. Overall it was a resounding success. B.A.S.I.C. is a wonderful escape for teens from the stress of high school and the stress of being teens. It is a time for them to really meet Christ in a more personal way and to meet other like teens who have a burning love for Christ and His Church. If you have any teens or know any teens who would like to join B.A.S.I.C., contact Dave Graves, our Youth Minister, for more details.

I am always momentarily disconcerted upon seeing myself in a mirror. Even back when I was 25, or 17 (ah! 17!), or even 9, I was consistently surprised and dismayed by my reflection. Now, of course, with my thriving collection of gray hair and mystery blotches, the vexation is even more pronounced. I feel like an exotic butterfly’s caterpillar gazing doubtfully into a barnyard puddle. Because, c’mon! My reflection looks absolutely nothing like the real ME. Does yours, to you? I wonder.

I bet it’s a related phenomenon that many people can’t stand to have their photo taken, and not because they’re afraid that the camera is going to “steal their soul” as some primitive cultures would claim. And yet… maybe as a group they all have that same unnamed awareness that the physical image a camera captures is somehow incomplete, distorted, wrong. A lie.

I don’t get “up north” as much as everyone else seems to. That’s OK with me, overall. I was born much closer to the Mason-Dixon line than the Canadian border, and I’ve been heard to tell my dear husband that our particular address is as far north on our street as I’m willing to live. “One house closer to the arctic, and I QUIT!” is my motto, especially in March. And April. And I won’t even bore you with my complaints about May…because I really do like it here, surrounded as we are by warm and wonderful people.

I’ll paraphrase this week’s question from Anonymous who asks: “What happened to the Communal Penance Service, and can it be reinstated?” This can be a sensitive subject for some people who have grown attached to the Communal Penance Service, so I’ll do my best to answer empathetically, but please accept my apologizes if I sound too legalistic in my answer. It is almost impossible to answer these questions without referring to the Churches Code of Canon Law.

Now, I think this question really deals with the issue of general absolution rather than the Communal Penance Service, they are two different things yet they are often assumed to be one and the same. I’ll start by explaining the Communal Penance Service. This is a practice in which Catholics join together to go through what is know as an examination of conscience. There is usually a scripture service along with a homily followed by a review of, maybe the Ten Commandments, and/or some other moral principles to help us come to a better understanding of our faults and failings since our last examination of conscience. Following this examination of conscience, the priest, or priests available, will hear individual confessions at which time the penitent receives private absolution for their sins. This type of Communal Penance Service is still offered during Advent and Lent at various parishes throughout the Vicariate, sometimes including St. Anastasia, but it is not generally conducted on a weekly basis.

It is with great sadness that I must inform you that St. Anastasia was broken into twice in the last month. The first incident occurred during the last round of directory photos. Someone that was in the building while the pictures were being taken came back after everyone had left, got in and stole 4 laptops from the Life-Touch people valued at around $700 to $800 each. With the amount of activity in the complex and given our mission to serve the people of God, security can be daunting. The disturbing part about it was that this crime was perpetrated by someone that knows us.

In the realm of moral theology, “Anonymous” asks: “A non-Catholic friend of mine has not spoken to their child for quite some time and when I brought up that Christians are called to forgive, I was told that, because we must ask for forgiveness from God in order to be forgiven that the same holds true in human relationships. This friend is saying that we need not forgive anyone until such time as they come to us and seek out our forgiveness. Can this be true?”

The short answer is no, this is not true. To not forgive until asked to do so is to hold a grudge, it is prideful and vengeful. It is as if to say: “I have been wronged; I know I am right, and I will not forgive until you recognize that I have been wronged and that I am right.”

This is Not Your Father’s Oldsmobile

For those of you who are unaware, when I was away last year I returned home and was greeted by about 700 balloons in my sitting room. This was thanks to Fr. Mark (who obviously does not have enough ministries to do!?) and he was assisted by some helper parishioners (side note: these folks need to go to Reconciliation). Recently, Fr. Mark went away on vacation. His return flight was supposed to arrive around midnight, although it was about an hour late. Deacon John was kind enough to pick him up. Fr. Mark got home around 2 a.m. and all he found was that his bed was short sheeted (or at least he thought that was the only thing that was done). His parents had his vestments dry-cleaned and Fr. Mark was going to pick them up later that day. He slept until about 3 p.m. in the afternoon (again, not enough ministry?). When he went into the garage to get in his car he found that it was wrapped in 3000 square feet of cellophane. It was connected to a shelving unit by the saran wrap, and a few select objects were attached to his vehicle as well (the least of which were cassette tapes of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – again, the ministry thing?!). Inside the car, he found that it was filled from floor to ceiling with about eight million foam packing peanuts (thank God for sun roofs). Needless to say, he had his parents drop off the vestment and, as Deacon John informs me, Fr. Mark stood by and allowed his Mother to clean out the car.

You can help St. Anastasia earn money for special programs and activities by bringing your recyclable materials to the big green and yellow dumpster in our parking lot. You will also be helping us save waste disposal costs (both monetary and environmental) by decreasing our volume. Recycling a stack of newspapers just 3 feet tall will save one tree. One ton of recycled paper used to make newsprint saves: 390 gallons of oil, 4100 kw hours of electricity, 7000 gallons of water, 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space!