Redemptorists

Dear sisters & brothers in Christ,

I pray that you are blessed and ready for Lent. There are basically two types of Catholic priests, diocesan and religious. Basically, diocesan belong to a local geographical area, while religious belong to a group organized around a specific charism and mission. We Redemptorists primarily focus our ministry on the spread of the Gospel, especially to “the poor and most abandoned.” Most of you know that St. Alphonsus is one of two parishes in the diocese of Grand Rapids that is staffed by a religious order of priests. The other is the cathedral, which is staffed by the Paulists, whose charism is very similar to our own. Being a religious community we approach things a little differently. One thing that makes most religious parishes different from most diocesan parishes these days is the number of priests assigned to it.

Here at St. Alphonsus we have five priests and one brother in the community. Fr. Bernie, Fr. Chung and myself are assigned to minister in the parish, Fr. Joe is retired, although he still does quite a bit to help out, Br. Leo is the finance minister of our community, and Fr. Tom is the leader of our local community and is working on several projects for our provincial leadership. While these are primary assignments, we try our best to work as a group. Therefore, Br. Leo, Fr. Joe and Fr. Tom help out by also ministering in the parish.

Probably the other major difference is that the charism of the religious order often “rubs-off” onto the parishioners, due to the preaching and the priorities of those religious who staff the parish over the years. I would hope that part of the reason why this parish has such an extensive outreach ministry, and the fact that it is supported by almost everyone in the parish, had something to do with the many Redemptorists who ministered here. I have been stationed in parishes like this, where our charism is very evident. Unfortunately, I have also been stationed in parishes where the parishioners asked, “Redemptorists, who are they?” I am very glad I am in the former. Neverth less, we are still part of the diocese, and we must operate with that broader vision of Church, so that we don’t al- low ourselves to become isolated. The Church is an amazing place and worships God in many ways, but that is one of the ways in which She is universal. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t want to be in a church where everywhere was exactly the same. I would find that very boring.

In the Redeemer, Fr. Rick