Redemptorist Community

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,

I pray that you are healthy & blessed. As we celebrate “Independence” Day, let us pray for our nation, that every citizen receives the same freedoms and rights laid down in The Constitution. Let us commit ourselves to working for the justice and ideals dreamt of by the founding fathers and mothers, and all the countless souls who have struggled to make this a nation that lives up to its creed.

I wanted to take this time to share a bit about our Redemptorist Community in hopes that you can better understand us, and even help us to strengthen our community, as we continue to minister here in Grand Rapids.

Most, if not all, parishioners here at St. Alphonsus know that the priests and brothers who live and minister here are religious and not diocesan, even if you are not completely sure of the difference. That’s not always the case. The second parish I was assigned to was nicknamed “Redemptorist,” because the high school had been named Redemptorist High. Many of the parishioners thought that the priest were called “Redemptorist” simply because they were assigned to “Redemptorist Church.” Technically, there are two types of priests, religious and lay, although we don’t use the latter term much anymore. Religious priests take the additional vow of poverty (most diocesan, or lay clergy simply promise to live a simple life) and belong to a religious congregation or order instead of a (arch)diocese. We Redemptorists belong to the Congregation of The Most Holy Redeemer, whose latin initials are “C.Ss.R.”

There are thousands of religious orders and congregations, such as, the Franciscans, the Benedictines, the Dominicans, and the Jesuits. Most of these groups have their own charism and ministerial focus. Our’s is to preach the Good News (as “good” news) to the poor and most abandoned. That charism often rubs off onto the places where we do our ministry. It is one reason, I am sure, that the social ministry is so vibrant here at St. Al’s. Not that the Redemptorists started it, or even staff it, but it is strongly supported by us because it is who we are called to be, or at least it should be strongly supported by every Redemptorist. Our province recently produced a document that lists the qualities of a “Redemptorist” parish and how it should be different from a standard diocesan parish. One of those qualities is good preaching based on the Sacred Scriptures, and another is an active social justice ministry.

One of the benefits that come with having a religious congregation staff a parish is that usually they assign more than one priest to it. Although this is getting harder to do, we are committed to work as a team, and not just individuals who share an address. Most of the time there are other men stationed in Redemptorist communities who are doing non-parish ministries. The struggle they often face is that the needs of the parish can be so demanding that they have a strong influence on the local community’s life and schedule. In some cases, the parish priests are often absent from community activities, even common prayer.

While Br. Leo and Fr. Tom are not officially assigned to do parish ministry, they are always willing to help out. They have been a true blessing during this pandemic. Br. Leo has shared stories about his ministry on the Amazon and at the Shrine of Blessed Seelos. Fr. Tom has done several series of online classes and helped us out with masses, especially during Fr. Bernie’s illness. I feel sorry for many diocesan priests who are stationed alone. Having a community to pray with and celebrate mass with has made this time a lot easier to endure, not to mention the various gifts we could offer online.

One of the things we religious struggle with, especially we Redemptorists, is setting up some boundaries so we can have a healthy and strong community life (just as some of you struggle to keep work and family separate.) This is one of the reasons I wanted to share this information with you. For those of us doing parish ministry, we not only need a parish prayer life, we also need a community prayer life. We need to make sure we set time aside to spend with our community, which includes common prayer, retreat days, business meetings, formation meetings (where we talk about various theological issues and current hot topics like Covid-19 and Black Lives Matter) and even social activities. As well as, time for our own personal prayer & spiritual life, and time off, which is something many priests often fail to do.

Here in G.R. I try to take Monday’s off, Fr. Bernie takes Thursday, Fr. Chung takes Fridays, and Br. Leo and Fr. Tom take Saturdays. We have morning prayer at 8:00 am and evening prayer before dinner. The first Wednesday of the month we do our business meeting and celebrate mass together, often offering that mass for any Redemptorist who died the previous month. We spend the third Wednesday on retreat, with part of the day in private prayer and the rest in a community discussion, and then sometimes go out to dinner as a community. Our daily dinner time (at 5:30) is very important to us, as it might be the only time, outside of prayer, that we are all together. Just as many families have discovered during this time of being sequestered, sharing a meal is a great way to strengthen family/community life. Finally, our Sunday evening meal is prepared by one of us and we try to spend it a bit more leisurely, just enjoying each others company.

In the Redeemer, Fr. Rick