Continued... They did that for 50 years. And if you didn’t do that, if you said what you thought, you could end up in prison or Siberia. Now, of course, that is all behind us. Just as the restorers work to rebuild the historic churches, so we are working to rebuild the human community. In many ways it means starting from square one. It means teaching Catholic people that a parish is more than a church building. It is also a human community, their community, which needs their help and participation. When I say that in my talks at the Family Center, people look at me, surprised. They have never heard that because the theology about the Church as community, and about the place of the laity in the Church, was developed while they were behind the Iron Curtain. This means we are not just recruiting volunteers and lay leaders, but also explaining that in church teaching volunteers are good and needed, not dangerous trouble-makers. For an outsider like me, or the young folks I work with, it also means having the greatest respect for the suffering of the older people who endured these extreme difficulties and for the faith they somehow maintained. With all the persecution, this country somehow maintained its Catholic roots. Young couples want church weddings. They want to have their children baptized. And especially they want really nice First Communion ceremonies, which I have been lucky enough to celebrate. So we are building on these desires. We are developing preparation programs and recruiting volunteers to staff them. Most of my work is in recruiting and training parish volunteers. Now I even manage to say mass in Lithuanian. And because of a teacher shortage and my background, I was asked to teach family therapy at Vilnius University. It is good work, for this is a country of strong, smart and upbeat
people. I see it as missionary work, but with a difference. It is a mission
for the 21st century. Triduum of Saint Martin de Porres How can you help? Find out how to support the Western Dominican Missions. |
