My father, rest his soul, was the antithesis of so many of today’s “helicopter parents.” He held his tongue often, allowing me to forge my own path as I progressed from childhood into adolescence and adulthood.
I recall only a few times when he pontificated with parental advice.
“Never tell anyone how you vote,” he sternly advised. (If only more people today followed this guidance!) “Don’t be a follower; be a leader.” “When you have children of your own, be sure to make memories.”
One piece of advice from my dad 40 years ago continues to resound for me.
Back then, I was 14 years old. My parish’s pastor had just approved my becoming a Sunday Mass lector alongside the regular adult lectoring crew. I would be scheduled to read the first and second readings from Scripture as well as the “Prayers of the Faithful” at Mass every few weekends.
As my first scheduled lector assignment approached, my father put on his proverbial parental-advice hat to calm my nerves:
“There’s no reason to be nervous, Steve,” he assured me. “Nobody’s really listening.”
Four decades later, I continue to ponder all the facets of my dad’s take.
What I think my father meant by “nobody’s really listening” was that it would be helpful for me to remember that most parishioners are not focusing on the person who happens to be doing the lectoring.
In fact, when the lector becomes a distraction – by overdramatically emphasizing particular words and phrases and inserting stilted voice inflections in dialogue as if he or she is a trained actor, or even by being unprepared and making sloppy mistakes (“the people fell prostate,” anyone?) – then that lector is, as they say, doing it wrong.
Basic aptitude is necessary, yes. But my dad probably was trying to say it’s the Word of God that’s important, not the reader.
Of course, that’s sound advice.
I also recognize that “nobody’s really listening” could be understood more cynically as a deep indictment of many of us back then and still today who call ourselves believers. As Advent approaches, and thus the Church’s “new year,” God is giving each of us yet another opportunity to start fresh… to really listen this time.
One of the blessings of being a part of KP Consulting Group is that my colleagues and I are able – not entirely unlike the lector at Mass – to share the continuing story of faith of so many.
We had an opportunity to collaborate with the Carmelite Sisters of the Divine Heart of Jesus on the production of a video highlighting the Sisters’ 90 years of leading St. Agnes Home in Kirkwood. As one of the Sisters told us, “Our strength comes from knowing that it’s not our work. That it’s not our home. It belongs to Him.” St. Agnes Home’s supporters, she said, “are assisting God in continuing the work and the charism that He has placed on our hearts.” Watch and listen.
KPC is helping Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of St. Louis increase recognition about its one integrated ministry and the many ways it's bringing the healing, help, and hope of Jesus Christ to those in need. Catholic Charities is sharing stories about the ministry’s service lines – including those that provide care for families and children, that work to prevent homelessness, and that offer vital counseling services to children and adults. And they’re integrating Catholic Charities USA’s “We Are There” national awareness campaign into local messaging.
We’ve also been working with Kenrick-Glennon Seminary on the seminary’s annual Christmas Appeal, this year emphasizing how the seminary and its seminarians are being “Transformed by Grace.” Be sure to really listen should a seminarian come and speak to your parish on an upcoming Advent weekend – so that you too may be transformed by God’s abounding grace.
These are but a few recent examples of KP Consulting’s ongoing work. Over the last nine years, KPC’s team has collaborated with dozens of Catholic parishes, organizations and ministries to help each one tell impactful stories and carry out its Christ-centered mission.
As Advent begins, of course, don’t limit your intake of the inspirational to simply that which KPC has been producing. Really listen to your parish’s priests and deacons – and to the potentially nervous lectors, also – as each proclaims God’s Word specifically for you.
Listen and be inspired, for example, on the First Sunday of Advent, when the lector reads from St. Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians: “May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we have for you, so as to strengthen your hearts, to be blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his holy ones.”
Listen on the Second Sunday of Advent, to this excerpt from St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians: “I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.”
Listen on the Third Sunday, also called Gaudete Sunday (“Gaudete” is Latin for “Rejoice”): “Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice! Your kindness should be known to all. The Lord is near.”
And on the Fourth (and final) Sunday of Advent: “[H]is greatness shall reach to the ends of the earth.” As you listen, you’ll hear a good lector read each of the next four words slowly for impact: “[H]e shall be peace.”
I’m certain my dad would agree that all of Advent’s messages of faith, hope and love are worth really listening to. In preparation for the birth of the Prince of Peace at Christmas, I invite you to open yourself anew to being inspired.
KP Consulting Group’s Senior Strategist Steve Mamanella is a member of St. Peter Parish in St. Charles, Missouri. Steve’s memoir, Providential: An Autobiographical Exploration of the Gift of God’s Providence, was published by En Route Books and Media.
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