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ABVM Magazine
"ABVM Magazine's mission is to help
our parish family tell their stories of
knowing, loving and serving Jesus."
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Assumption BVM Parish will celebrate its 150th anniversary in 2023!
Special Feature:
Part Two of ABVM 150 Years in West Grove
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COLUMN: FAMILY IN THE CHURCH
Bathroom Mirror Catechism
BY LISA GOLDSTEIN
As a mom, I hope for the same moments all parents do—those times when it is clear something I taught my child did indeed sink in. A couple of years ago, my youngest son was telling me about a crossroads moment when he had to make an unpopular decision amongst other children. He said, “I thought to myself, ‘Okay, what is that thing mom taped on the mirror?’ and then I remembered it said ‘Right is right even when no one else is doing it and wrong is wrong even when everyone else is doing it.’ So, I didn’t do it. I went to play something else instead.”
That little wisdom nugget—“Right is right even when no one else is doing it and wrong is wrong even when everyone else is doing it”—came through the Facebook feed one day. It immediately reminded me of the words on a poster in my middle school classroom when I taught over a decade ago: “The right thing isn’t always popular and the popular thing isn’t always right.” My students often referenced these words in their journal entries or during class discussions. When I saw that similar little wisdom nugget come through social media, I typed it into Word, printed it, and taped it to my sons’ bathroom mirror. That’s it. That’s all I did. They share a bathroom and have a big, wide mirror, so I simply taped it to the middle of the mirror one day. I said nothing.
Since then, a way of catechizing began and developed and grew. I add, change, and remove wisdom nuggets throughout the year. Each time I do it, I say nothing. I have no “when”—no structure and no timetable. That’s the best part about it! I have no method either; sometimes the words are written, sometimes typed, sometimes cut out of the Marian Helpers pamphlet that arrives by mail, and sometimes the words are directly from Scripture. My children mention the nuggets when they think about them or use them in real life, often many months after they’ve seen them.
I don’t overload the mirror because that won’t work. Two or three nuggets at a time exist there. I leave them for a long time, hoping they’ll fully sink in. The nugget my youngest son recalled during that crossroads moment has been taped to their mirror for 3 years. The definition of integrity has been visible for even longer. During the 2020 Christmas season, I added a short Peanuts comic about gratitude. I don’t put every insightful quote I encounter on the mirror; I select what matters the most. I keep it happy; I want my boys to know the joy and hope of The Christ. I also keep it simple; I’m seeking to encourage insight, not ask them to analyze complex philosophy.
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One morning during Lent, I looked at one of my favorite lines from Ephesians—Live as children of the Light, for light produces every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth—which had been taped to their mirror for over a year. I replaced it in favor of a few lines from an article about encountering Christ in the Eucharist during Lent. As usual, I said nothing, knowing (or trusting) they'd read and think about it on their own, in their own way, in their own conversations with God.
We have all the resources in our home that most Catholic families do: Bibles, spiritual books, prayer cards, rosaries, palms, scapulars, statues, pictures, and special gifts given on sacramental occasions. You name it; we have it. We even have a family prayer space in our upstairs hallway. Yet, the most effective home-based teaching tool in recent years at my house has indeed been my boys’ bathroom mirror. This bathroom mirror catechism has deepened my sons’ relationship with God in a remarkably unexpected way. At the same time, it’s deepening our parent-child relationship and nurturing their Christian moral formation in a mostly unspoken way. Who knew?
Lisa Goldstein is a mom trying to juggle a million different things while raising her kids in the Church, just like many other parents at ABVM are trying to do.
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This edition introduces the periodic sharing of a recent
(or not so recent) homily for us to reflect upon.
SPECIAL FEATURE: HOMILY ENCORE
BY DEACON RON LEWIS
FROM THE THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER 2022 JOHN 21: 1-19
NOTE: Time-specific references have been changed to engage you as you read the reflection now.
What have the past months since Easter been like for us? Have we seen and experienced resurrection in our lives? What does it look like? Here's why I'm asking. At Easter, we celebrated the day of Jesus's resurrection. The stone was rolled away, the tomb was found to be empty, and Jesus was seen alive. So, are we more alive now? What difference has the resurrection made in us? I am not asking about what difference it might make in some distant heavenly future. I am asking about our lives today, here, now.
I sometimes wonder if we make such a big deal about the resurrection that it's difficult to recognize it in our own lives. Perhaps we look for and expect it to be an equally big deal in our lives. Maybe that's the problem. Maybe that's why it's sometimes difficult to recognize resurrection in our lives here and now.
Please don't call the Bishop and tell him Deacon Ron said the resurrection isn't a big deal." That's not what I am saying. What I am saying is that maybe, more often than not, the big deal of the resurrection happens in the small details of everyday life. Maybe the big deal of the empty tomb is experienced in the ordinary circumstances of life. And I think John’s gospel highlights that.
John 21:1-19 begins by telling us that Jesus "showed himself in this way." John then sets the third appearance of Jesus to his disciples amidst ordinary circumstances. He returns the disciples to their old routines. He gives a lot of small, seemingly unnecessary, and even strange details. John could just have easily said, "While the disciples were fishing, they saw Jesus on the shore. This was his third appearance." But he didn't. Instead, John focuses on the details in which Jesus showed himself, so maybe we should too.
"I'M GOING FISHING"
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The disciples have returned home. They've gone back to fishing. They've moved from the empty tomb to their boats, from the house in Jerusalem to the familiar waters of the Sea of Tiberias. They've traveled some 70 or 80 miles from the place of Jesus's resurrection and returned to their old routine of fishing. They've returned to the same boats, the same nets, the same water, the same work. That’s when and where Jesus “showed himself.”
It’s now many months after Easter Sunday, and I’m betting we’ve all returned to the routine of our lives.
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But that’s exactly when and where we can expect Jesus to show himself to us! Resurrection does not happen apart from the routines of life but in them. Resurrection is not about escaping life but about becoming alive.
EMPTY NETS
They fished through the darkness, but their nets were empty. "That night, they caught nothing." The darkness, however, was not just about the night sky. The darkness was also in the disciples. In the same way, the empty net is not only descriptive of their fishing efforts it's descriptive of the disciples themselves. They are as empty as their nets. Who here hasn't experienced that darkness and emptiness? You know what that's like. You fish, you work, you do your best, but you still come up empty. In those times, we have come to the limits of our own self-sufficiency. We have nothing to show for our efforts and nothing left to give. We're empty.
That's when Jesus, still unrecognized by the disciples, shows himself and says, "Children, you have no fish, have you?" That's not so much a question as it is a statement. Within Jesus's words, I hear the echo of Mary's voice at the wedding in Cana when she said to Jesus, "They have no wine" (John 2:3). Empty nets. Empty jars. No wine, no fish, no life. That's when Jesus showed himself.
Nets and jars cannot be filled unless they are first emptied. In the same way, we can never be filled with Jesus until we are first emptied of ourselves, until we come to recognize the limits of our own self-sufficiency. The emptiness is not the end or a failure but a beginning. The miracle begins when the wine runs out. Jesus shows up when our nets are empty.
DAYBREAK
Did you notice that all this happens just after daybreak? The dark night of fishing has given way to the dawn of a new day. The darkness does not win. The light always prevails. In the light of this new day, in the light of a full net, in the light of 153 fish Jesus shows himself. "It is the Lord!"
This isn't just about the rising of the sun. It's about the rising of the Son in the darkness of the disciples' lives and in the darkness of our own lives. Whatever darkness has overcome us, whatever darkness we might be going through today, it is precisely that circumstance in which Jesus will show himself to us.
A CHARCOAL FIRE
I wonder what Peter thought when he got ashore and saw a charcoal fire. I wonder if he gazed into the flames, lost himself in the past, and remembered that other charcoal fire, the one by which he warmed himself and denied Jesus {John 18:17-18). I wonder if Peter heard the cock crow its exclamation point to his three denials of Jesus, its exclamation point to his guilt. I wonder if he was overcome with regret.
No matter what he was experiencing or thinking, it was interrupted, banished, and silenced by Jesus showing himself and saying, "Come and have breakfast."
Jesus shows himself to us in the charcoal fires of our guilt, regrets, and betrayals. Those fires, however, have been extinguished and a new fire kindled. That's true for Peter, for you, and for me. The Bread of Life himself has prepared a place for us at the table. The last supper has become the first breakfast, and the charcoal fire of denial has become a charcoal fire of welcome and invitation. What looked like endings have become new beginnings.
BREAKFAST CONVERSATION
For most of us, shared meals also mean shared conversation, and so it does for Peter and Jesus. It was a conversation about love, freedom, and moving forward. "Do you love me?" Jesus asks Peter, not once but three times. One question for each of Peter's denials. Three times Peter gives the same answer, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." And I think he did. I think Jesus knew that Peter loved him, but Peter needed to know that he loved Jesus. Peter needed to understand that he was not bound to or identified by his past. How many of us also need to hear, understand, and experience that again and again as if for the very first time? That's another detail or circumstance of our lives in which Jesus is showing himself.
With each question and answer, Jesus drew Peter from his past and freed him to become himself and to be more fully alive. Isn't that really what John 21:1-19 is about? It's the same story being told through the many different details and circumstances of our lives.
Jesus showed himself in the empty nets that were filled with many fish, the darkness that gave way to light, nakedness that was clothed, a charcoal fire of denial that became a fire of welcome and invitation, a last supper that became a first breakfast, and three denials that were forgiven with three affirmations of love.
Resurrection is in the details. That's true in this gospel and in our lives. The gospel details are our life's details. It's as if John has given us a paper with a bunch of dots on it, each one a particular detail or circumstance, and now our work is to connect the dots with the lines of our life. And when we do, we discover resurrection.
We discover that we have a future, our life has been guaranteed by Christ's life, and he has shown himself to us.
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COLUMN: SPOTLIGHT ON MINISTRIES
Music Ministry: Anthem
BY JOE LEINHAUSER, ANTHEM LEADER
From the earliest days of the Church, music has been a part of liturgies. As time passed, the languages used expanded and musical styles varied, but the role of music in supporting and enhancing the liturgy has been constant. Music helps remind us of the liturgical seasons, supports the theme of a given liturgy, and can help us in our prayer. As Saint Augustine wrote, “To sing is to pray twice.”
For more than 30 years, ABVM has been blessed with a group of music ministers who have shared their time and talent to bring contemporary hymns to the various liturgies. In the early years, this group was referred to as The Folk Group, reflecting the type of music and instrumentation. Today, however, this talented group of music ministers serves under the name of Anthem.
In the group’s earlier years, hymns may have come from Sebastian Temple (Prayer of St. Francis) or Lucien Deiss, C.S.Sp. (Keep in Mind), then progressed to the St. Louis Jesuits (Be Not Afraid, Let Heaven Rejoice). And today, they may come from new composers Sarah Hart (You Alone), Ricky Manalo, CSP (Worthy Is the Lamb), and Ben Walther (A Place at Your Table). Regardless of the year, type of music (traditional or contemporary), or the liturgy (weekly Mass, Stations of the Cross, etc.), Anthem strives to bring a high caliber of music to assist the congregation in their worship of God.
While Anthem membership changes over time, today, the group consists of seven vocalists, three guitarists (who also sing), percussion, trumpet/flugelhorn, and piano. Occasionally, we are blessed to have flute and trombone as well. The group rehearses on Tuesday evenings (7:30 p.m. in the church) to prepare for liturgical commitments, build repertoire, and have a genuinely fun time with like-minded parishioners who desire to share their God-given talent with the ABVM family in the worship of God. And while some members have been a part of Anthem and its predecessors for 20+ years, new talent—voices and instrumentalists—are always welcome.
Behind the scenes, many moving parts keep Anthem growing and changing. Beyond weekly rehearsals, selecting hymns, planning rehearsals, warming up before Mass, and learning new music keep Anthem busy. The group’s repertoire is more than 400 hymns, from the most ancient chants to more contemporary hymns and new settings of older hymns. Learning new music brings probably the most challenge—and fun—to the group.
On an annual basis, Anthem learns approximately 10-15 new hymns. Some are for congregational use, while others are used as a prelude or meditation hymn. Regardless of where music is used in a liturgy, the goal is to enhance, not distract. As music ministers, Anthem is a member of the congregation, participating in the worship of God and encouraging all to lift their voices in praise. We are not performing but, rather, leading the congregation. It is an important distinction.
If you are interested in learning more about Anthem, are curious about a hymn, or have a question, please stop by after a liturgy, drop in on a Tuesday rehearsal, or email Joe Leinhauser.
Joe Leinhauser has been playing guitar and singing at liturgies since middle school and thoroughly enjoys working with his “musical family” of Anthem.
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Anthem Sings!
BY DENISE HARRISON, MEMBER OF ANTHEM
Anthem recites this prayer before every Mass we participate in.
The Musician’s Prayer
O Lord, please bless this music that it might glorify your name.
May the talent that you have bestowed upon me be used only to serve you.
Let this music be a witness to your majesty and love
and remind us that you are always watching and listening from your throne above.
May your presence and beauty be found in every note,
and may the words that are sung reach the hearts of your people
so they will draw closer to you.
May your Spirit guide us through every measure
so that we might be the instruments of your peace
and proclaim your glory with glad voices. Amen
Wow, what a calling I received over 30 years ago: Jesus asking me to go beyond my fears and lack of confidence to reach out to His people through song! I am humbled each time I try to bring God’s children closer to Him and touch their hearts through music. When we sing, the words reach the heart and stir the soul to a deeper level of yearning for Our Lord to be present within us. The words penetrate our beings so we can glorify God in harmony with the saints and angels. Such a beautiful witness of our love for Our Lord and Our Lady. Singing is surely praying twice!
Like the words in the song CHRIST IN ME ARISE, singing dispels “all the darkness.” Singing pours blessings and healing upon us. It tears down the walls that keep us from finding our way to the Kingdom. Christ arises in us so we can rise with Him in everything we face in our lives—from suffering and hurts to blessings and joys! Jesus knows our hearts and our ways. He shows us the way when our hearts are open to Him. Praying through song helps us keep our hearts open to His love and mercy. I am honored to be part of my musical family, who hopefully draw many souls closer to Jesus!
CHRIST IN ME ARISE
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SPECIAL FEATURE: THE HISTORY OF ASSUMPTION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY PARISH, WEST GROVE
BY JOHN LYNCH
Assumption BVM Parish will celebrate its 150th anniversary in 2023!
To commemorate this event, the ABVM Parish Magazine will feature a series of four articles tracing the history of the parish from 1873 until the present day.
ABVM Church circa 1900
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Read Part One by clicking the button below. | |  |
Read Part Two by clicking the button below. | |
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John Lynch spoke with Bob and Marge Erling, and Bonnie Bolla.
They have been members of the parish since 1963.
Click on the audio link below to hear the entire interview.
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Horse Shows and Parish Fairs | |
To keep current on what’s happening in the parish and view the current and past bulletins, please consult our parish website
and follow us on Facebook (ABVM Parish Community, West Grove, PA)
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