Through Partners In Mission, the Redemptorist Family is Growing
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March 30, 2022Our Redemptorist family on mission to our wounded world continues to grow daily, and parish by parish. God said, “Let it be and so it happened.” Partners in Mission is happening!
Micki O’Connor shared the following about Partners in Mission at St. James the Greater Church-- What being part of PIM means to me: I never knew who or what a Redemptorist was. I grew up in the Cleveland, OH diocese and attended schools and churches run by diocesan priests, sisters of St. Joseph, and the Notre Dame nuns.
My first exposure to the Redemptorists happened in 1997 when I moved to Concord, NC and joined St. James the Greater Catholic Church under the pastorship of the Redemptorists. I heard their motto “With Him is plentiful Redemption” and I knew I had found my home parish.
I became a Redemptorist Associate in late fall of 2018 after a planning weekend spent with ordained Redemptorists and laity in Oconomowoc, WI. Since then, my prayer life has become more meaningful as have the many volunteer activities I am active in.
While being an associate hasn’t caused me to take on more, I now do things with a different sense of spirituality. I have learned (but not yet mastered) how to “follow” Jesus with my heart and not just my actions. Utilizing the many online resources available, joining PIM zoom calls, reading the newsletter, and talking with ordained and lay members of the Redemptorist family, Partners in Mission, I find myself trying hard not to do things that please me but to do things that result more in a common good.
I concentrate more now on inclusion and not exclusion. I find myself more compassionate, less judgmental, and all around a happier, more joyful follower of Jesus. I am learning to talk in a more loving way to others and to freely talk about the love of Jesus and the mercy of God. This has proven very beneficial with my work in parish faith formation as a catechist for both youth and adult formation.
I have developed a more personal relationship with our mother, Mary and especially to Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Attending our weekly OLPH novena mass is truly a highlight in my week.
I am excited that we are starting to be a bit more active here in the southeast in growing our group. We are taking baby steps and will begin with more instruction on and dialogue about the four pillars of the congregation (crib, cross, Eucharist and Mary). I am blessed to be working side by side with members of the Redemptorist ordained and members of our parish as we begin to grow and help to spread the good news.
(Courtesy of Baltimore Beacon.)