Barbara Anderson
Pastoral Life Director
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel/St. Anthony Shrine Parishes

The weather is unpredictable but it heralds the promise of new life and warm weather on the way. It is also the Easter Season; the ultimate promise of new life for Christians.

It's not a coincidence that Easter is a Spring holiday. Its very timing is based on the lunar calendar and the first day of the new season. (Easter Sunday for most Christian churches is determined as the first Sunday after the first full moon after the first day of Spring.) The secular symbols for Easter also signify new life - Easter eggs, rabbits, and flowers to name just a few.

For Christians, Easter is the most significant holy day in the calendar. Preceded by 40 days of preparation (Lent), the Resurrection of Jesus is the foundation for Christianity. The Triduum is one celebration consisting of 3 liturgies; the Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday, the Celebration of the Lord's Passion on Good Friday and the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday. Each of these liturgies has a special significance and leads us through those very special events of our salvation history. In addition there's often other times of prayer and devotion available in parishes during those three days. The intensity and amount of services alone that are related to Easter clearly denote its spiritual significance.

For the Roman Catholic Church, we welcome new members to our community by celebrating the sacraments of initiation with them (Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist) at the Easter Vigil. We also bless new water for our fonts and new fire for our candles. The Paschal Candle (the symbol of the presence of the risen Christ among us), has a prominent place in our sanctuary until Pentecost. The Easter season is a time of new birth and renewal.

As human beings we are always looking for ways of renewal. One of the biggest celebrations every year is New Year's Eve, a time of resolutions vowing to do better in the next year. Out with the old and in with the new is a popular sentiment at any time of the year. We "spring forward" to allow more daylight at this time of the year presumably to be able to get more done.

Springtime is filled with newness but life presents us with opportunities to begin anew all the time. I remember as a child when my mother (and those of us who were old enough to help including my father) would do the "Spring cleaning" but it wasn't always in the Springtime of the year. We would take the curtains down and roll up the rugs so that we could get the dust bunnies and cobwebs that had accumulated since the last time. Starting fresh was the goal.

The timing of starting fresh isn't always our choice. Our neighbors who were effected by the fire in Emmitsburg know all too well that sometimes the timing isn't what we want. Taking advantage of challenges that are thrust upon us show how resilient we can be. Surprise is around every corner but so is opportunity.

How exhilarating does it feel when you've finished a project but aren't you then anxious to begin another one? Life is cyclical and Easter will come around again next year. Another opportunity for new birth and renewal will present itself. But why wait for next year? Look around for all the ways that you can renew yourself today. Is there a relationship that needs mending? Can you start that organizing project this week? How about trying again to enhance your prayer life?

The best way to start is to just start. Don't wait for the perfect day or when you have some free time. Some wise person once said "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." Neil Armstrong famously began a new chapter in the history of the world with "That's one small step for a man; one giant leap for mankind." Jesus once told a woman "go and sin no more" after her accusers were unable to claim their own innocence. Start fresh, begin anew, and take that first step.

Easter celebrates the Resurrection of Jesus. It gives us the opportunity to reflect on what needs to be resurrected in our life and what we can begin anew. Use this wonderful season to start fresh.

Since I have the opportunity to reach so many people in this article I thought I would also take the opportunity to speak about my position as the Pastoral Life Director of St. Anthony Shrine in Emmitsburg and Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Thurmont. Because I get to oversee all the preparations and celebrations for Easter and the Easter season, I was particularly aware of my position in the parishes and the Church at this time of year. The model of leadership being used at our parishes is a relatively new model and is provided for in Canon Law (the law of the Church) by allowing a bishop to appoint a non-priest to participate in the "exercise of the pastoral care of a parish."

Many people have asked me "What is a Pastoral Life Director?" This is the title used in the Archdiocese of Baltimore but across the United States there are almost 600 people who are not priests who have been appointed by their bishop to oversee parishes using many different titles. A Pastoral Life Director is responsible for all of the activities of the parishes where he or she has been assigned. The corporal workings of the parishes (finances, human resources, buildings and properties) as well as the spiritual needs of all the parishioners are part of the responsibilities.

A Pastoral Life Director also ensures that the appropriate priests and ministers are available to administer the sacraments and preside at the Sunday Masses. Part of the model is that there is a priest assigned to the particular parish to specifically serve the spiritual needs of the faithful. Until his transfer to two parishes in Hancock, MD, Fr. Jack Lombardi was our assigned priest. At this time, the Archdiocese is working on assigning another priest to our parishes. We are blessed to have access to so many priests from Mount Saint Mary's and other priests also in the area that help us meet those spiritual needs.

In my time here in Emmitsburg and Thurmont I have worked with families who are having their child baptized, celebrating the life of a loved one who has died, or couples who are preparing for marriage. I've been blessed to be present at Baptisms, weddings, First Communions, Confirmations and funerals. I've met with young people who are struggling with their faith and adults who want to share their skills with others and vice-a-versa. The most humbling experience is to visit someone in the hospital or at home who is dying and being able to bring them Holy Communion.

I am constantly surprised by the variety of things that come across my desk. One thing I didn't expect to have to do was to watch snow being removed from a building's roof so that it didn't collapse. In the many snowstorms of this winter, the parish center at Our Lady of Mount Carmel was beneath over two feet of snow and was in danger of collapsing. Still this was just another item on the list of things that I am responsible for. Luckily there is also a wonderful staff of eight other people who help me in the myriad of things that happen every day.

As a lay ecclesial minister in the Roman Catholic Church I am privileged to serve the people of God. I look forward to all the challenges and opportunities that God sends my way to begin anew and to continue the work of the Church. If you are interested in becoming a member of either of our parishes or learning more about us, please check out our website at www.emmitsburg.net/sasolmc, or better yet, join us at weekend masses: