A good thing to remember ...

Found at The Curt Jester

Our “success” or “failure” as a parish is not measured by how we feel or how much money we raise or how many activities we can arrange. The true success of all our endeavours in the Church will be measured by how many of us are saved and go to heaven. A consequence of this view of “success” in a parish is that all our activities should be directed towards this final end. (Read the rest of Fr. Tim Finigan's homily here .)

The Curt Jester follows this up later with a post on parish mission statements. I think he is right on as to the origin and usefulness (in most cases) of these things-especially when it concerns a parish.

Changing topics, read this on what a true Christian culture may look like in practice:

Let’s have a little fantasy, shall we? Suppose that the city fathers decided to declare St. Isidore the city’s patron saint and to have a city-wide festival in his honor on the 15th of May. The day would begin with a Mass attended by all the city dignitaries. Then a solemn procession with St. Isidore’s statue from the parish church to the steps of city hall. The mayor would dress as St. Isidore and his wife as St. Mary la Cabeza and they would publicly thank St. Isidore for his patronage. A priest would then ascend the steps of city hall and invoke the saint’s intercession in securing God’s blessing over the town and, especially, the city government in the persons of the mayor and his cabinet.

This followed by games, dancing, feasting, merriment - the works.

Okay, so we can't have this in most places...but we can put a Catholic culture in the face of the secular. Parishes and even groups of Catholic families can have these celebrations in the public square. Culture will be transformed through God's grace working through the striving for personal holiness and the domestic Church. So gather with friends and family and parish-pray the rosary and march in the streets to honor our Blessed Mother, the feast of Corpus Christi (these processions are making a comeback), St. Thomas More (feast coming up) or as above-St. Isadore. Put it in your heart and then take it to the streets.

Oremus pro invicem!