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Strategic planning: See grace first

Short essays about observed trends in Roman Catholic life - Pastoral trends

Just about anything we encounter has a shadow side, one that points toward problems, challenges, and even what seems like impossibilities. Each thing also has an element of grace. Grace, given its source, might sometimes appear relatively small within the problematic side we can see all too easily. So what will it be? Will we see predicaments so much that we fail to see the imprint of the Creator in the first place? Or will we look to the grace and gift that is in something, its strengths and new possibilities, even as we see the complex realities that are also there and which we cannot fully disentangle? Furthermore, to what degree must we admit that the problem side of things is profoundly related even to what gives life in a particular situation? How many of us know someone—ourselves?—whose very gifts are tied up with what makes us difficult at times? Eyes that see problems quickly become expert in seeing problems, and more problems, without end. Seeing grace first does not diminish the reality of the difficulties in a situation but it does allow us to respond properly. Only by harnessing the gifts in any situation as so many God-given levers will we see the capacity to respond. Failure to see grace in a situation, however, is not only unhelpful, it is sacrilegious: We are profaning the sacred, the presence of the Spirit. By seeing only problems which we somehow must then “fix,” we are putting ourselves close to a situation of idolatry. We need, as they say, to “let” God be God. For this reason strategic planning best starts with a reflection on the gifts and strengths we find in a situation, not the problems that must be resolved. By identifying and nourishing those gifts and strengths, we will be able to put the difficulties in context and deal with them. Such planning is truly strategic! © 2011, Bryan Froehle.

Authors Bryan Froehle

Grace strategic planning

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Homily stories

02 Jan 2011 - Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, Cycle A

In grammar school I dreaded composition class. I just couldn't understand the concept of a thesis statement and outline. My problem was I couldn't think ahead. How do you know what you're going to say until you say it, I'd wonder. I'd go through the motions of setting up what fell under Roman numerals I, II, and III--and I knew you couldn't have a point A without a B. But when it came to actually writing an essay, I just started scrawling pen across paper with no notion where my train of thought would take me. I've learned over the years that being able to think and plan in advance is essential not just for composing stories, but for all areas of life. In business we need it for developing creative strategies and anticipating customers' needs; in our personal lives we need it for making commitments, taking risks, and preparing for our futures. But more than anything, being able to see into the future is essential for our faith lives. Our thirst for justice requires us to imagine a better world where peace reigns long before the fighting stops; our hope for salvation assumes a vision of our best selves long before we set selfish and foolish ways aside. And finally, as the magi discovered, our search for wisdom calls us to listen to our dreams and follow the star that will lead us to where love--the light of the world--lies waiting for us.

Authors Patrice J. Tuohy

future strategic planning Preparation vision

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Word of the Week

17 November 2024

Presider’s Chair

\'pri-sīd-ərs 'cher\

Also known as the presidential chair, the seat in a parish church from which the celebrant leads the assembly during Mass. Its meaning derives from the chair, or cathedra in Latin, from which the diocesan bishop presides (from Latin meaning “to protect” or literally “to sit before”). The chair is a liturgical symbol of authority and pastoral leadership.

Pronunciation Read more

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