Do Only Good

…Everyone has a story and yours is heard second or third or never
…Every child is beautiful except newborns but you still mention the resemblance
…Every duty is a privilege, the duty becomes a challenge which moves to commitment
…Uncover someone’s personal beliefs, the pope is always right and always wrong
…Affirm always
…Encourage constantly
…Never correct, only plant a seed
…Smile when you can’t hear and listen for keywords when you can
…You are not “The Church,” so kill the french cuffs and be yourself
…It’s not a sin to say, “I really don’t know the answer to that”
…Don’t read the gospel after reading the gospel to begin a sermon
…In conversation, your greatest gift is silence with a periodic chuckle or sigh when appropriate
…There’s no such thing as a “bad meeting,” only divided people needing common ground
…Everyone’s child is great at sports
…One phone call to someone in need outweighs all of your beautiful sermons
…Never treat the parish as a whole but as bits and pieces of members that happen to belong to the whole
…After Mass, take two minutes to be interrupted by someone while talking to someone else (It may be your only opportunity)
…Every wedding and funeral is special, even though one may end in five years and the other is pure celebration
…When you want to act shocked, choose surprised
…Run your thought through your head and rinse it before you speak
…You are not a member of the papal policemen
…Don’t react to actions but listen for context, context, context – it takes longer but you’re given a stronger grounding for giving advice
…Never give advice (review previous point)
…”No money, no mission” is wrong, when there’s a compassionate mission, there is always money

Only Do Good

…The pastor is always right, sometimes

Books by Fr. Joe Jagodensky, SDS.
Available at Amazon.com:
“Soulful Musings,” reflections on the Catholic Church and American culture
“Living Faith’s Mysteries,” reflection on the Christian seasons of
Advent, Christmas/Lent, Easter
“Spiritual Wonderings and Wanderings,” reflections on the Catholic Church and American culture

Only