This Lenten series features a different person each week. Nothing in particular connects these people, other than my desire to ask them a few questions. They may not be the questions you would have asked, but I hope you might appreciate their answers nonetheless. TL
Sister Ann Willits and
Father Jim Marchionda preached a
Lenten Mission for Newman and three other Stevens Point parishes March
5-6-7.
Sister Ann is a member of the Sinsinawa, Wis., Dominican
community and has served in various mission and leadership roles in her
community. She is an author, poet, storyteller, preacher and was a high
school teacher and principal for many years.
Father Jim is part of the Chicago Dominican province and has
composed more than 200 sacred music compositions, including "I Was Hungry,"
which was sung at the funeral of Mother Theresa of Calcutta. Dominicans
embrace a charism of preaching, which Fr.
Jim complements with his
considerable skills as a musician.
Sister Ann Willits
Father Jim Marchionda
Why are you a Dominican? Would you tell a bit about how you came to religious life and ministry?
Sister Ann: Being a Dominican means that you introduce The WORD before you introduce yourself. I think I was a Dominican before I made my religious profession since my family was very involved in all things Dominican. Both of my parents were members of the Dominican Laity, I attended both a Dominican high school and college, as did my Mom and my sister. I think my family was drawn to our Dominican identity because we are all talkers...and that is what Dominicans do!
Father Jim: I am a Dominican almost by accident. After high school in New Jersey, I was accepted at a music school in Boston as an applied clarinet major. However, my family moved from the East to Minnesota just before starting college. As we could not afford both the move and my choice of college in the same year, I moved with them and attended the College of St. Thomas in St. Paul. Dominicans taught freshman religion courses and I had never before met a Dominican! I was so struck by their teaching ability and the way they brought the scriptures to life, I felt compelled to give religious life a try. It seems to have fit. I’ve been a Dominican for 40 years now.
How did the two of you
begin to offer parish missions together? What does a team approach add
to the experience?
Sister Ann:
Collaborative ministry is a preaching in itself,
and is a visible reminder of the way Jesus ministered. I think women's
experience of the gospel is a valid perspective which completes the circle
of equality that happens with our Baptism.
Father Jim: We had known each other in the Order for quite a while. One day, out of the clear blue, I received a mission request from a parish in need of great healing. The particular challenge was so awesome that I invited Sr. Ann to join me. I felt a woman’s sensitivity would be necessary for this task. (Another interpretation is that I was too scared to go it alone!) Since that mission, our ministry has blossomed in ways we could never have imagined. We have preached together for nearly 15 years. Our team approach acknowledges our conviction that women and men have different qualities, gifts, intuitions and insights to offer to both life and faith. We believe them to be equally valuable and most critical to today’s church.
You are both
skilled, experienced preachers. What are the most significant
challenges in preaching?
Sister Ann:
The absence of enthusiasm within some parts of our church to a woman's
presence in the pulpit.
Father Jim: Preaching to a divided church in a divided country. We’re discovering a return to rigidity in both church and nation today. With it, we hear of suspicions and condemnations that we find so damaging in every way. Too many of us are identifying too strongly with this or that ‘camp,’ and at times there seems to be a serious lack of Christian charity among us. God was so stunningly imaginative in all aspects of creation and has always been so extravagantly forgiving. It is a real preaching challenge to try to broaden human experience of church today so as to allow for God’s enormity.
Music is clearly
important to your missions and Jim of course is a composer. What is
your favorite hymn or song for worship, and why?
Father Jim:
It is not possible to pick a favorite hymn. Since we work with so many
music resources throughout the churches in this country, we have many
favorites. As a composer, I am more inclined to think of music genre
rather than this or that title. But even so, I still cannot pick a
favorite. I have a very broad love of music, from classical to country
western, with everything in-between. I cherish Gregorian
Chant, but have so appreciated how widely the Vatican II Church
opened the windows to ever-newer styles of music. I write Choral
music, Justice and Peace music, Gospel-styled music, Wedding hymns, songs
for Children, Mass and Psalm settings, and on and on. The church has
such a great wealth of music to draw from and I continue to be sincerely
impressed and inspired by the breadth of musical styles offered by so many
talented composers throughout the world.
It seems that some
people simply don't want to sing, or choose not to sing, or can't, and yet
music is so essential to worship. How do we bring such people to
reconsider?
Father Jim:
We seem to need overall improvement in the way the church teaches people
about music and liturgy. Many people in the pew simply do not
understand the proper role and importance of music in our liturgy. I
do not judge these folks or even hold them responsible. I believe the
church has not done a good enough job of liturgical teaching and preaching
since the Second Vatican Council. There is need for liturgical
preaching on the sacredness of music and on the benefits that music can
bring to the assembly. I do this often by giving various workshops
throughout the country at liturgy and music conferences. However, I
believe we must re-address this within our own congregations. One of
the advantages of preaching parish missions is that we can address this by
way of demonstration a little more easily than can usually be done in the
course of a Sunday mass homily.
What might you say
to people who aren't really planning to attend the mission?
Sister Ann:
The mission is not about us. The mission is about you. If you
come to the mission you will learn two things by heart:
1) You are one of God's best ideas and, 2) What God says, God does.
Father Jim: I simply ask you to reconsider. We believe strongly that the People of God are the Church! Vatican II stated this so unequivocally. And the world today is in such desperate need of what the people of the church have to bring. We, of course, bring what gifts we have to a parish mission. However, people are the real heartbeat of our church. Your everyday lives of holiness will make a difference in our world. We pray that our efforts combined with your natural holiness will make our mission more meaningful than any of us could ever have hoped for.