From Fr Greg's Pew: 23rd August

From Fr Greg’s Pew

Hi everyone!

Once again, a big thank you for your greetings, prayers and well-wishes on the occasion of my Silver Jubilee to the Priesthood! Yes, 25 years of priestly service (inside nearly 35 years of missionary service) to the Church is a real milestone in my life, and I cannot thank the Lord Jesus enough for all his patience and goodness to me. 

On another note, a huge ‘Congratulations’ to Merryl Forster who not only successfully navigated a two-year extension to her unrestricted driver’s license, but scored a whopping 97% on the test! That at the tender age of 93... Merryl, apart from being a Catechist and member of the Catholic Women’s League, was also awarded the Archbishop’s Dempsey Medal a few years ago for service to the Parish, and still helps out with a lot of the unseen cleaning work on the Church. Well done, Merryl!

In this week’s bulletin, on page 7, we have reprinted the third section of the Instruction on "The pastoral conversion of the Parish community in the service of the evangelising mission of the Church”. Titled ‘III. The value of the Parish today’ it recognizes that in Catholic Parishes all over the world.:

“territorial affiliation is increasingly less evident, … places of association are multiplied and … interpersonal relationships risk being dissolved into a virtual world without any commitment or responsibility towards one’s neighbour.” (Instruction # 9)

But that God-given mission of ours is neither obsolete nor complete. In short, says the Pope:

“The whole People of God must urgently embrace the Holy Spirit’s invitation to begin the process of “renewing” the face of the Church.” (Instruction # 12)



And it is urgent. Okay. Other things are also important. There has been a lot of neglect of our Parish infrastructure over the years, which we are actively tackling right now. Electrical installations, pathways, storage areas, halls, meeting rooms, offices, gardens and lawns are being ‘renewed’ even as you read this column. And for that we need your financial support.

But what about the spiritual infrastructure? Towards that:

“… the Parish is called upon to read the signs of the times, while adapting both to the needs of the faithful and to historical changes. A renewed vitality is required that favours the rediscovery of the vocation of the baptised as a disciple of Jesus Christ and a missionary of the Gospel, in light of the Second Vatican Council and subsequent Magisterium.” (Instruction # 11)

A renewed vitality. Sure, that’s a big call. But underpinning it is a rediscovery of the vocation of all the baptised. Each and every baptised person has a vocation, a calling.

So, what’s yours? Are you following it?

Jesus told us, “Many are called but few are chosen” (Mt 22, 14). What do you think makes a called person into a chosen one? By responding, that’s all! Perhaps few people feel chosen because few put themselves forward. Do you really think Jesus wouldn’t choose you for bigger and better things? Of course he would! Good grief, he is desperately in need of co-workers in his ‘vineyard’! All he needs is our ‘yes’ and, rest assured, you will be chosen.

And please, don’t get put off by the language the instruction uses. A disciple of Jesus Christ (# 11) is someone who follows him, listens to his words and acts on them. And a ‘missionary of the Gospel’ (# 11) is simply someone who transmits what he or she has seen, heard and experienced about Jesus. By doing so, we become part of the ‘beacon’ leading people home to God:

“the parish is a beacon that radiates the light of the faith and thus responds to the deepest and truest desires of the human heart, giving meaning and hope to the lives of individuals and families” (Instruction # 12)

Still those that respond need to be trained to do the outreach work of the Parish. Pope Francis recalled how the Parish itself is meant to:

“… encourage and train its members to be evangelisers…” (Instruction # 12)

Evangelisers. Again, don’t be afraid of a harmless little word like ‘evangelise’. It just means to be a beacon for Christ. A living advertisement of the goodness of his message. We do that through words and actions.

But for that you need training. And that training is what we are here to give! The Pope is asking for us priests to change the focus of our work from mere dispensers of sacraments to formers of apostles. Instruction # 13 had this to say:

“It is important not only to think about a new experience of Parish, but also about the ministry and mission of priests, who, together with the lay faithful, have the task of being :

“salt and light of the world”…..“lamp on a lamp-stand”

showing forth the face of an evangelising community, capable of an adequate reading of the signs of the times and of giving witness to coherent evangelical living.”

As priests and lay leaders of the Parish in all our ministries, we are meant to be missionary guides and “salt and light of the world”. Salt to heal and give flavour; light to guide and point out obstacles in our path. Readers of the signs of the times and witnesses to what the Gospel looks like, lived out in daily life:

“With the Parish no longer being the primary gathering and social centre, as in former days, it is thus necessary to find new forms of accompaniment and closeness.” (Instruction # 14)

Okay, now I give this one over to you.

How would you like us, as your priests, to accompany you? Especially in these COVID 19 times, when gathering people together is fraught with such difficulties, how can we accompany you on the journey and bring you closer to Jesus?

Let’s continue this conversation. I’m very interested in hearing your thoughts and initiatives to help our Parish become a ‘missionary beacon’ for others…

Your brother in Christ’s service,

Fr Greg