From Fr Greg's Pew: 9th August

Hi everyone!

Following on from last week's bulletin, with sections of the Instruction on “The pastoral conversion of the Parish Community in the service of the evangelizing mission of the Church", we've now published the next section: "The Parish in a contemporary context" (see Bulletin page 7).

Last week's introduction spoke to us about being vehicles for transmitting God’s word and presence to others, links in a chain of people from Jesus’s time down to the present. We want for his voice to be heard and his presence to be felt today, to help people 'walk across the waters' of personal and collective challenges, even in the midst of storms and tempests (this Sunday's Gospel).

Like in the film Hacksaw Ridge, our aim is to 'keep going back for just one more', reaching out to rescue as many people as possible, wounded by the effects of our self centeredness and from living an eternally 'useless life', lived for oneself. The Church is, after all, in the words of Pope Francis: "a field hospital":

“The thing the church needs most today is the ability to heal wounds and to warm the hearts of the faithful; it needs nearness, proximity. I see the church as a field hospital after battle. It is useless to ask a seriously injured person if he has high cholesterol and about the level of his blood sugars! You have to heal his wounds. Then we can talk about everything else. Heal the wounds, heal the wounds. ... And you have to start from the ground up."

Pope Francis as quoted in “A Big Heart Open to God,” America magazine Sept. 19, 2013. (Click on the link to see the full interview)

In order for the journey of the Word to continue, the Parish community needs to make a determined missionary decision “capable of transforming everything, so that the Church’s customs, ways of doing things, times and schedules, language and structures can be suitably channeled for the evangelization of today’s world rather than for her self- preservation”. (Instruction # 5)

Pastoral conversion involves change. Calls for change are usually met with resistance, and the resistance is actually there in your brain. Know that your minds are wired to resist change; it is a kind of built in defense mechanism. We need to pray to will ourselves to change, if it is going to happen.

The Pope places the Parish firmly at the centre of this pastoral change (Instruction # 6). The Parish is the missionary centre around which Jesus' mission continues throughout history. However, the way we live as a parish needs to adapt to the changing circumstances. And if we want for our Parish to change, the first persons that need to change are the parishioners. We are the ones to form, adapt and create structures to continue the mission.

Yes, we have two Churches, a Parish Centre, two primary schools and a secondary college within our midst. Yes, we have St. Vincent de Paul, a Bereavement Committee, youth groups, Schools of the Word, Alpha and other Ministries ... We have solid links with our schools and colleges ...

But, where do you fit into that? Not as a spectator, watching on from your living room, but as an active player? God doesn't need spectators, he has millions of angels to do that. What he wants is vehicles to transport him to others. Is yours a bicycle or a bus? Are you carrying anyone along with you, or are you riding alone?

Community building is vital to this Parish, and is part of the pastoral conversion needed. The word became flesh and dwells among us. The parish, as a 'house among other houses' (Instruction # 6), is meant to be the place, the home where we find God.

Perhaps one of our first steps is to take advantage of that. Come to the' house among houses', where Jesus is alive and active among the community of the faithful. Churches are places designed to find and talk with God, where God's physical presence dwells among us. SCB Church is open Tuesday to Friday, 7 am to 5 pm for visits, personal prayer and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. How many Parishes can offer you that?

The Parish is said to be "the community gathered around the Table of the Word and the Eucharist" (Instruction # 6). There are still places at weekend Masses, especially the Saturday night Masses and early morning Sunday Masses, at both OLQP and SCB. Some people book and then don't show; yes, you might get a place simply by turning up if you didn't book, you can just try coming along anyway. But please make sure you get there at least ten minutes earlier, as it takes time to register those who come along without prior registration.

The second thing is ... what effort am I making to build ties with the Parish? Am I making an effort to build it up, invest in it, make it mine? How can I contribute to the life of the Parish, its upkeep, its outreach, its' flourishing? Perhaps you could ask yourself how present you are to the Parish community, and how that can improve?

Lastly, the Instruction highlights the evolving nature of our lives, whereby through "increased mobility and and the digital culture" (Instruction # 8), we now find ourselves in the context of a Parish in which "the territorial affiliation is increasingly less evident', and where interpersonal relationships 'risk being dissolved into a virtual world without any commitment or responsibility to one's neighbour' (Instruction # 9).

Let's be proactive in re-establishing and maintaining those 'interpersonal links' to the Parish. We are being called to 'renew the face of the Church' (Instruction # 10). Make an effort this week to get in contact with someone you haven't seen in some time. Find out where they live, or get their telephone number and ring them. See if there is anything you can do for them, or that the Parish could do. Get in contact with the Parish Office if anyone you know is in need of a Priest or parish service.

Thanks in advance for your assistance! We rely on each and every one of you to let the 'tentacles' of the Parish reach out 'unto the ends of the earth' (Isaiah 49,6), and especially to those currently on the periphery of Parish life. What's more, remember that Jesus will reward you a hundredfold (Mark 10,30) for all your efforts at Parish renewal, so it's well worth every little effort we make!!

Your brother, in Christ's service,

Fr Greg