As last month rolled and January (and a new year) approached, I wanted to declare a “Time-Out!” Inside, I’m protesting: “Slow down! What’s going on? What happened to time?” The latter question reminded me of the speed of life lived:
“When as a child I laughed and wept, time crept.
When as a youth I dreamed and talked, time walked.
When I became a full grown man, time ran.
And later as I older grew, time flew.
Soon I shall find while travelling on, time gone.”
[Inscription on the clock in Chester cathedral.]
At the beginning of this New Year let us pause (slow down, declare a Time Out) for a moment and focus on three important things:
1. To look to the past with gratitude.
We have a beautiful graced history in which God calls us as His Disciples to read the signs of the times with the eyes of faith and to respond creatively to the needs of the church and the world.
2. To live the present with passion.
We strive to listen attentively to what the Holy Spirit is saying to the Church today, to be interiorly united to Christ – “For to me to live is Christ” [Phil 1:21].
3. To embrace the future with hope.
Amidst the many uncertainties, the call is to practice the virtue of hope, the fruit of our faith in the Lord of history, who continues to tell us: “Be not afraid … for I am with you” [Jer. 1:8].
Our prayer is to look at the past with gratitude, to live the present with passion, and to embrace the future with hope. As a parish family we reflect upon what that may look like and for us it is, and has been about, being a Missionary Parish.
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, when visiting one of the parishes in the Diocese of Rome, told the parishioners:
Parishes, then, are called to be “missionary” — not to foreign countries — but first of all to those immediately around them. This is the new evangelization spoken of us so often by St. John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI and most recently, Pope Francis. This mission of evangelization, of proclaiming and living the gospel message, belongs to every baptized member of the Church. So, what does a “missionary parish” look like?
To begin with, a missionary parish reaches out to those who do not know Christ by welcoming them and sharing the Good News with them. Now more than ever this is a mission to other Catholics who no longer actively practice their faith, as well as to non-Christians. A missionary parish is a welcoming environment for any and all who come to it, regardless of race, ethnic origin, social status or personal situation.
St Mary of the Visitation Parish achieves this through its sense of family, it authentic welcome, its priority of hospitality whether in the Parking Lot, the entry way, our Cafe or in the pews themselves. We make our mark here by truly desiring to invite and include, and to ensuring that there is "something for everyone and a place for all."
A missionary parish is also one that educates and forms its members in the faith so that they can live their discipleship completely. This includes preparing adults and children to celebrate the sacraments fully and fruitfully; training people for leadership roles in the community; and forming parishioners to recognize and undertake works of service and justice in the town or city or region where the parish is located.
This is done in process, but also in our case very much done through Small Groups which seek to make Sunday Matter all week long. This is also achieved in our community through parish based sacramental preparation, through vibrant children and youth ministries, through an adult education focus, through high rates of parishioner involvement in liturgical ministries, and through a collaborative team leadership model.
Lastly, a missionary parish continues to spiritually strengthen parishioners to live their faith boldly and to share it through witness and outreach to others. A parish marked by a missionary spirit is one whose presence in society is made visible and lasting through involvement in social projects, particularly those that serve the poor and marginalized and promote everyone’s right to life and the blessings due to every human person. A parish that is “missionary-oriented” is one where witness of word is matched by witness of life.
Our banner flies high here through a comprehensive outreach program that seeking to be a hand of hope not only across the city with such things as our Service Saturday, Neighbourhood Ministry and local outreach partnerships, but also across the world, with overseas commitments in Haiti, Kenya and Jerusalem which have included missions trips and pilgrimage visits.
This missionary focus is already to be found in many ways and in many instances in our parish. But it must increase and become the main characteristic of life so that we can be what we are really meant to be — communities engaged in the mission give to the Church by Jesus himself, to make it possible for others to experience life in the Kingdom of God in our time and in this place.
The ultimate means by which we understand Jesus Christ and truly are missionary in focus is the Eucharist, for the Eucharist is Christ himself, personally and actively present. The embodiment of the paschal mystery, the Eucharist is Jesus’ love for the world unto death, His journey into godforsakenness in order to save the most desperate of sinners, his heart broken open in compassion. And this is why it is through the lens of the Eucharist that Jesus comes most fully and vividly into focus. So our parish will continue to be Eucharistic and our Adoration Chapel our true power house for prayer, and the Lord's Day the central time we gather and the reason for why we do what we do.
I am excited for 2017......as my nephew says at the start of so many things in his life...bring it on!
Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, when visiting one of the parishes in the Diocese of Rome, told the parishioners:
Let us not wait for others to bring different messages, which do not lead to
authentic life. You yourselves must become missionaries of Christ to your
brothers and sisters wherever they live, work, study or pass their free time…
Faith must be lived together, and the parish is the place in which we learn to live
our faith as part of the “us” of the Church.
Parishes, then, are called to be “missionary” — not to foreign countries — but first of all to those immediately around them. This is the new evangelization spoken of us so often by St. John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI and most recently, Pope Francis. This mission of evangelization, of proclaiming and living the gospel message, belongs to every baptized member of the Church. So, what does a “missionary parish” look like?
To begin with, a missionary parish reaches out to those who do not know Christ by welcoming them and sharing the Good News with them. Now more than ever this is a mission to other Catholics who no longer actively practice their faith, as well as to non-Christians. A missionary parish is a welcoming environment for any and all who come to it, regardless of race, ethnic origin, social status or personal situation.
St Mary of the Visitation Parish achieves this through its sense of family, it authentic welcome, its priority of hospitality whether in the Parking Lot, the entry way, our Cafe or in the pews themselves. We make our mark here by truly desiring to invite and include, and to ensuring that there is "something for everyone and a place for all."
A missionary parish is also one that educates and forms its members in the faith so that they can live their discipleship completely. This includes preparing adults and children to celebrate the sacraments fully and fruitfully; training people for leadership roles in the community; and forming parishioners to recognize and undertake works of service and justice in the town or city or region where the parish is located.
This is done in process, but also in our case very much done through Small Groups which seek to make Sunday Matter all week long. This is also achieved in our community through parish based sacramental preparation, through vibrant children and youth ministries, through an adult education focus, through high rates of parishioner involvement in liturgical ministries, and through a collaborative team leadership model.
Lastly, a missionary parish continues to spiritually strengthen parishioners to live their faith boldly and to share it through witness and outreach to others. A parish marked by a missionary spirit is one whose presence in society is made visible and lasting through involvement in social projects, particularly those that serve the poor and marginalized and promote everyone’s right to life and the blessings due to every human person. A parish that is “missionary-oriented” is one where witness of word is matched by witness of life.
Our banner flies high here through a comprehensive outreach program that seeking to be a hand of hope not only across the city with such things as our Service Saturday, Neighbourhood Ministry and local outreach partnerships, but also across the world, with overseas commitments in Haiti, Kenya and Jerusalem which have included missions trips and pilgrimage visits.
This missionary focus is already to be found in many ways and in many instances in our parish. But it must increase and become the main characteristic of life so that we can be what we are really meant to be — communities engaged in the mission give to the Church by Jesus himself, to make it possible for others to experience life in the Kingdom of God in our time and in this place.
The ultimate means by which we understand Jesus Christ and truly are missionary in focus is the Eucharist, for the Eucharist is Christ himself, personally and actively present. The embodiment of the paschal mystery, the Eucharist is Jesus’ love for the world unto death, His journey into godforsakenness in order to save the most desperate of sinners, his heart broken open in compassion. And this is why it is through the lens of the Eucharist that Jesus comes most fully and vividly into focus. So our parish will continue to be Eucharistic and our Adoration Chapel our true power house for prayer, and the Lord's Day the central time we gather and the reason for why we do what we do.
I am excited for 2017......as my nephew says at the start of so many things in his life...bring it on!