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Parish Resourcing Pastoral Renewal Dear Parishioners - letter 4
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| Dear Parishioners - letter 4 |
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Dear Parishioners, From what we have been saying over the past few weeks about Parish and Parish Pastoral Councils, I hope it is becoming clear that we are proposing a specific model of Church. In keeping with the mind of the 2nd Vatican Council, the Church should be seen as a community of the baptised. The word community implies equality and shared responsibility as we endeavour to be disciple of Jesus Christ and live according to the values of his Gospel. It follows then that the real stars in the parish are those who are the best followers of Jesus Christ. The example of a football club may illustrate the point. The true stars of a football club are the good players – not necessarily the chairman or the officers – for after all the purpose of a football club is playing football. In the same way the true stars of the parish are those men and women who are best at doing what this community is about – that is following or striving to follow Jesus of Nazareth. Those who hold office in the parish - mainly the priests - may indeed be among these. But if they are, it is not because they hold office, but because they are good followers of Jesus Christ – good disciples. Since by far the vast majority in the parish do not hold office in it, we can take it that by far the vast majority of the true stars in the parish are men and women who are living and working in the world. I hope it is also becoming evident that in a secular society we have to be making a concerted effort to promote the Christian way of life; every baptised person has a responsibility to proclaim and uphold the values of Jesus Christ, not just priests and religious. Much of the teaching and writing of the late Pope John Paul greatly emphasised the crucial role of the laity in the market place. For that reason he constantly stressed the importance of baptised men and women promoting the Christian way of life in the vast array of their various pursuits. The day is long gone when such matters were only the concern of the local priest; it is now the responsibility of each of us. All the more reason then why we need a Parish Pastoral Council to help us work together in the mission of evangelisation and building up a vibrant Christian community that will be characterised by faith, worship and service. With every blessing, Colum Curry PP |
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