Hamilton Diocese - Proud to be Catholic

Hamilton Diocese - Proud to be Catholic - Our Plan

Proud to be Catholic

is our pastoral plan.

It is based on:

•Pride in the Word of God.
•Pride in the Church's Teachings.
•Pride in the Church's Liturgy.

Proud to be Catholic

has three commitments:

•Communio
•Evangelisation
•Oases of Prayer

Proud to be Catholic

has three goals:

That we…

•"strive for excellence and prayerfulness in Worship, Sacraments and Devotion." (Priests' Assembly 2005)
•"proclaim the Word of God boldly." (Acts 4:31)
•that we commit to "being of one heart and one soul." (Acts 4:32)

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

1.Our Jubilee Year of 2005 was one that we will all remember. We received so many blessings from the Lord through such things as the pilgrimages, the celebrations of important milestones, and the publication of our diocesan history. The highlight of the year was the Big Catholic Weekend at Mystery Creek. Here we gathered as diocesan family to celebrate, to rejoice in the gift of our young people, and to reflect upon the call that God gives to us as we continue our journey into the future.
2.During the Big Catholic Weekend I discovered again the energy of the faithful people of God as they gathered with me in three workshops. I have been delighted by the way in which the whole diocese has accepted the broad outline of a new pastoral plan. This broad outline was given to me by the priests when they gathered for their Assembly in January 2005. It consists of a call from the Lord to undertake three commitments:
•Communio ("being of one heart and one soul.") Acts 4:32
•Evangelisation ("proclaiming the Word of God boldly.") Acts 4:31
•Oases of Prayer ("striving for excellence and prayerfulness in Worship, Sacraments and Devotion.")
3.These three commitments have been crafted into our pastoral plan, which I have called PROUD TO BE CATHOLIC.
4.I want each parish, each school, each community, in fact all of us in the diocese, to be of one heart and one soul, as together we focus on these commitments.
5.Let me develop these further.
6.What Communio is about is described in the Acts of the Apostles 4:32 "...the whole group of those who believe were of one heart and one soul."
7.Pope John Paul II often referred to Communio in his many writings and teachings. He would be delighted to know that Communio is something that we will commit ourselves to as this young diocese of Hamilton grows.
8.Communio is not community. We all know of many communities. People work together in achieving the aims and the objectives of their community. Communio is something much deeper than this.
9.The best model for being "of one heart and one soul" is seen in the intimate relationship that exists within the Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This is Communio.
10.Communio is found also in the mystery of the Church. "Communio is expressed and lived in a special way by the local Church gathered around the Bishop, with whom the people are co-workers in the mission. As Pastor, each Bishop seeks to promote this Communio through his ministry, which is sharing in the pastoral, prophetic and priestly office of Christ." (Pope John Paul II, Ecclesia in Oceania n. 11)
11.Our pastoral plan PROUD TO BE CATHOLIC needs to be living and practical. To ensure this, we need to look at opportunities to live out being "of one heart and one soul" to which Christ has called us. Communio will not just happen. It takes hard work. Being "of one heart and one soul" requires all of us, Bishop, priests, deacons and people to become involved.
12.In our homes and in our parishes and communities we need to look at ways in which our Communio can be deepened. My own faith is strengthened when I visit different parishes and find the parish pastoral leadership teams discussing ways in which being "of one heart and one soul" can be deepened: for example, the relationship between the parish and school; the relationship between the parish and the young people; the relationship between the parish and the elderly, especially those who are no longer able to participate actively in the life of the parish.
13.I have only touched briefly on Communio and what it will mean for us in the Diocese of Hamilton. There is more to be said. Over the next few months you will be hearing much more from me about the importance of Communio. Resources are already being prepared to help us enter deeply into the call to be “of one heart and one soul”. In so doing, our lives, the lives of those we love, those with whom we work, those whom we teach and guide, indeed the life of our whole diocese, can and will be changed by the love of the Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, for us.
14.I encourage all of you to find ways in which the unity of the parish can become stronger and stronger. My prayer is that all of us will be recognised as being "of one heart and one soul".
15.Evangelisation has always been a top priority for the Church. The Acts of the Apostles recalls the enthusiasm of the early members of the Church: "As they prayed, the house where they were assembled rocked; they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to proclaim the Word of God boldly." (Acts 4: 31) Inspired by the Holy Spirit they received the courage to proclaim "the Word of God boldly".
16.Enthusiastic missionaries who, like Bishop Pompallier, took the Gospel to every corner of the earth, built upon that good foundation.
17.Today, we are the modern missionaries. We are called to proclaim to our present secular society that God is important. "I am the Lord your God...You shall have no gods except me." (Exodus 20: 1-2)
18.Signs of the times are: falling Mass attendances; a high level of comfort; and a loss of the sacred. Pope John Paul II calls us to a new proclamation of Christ. This must come from an inner renewal of the Church. And this inner renewal must have as its goal: "Go! Proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ." (see Pope John Paul II, Ecclesia in Oceania, n. 19)
19.We need to be creative as we take up the challenge of telling the world about Christ. We need to take this challenge to our parishes, to our schools, to our communities, to our families. In fact, we need to take this challenge to our whole society.
20.While these challenges are many, we must take heart that people are joining the Church through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. People are coming back to the Church through such programmes as Catholics Returning Home and Christ is touching people’s lives through such programmes as CAFÉ.
21.We need to remember that through our Baptism, our Confirmation, and the Eucharist, we are called to be the modern missionaries of today. Through our Baptism, our Confirmation, and the Eucharist, we are being called "to proclaim the Word of God boldly".
22.At the heart of the Church’s life is her liturgy. Through her Worship, Sacraments and Devotion we are called to give God thanks and praise. Therefore, we must strive at all times for excellence and prayerfulness as we gather for Worship, as we celebrate the Sacraments and as we place ourselves before God through our Devotions.
23.If we are not people of prayer we will fail miserably in deepening the reality of Communio and in being bold proclaimers of the Gospel.
24.When I was at school, prayer was described as "the raising of the mind and the heart to God". Today, the Church describes prayer as "the living relationship of the children of God: with their Father who is good beyond measure; with His Son Jesus Christ; and with the Holy Spirit" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 2565).
25.Prayer has always been the lifeblood of the Church. How often we find references in the New Testament to Jesus praying and even spending the whole night in prayer. Those who have made the deepest impression on us are those who have been easily recognised as people of prayer. Without prayer, it is impossible to be in Communion with God. Without prayer, it is impossible to listen to God's voice. Without prayer, it is impossible to understand the Will of God.
26.In the various workshops at the Big Catholic Weekend, I heard people saying that we need to create oases of prayer in our busy lives. There are so many distractions that it becomes more and more difficult to discover God’s presence among us.
27.In the diocese, we can be grateful for the fact that so many parishes, schools and communities offer wonderful opportunities for prayer. There is perpetual adoration. There is an increase in devotion to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. There are prayer groups.
28.Nothing is more powerful than a prayerful group of people in touch with God and in touch with the society in which they live.
29.Also, we need to be in touch with the gift God gives us of contemplation. Saint Thérèse of Lisieux's description of contemplative prayer is a simple one: "...contemplative prayer in my opinion is nothing else than a close sharing between friends. It means taking time frequently to be alone with Him whom we know loves us".
30.My hope is that we will become more effective people of prayer as we call upon the world to "look upon the face of Christ".

CONCLUSION

31.Since the conclusion of our Jubilee Year, I have been meeting with a combined group that consists of the Council of Priests, the Diocesan Pastoral Council and representatives of our Catholic schools. This group has been assisting me to present a concise pastoral plan that focuses on the three commitments of:
•Communio ("being of one heart and one soul.") Acts 4:32
•Evangelisation ("proclaiming the Word of God boldly.") Acts 4:31
•Oases of Prayer ("striving for excellence and prayerfulness in Worship, Sacraments and Devotion.")
32.For this to be a success it requires all of us, Bishop, priests, deacons and people to take ownership of the new pastoral plan, PROUD TO BE CATHOLIC. For this plan to work, all of us need to discover practical ways of making the three commitments real at the level of diocese, parishes, schools, communities and homes. Resources already exist, but it is important that we identify new ones. These resources will be vital if we are to become disciples, walking the journey with Jesus, deepening our sense of Communio, proclaiming boldly the Good News of Jesus Christ, and praying our way to Heaven.