Transcript SYNOD 2008 Archdiocese of Kingston, W I

Synod 2008
Archdiocese of Kingston,
Jamaica, West Indies
“IT SEEMED GOOD TO US
AND THE HOLY SPIRIT”
 The Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 15, records for us
the Council of Jerusalem which occurred in the
first century when the Apostles and the elders of
the Church in Jerusalem met with Paul and
Barnabas over the vexing question of
the
admission of the Gentiles into the Church without
having to subscribe to the Jewish practice of
circumcision. The debate was heated. But at the
end of the day, Paul and Barnabas were vindicated
and sent back to Antioch to continue their
missionary activity.
 We, the delegates of the thirty-first Archdiocesan
Synod, whose theme is “The Word of God in the
Life and Mission of the Church in Jamaica,” have
had some very spirited discussions, not unlike that
of the Council of Jerusalem.
 However, at the end of our own gathering, we can
echo the words of the said Council: “We, with the
Holy Spirit, have decided not to put any other
burden on you except what is necessary” (Acts 15:
28). What, then, would be the necessary things
that should be put in this charge that I give?
REGNOCENTRICITY VS ECCLESIOCENTRICITY
 First of all, I charge you to love one another, not
with your own feeble, human love, but with the
love of God that has been poured into our hearts
by the indwelling of God’s Holy Spirit. It is a love
that is unconditional, bearing all things, looking
out for the other’s well-being rather than one’s own
selfish desires.
 That means that we not only become our brothers
and sisters’ keepers, but we also allow for
differences—be it at Parish, Deanery or
Archdiocesan levels—that do not sacrifice the
necessary realities of faith which we must guard
quite jealously as Catholic Christians.
 In other words, we are called and sent to be
“regnocentric” (as opposed to merely
“ecclesiocentric”) in order to further, in
collaboration with others, kingdom values: justice,
peace, love, unity and joy in the Holy Spirit [cf.
Rom. 14:17].
 That is the general overarching charge of this
Synod. The desirable vision of the
Archdiocese, to be more vibrant, more visible
and more vocal, has as its objective the
kingdom of God.
PROMINENCE OF THE WORD
IN OUR LIFE AND WORSHIP
 To be kingdom-oriented people we need to give
more prominence to the Word of God in our lives:
in our homes and in our liturgy (worship).
 Consequently, the Word begins to affect or
influence our private, personal decisions and
deliberations, our choice of a specific vocation (as
opposed to our general vocation through baptism),
and our business endeavours.
 How do we begin to accomplish this?
The Word in our Homes
 I propose that as a symbolic-oriented people, we
need to enthrone the written Word in a prominent
place in our homes, a sort of a prayer corner, where
the faith is first handed on.
 When the Word is thus enshrined, we gradually
become aware of the importance of that Word for
our inner spiritual growth. The reverse of the
saying “out of sight, out of mind,” becomes a
reality.
 Individual and/or familial devotion (e.g., lectio
divina, praying meditatively the Psalms) in the
domestic church orientates Catholic Christians to
be empowered by an awareness of God’s Presence in
our lives.
Such a devotion in the home also
conditions family members to listen to the voice of
God in terms of a specific vocation [cf. 1 Sam. 3: 1 –
21].
The Word in our Liturgy
Especially at our Sunday liturgy (Mass or Liturgy of
the Word), we ought to enshrine at the beginning
the Scriptures in a prominent place that is adorned
with lighted candles to remind us that God’s “word
is a lamp to my feet, a light on my path” [Ps. 119:
105].
 It is certainly not right only to light candles for the
liturgy of the Eucharist, and ignore totally the
Word being proclaimed.
 The highlighting of the Word is in keeping with
the integral connection of the Scriptures and the
Eucharist [cf. Luke 24: 13 – 35]. However, candles
are not the only thing to highlight the
importance of the Word…
 The proper proclamation by well-trained lectors
helps to let the Word become in truth and in fact a
“two-edged sword” melodiously penetrating the
hearing and lodging in the inner region of the
hearers’ mind and heart [cf. Heb. 4:12].
THE WORD OF GOD IS COMMUNICATIVE
 “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt amongst us”
[John 1: 14] to bring humankind the Good News of
God’s love [cf. John 3:16].
This indicates that
communication is a key to evangelization and
catechesis and community building for the sake of
the kingdom.
 Jesus, the living Word communicated the love and
Presence of the Father and built up a community
of faith, hope and love.
 To emphasize this prominence of the Word in the
liturgy, the lectern should only be used for the
proclamation and breaking of the Word. All other
announcements should be made from elsewhere,
and certainly not from the altar.
 But, this communication is relational, and spans
the pastoral, spiritual, moral and educational
considerations of Christian formation. Hence,
there is need to utilize and enhance the structures
and organizations that obtain in the Archdiocese
of Kingston.
 With the shortage of priests and the scope of the
Parish, the Pastor must foster and encourage
Collaborative Ministries with deacons,
Religious and trained and equipped lay
people
Parish Community
 This essential structure is the “community of
communities,” encompassing the domestic
churches within its jurisdiction with its the various
cells (be they Pastoral and Finance Councils,
B.E.C., or other Organizations and Committees:
Liturgy, Evangelization/Mission, Catechetical,
Voca-tion, Family Life, etc).
Not only will the Pastor be spared early burn-out,
but it will underscore the general vocation of all to
be responsible for their Church Community in the
task of furthering kingdom values.
 With this collaborative ministry approach to
Parish life, the Pastor can devote himself to those
things that are more proper to his priestly
ministry: proper preparation of homilies and wellplanned liturgies that will take into consideration
the various groups in the Parish.
 It is in the Parish where our Catholic faith and
culture, devotions, symbols, and history ought to
be taught with the aid of the resources available:
St. Michael’s Theological College; Catechetical
Centre; Family Life Commission, etc.
Deanery Collaboration
 Here is communicated the “best tried” in the
pertinent
Parishes
so
that
the
ongoing
evangelization and kingdom building can be
realized.
 It is at this level where attempts should first be
made to address the problematic of priest-less
Parishes and outlying communities. Within
deaneries there should be consideration given for
periodic “pulpit sharing” to give the faithful a new
voice once in awhile, and the priests new
challenges.
Calendaring
 : need to promote a coordinated effort to avoid
conflicts of dates/activities, etc at Parish, Deanery
and Archdiocesan Levels.
Merger/Consolidation of
Urban Parishes
 To be our brothers and sisters’ keepers in their
pastoral and spiritual well-being, serious thought
will be given to this last resort approach to
maximize the limited manpower that we now have.
 Notwithstanding the short term proposal to
import priests from Africa and the Philippines
(which has its drawback if the cultural differences
cannot be bridged, and which is no assurance),
 Pastor and delegates should share with their Church
Communities the crisis that we face, in order to
sensitize them to the possibility of this move. The
Eucharist is at the centre of our Catholic identity
and spirituality, and yet some rural communities
have Mass only twice per month, while urban
Parishes in close proximity have only one Mass each
but at the very same hour.
 This seems like poor stewardship! This idea of
sharing personnel should first start at the deanery
level before any decision is made at Archdiocesan
level.
Creating a Culture of Vocation
 In homes,
as mentioned before, a spiritual
foundation should be laid with family devotions
and reflection on the Word of God and Prayer for
Vocation.
 In Parishes, there should be some explicit attempt
to foster vocation, example being Eucharistic
Adoration on specific day(s) of the week; also,
parishioners—as well as clergy—should identify
youngsters who seem to be close to the Church.
 At the Archdiocesan level, there is need to
resurrect a Vocations Commission comprising
priests, Religious and deacons to work together to
promote vocations at all levels, including marriage
and single dedicated life. This general Vocations
Commission would be different from the present
Diocesan priests Vocation Team.
Catholic Formation and
Education
 The Archdiocesan Education Board must definitely
intensify their efforts to establish the Catholic identity
in our Catholic Schools and other centres of formation.
The Board does this by equipping promising and
dedicated Catholic men and women with leadership
training so that they can carry on the task of holistic
Catholic formation and education.
 More scholarships should be sought—even from
abroad, if necessary—to effect this urgent task. In
the meantime, the commendable start of Campus
Ministry should continue.
 Too, efforts should be made by the Parishes to
utilize better the services offered by the St.
Michael’s Theological College and the Catechetical
Centre for formation in faith and ministries. This
redounds to the vibrancy of the Parishes
Catholic Radio Station
 The cry for more formation of our Catholic faithful
and
the
shortage
of
personnel
(clergy
and
teachers/lecturers) would seem to beg a genuine
consideration of a Radio Station that would
disseminate Catholic programmes, human interest
stories, the social teaching of the Church, the
Catholic position on moral and life issues, devotions,
and Church history.
 Experts in our Catholic Church will be sought to
investigate the feasibility and sustainability of this
project.
Church and Society
 The Word of God is prophetic and should be
communicated to the society, not only by the written
or spoken word, but primarily by the lives Catholic
Christians live.
 The contrast society proposed by theologian Peter
Phan should be considered by disciples of Jesus who
are promoting kingdom values.
 To this end the Justice and Human Development
Commission and the Family Life Commission must
intensify their efforts to make known in a none-
judgmental way the Catholic understanding of life in
all aspects—from womb to natural death. A culture
of life (inclusive of the quality of life) is definitely a
contrast to the culture of death.
 The brief Statement from Synod commenting on the
violence and murders in our society is but one
instance of saying a prophetic Word. The positive
endeavors of the Mustard Seed Communities and
the Missionaries of the Poor emphasize this
prophetic Word in action and underscore the
sacredness of life—no matter the condition—of the
human person whose dignity the Church must
champion.
 “What is the human person that you should
keep him in mind… Yet you have made him a
little less than a god, you have crowned him
with glory and splendour” [Psalm 8: 4 – 5].
 May the Lord who has inspired us all through this
Synod strengthen our resolve to put into action, after
prayer reflection, all that we have enthusiastically
pledged to do when we return to our Parishes. The
Lord is counting on your being serious in
collaborating with him, because he does not call you
servants, but friends [cf. John 15:15]
+Donald J. Reece
Archbishop of Kingston
Synod 2008