Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ
Sometimes we feel that our hands are empty and so we have little or nothing to give. But at the heart of our faith is a deep conviction that God is present and has given each of us gifts which bring us great joy when we share them. These gifts become riches of life when we place them at the service of our community to build up our life together as the Body of Christ.
We have these riches because Christ is present within us by his loving grace, a love and a grace that seeks to be shared as a joy for the whole people. In his letter to the Colossians, St Paul writes of the glorious mystery of Christ present within us:
“To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).
As a parish community, I invite you to join me in prayerful reflection on this beautiful passage from St Paul and focus on the riches of Christ that are in you and in our parish community. To discover these riches will give us hope in the love of Christ and confidence that we have much to offer for the growth of our parish life.
As a fruit of this reflection we can ask: how can our riches be shared so that our parish communities of St Francis Xavier, St Brigid, St John Viannney, and Mater Dolorosa can grow together in faith, hope, and love? Further questions that may help our reflection are: What gifts do you have? How can you help others see their gifts? How can we support each other in making these gifts shine for our families, friends, and those we meet in our everyday life?
To bring together the fruits of our parish reflection, please join the clergy and parish staff in formulating our Parish Pastoral Plan. The aim of the Pastoral Plan is to develop our goals over the next five years to develop our:
- Community Life
- Worship as a community of faith and service
- Mission in bearing witness to Christ’s truth and love
- Parish Support through our Parish Staff
- Stewardship of our facilities and properties
The Pastoral Plan will set our major pastoral, mission, and financial goals for the next five years and be an instrument for reviewing our progress in achieving these goals. The first three steps in formulating the Pastoral Plan will occur on the following dates:
- On 19 February 2023 (7th Sunday in Ordinary Time) and 26 February 2023 (First Sunday of Lent), the Sunday homily will reflect on the theme “the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you”, to help everyone reflect on our gifts and how they can contribute to our parish.
- On 5 March 2023 (Second Sunday of Lent) we will distribute a survey asking for your suggestions about how we can develop the five key areas of parish life. The survey will be presented by a member of the Pastoral or Finance Councils to each of our four local communities.
- After this Lenten period of reflection, the Pastoral and Finance Councils will consult with Bishop Mascord to finalise and publish the Pastoral Plan on 10 December 2023 (Second Sunday of Advent).
Thank you for your ongoing commitment to our Lumen Christi Parish. Through preparing our Pastoral Plan, may we see the riches God has given us to build our life together in Christ and so reveal his light to the world.
Yours in the Lord Jesus,
Fr Bernard Gordon
