Fr. John Ryan

 

SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
29th JULY

On a number of occasions over the last few months I have addressed the need for a change in approach to faith and ministry to ensure the continuation of the spread of the Gospel. It is something that we really need to face in the near future in order to ensure that the message of Christ is heard in a world that is filled with so much information and places so many distractions in the way. At times I have referred to the way we have tended to approach things here in Ireland down through the years. We had a top heavy way of operating - very much a hierarchical mode of working. In the diocese the bishop ruled and in the parish the priest ruled. And that was it. Thankfully we are moving further away from that model and the sense of collaboration is strengthening all the time. In the light of our experience in Ireland today and the increasing apathy, if not antagonism, towards Church we need to further that collaboration.
Among other things, what is needed here is the full implementation of the Second Vatican Council. From 1962 to 1965 the bishops of the world met in Rome to discuss the life of the Church and its mission. By its conclusion, sixteen documents had been promulgated addressing different aspects of faith and mission. Even though all the documents are important, four are considered central to the understanding of Church and mission. These are the four constitutions, with their commonly used titles in brackets - the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (Sacrosanctum Concilium, The Constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium), the Constitution on Sacred Scripture (Dei Verbum) and the Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (Gaudium et Spes). The other twelve decrees and declarations address questions such as Religious Freedom, Consecrated Life, Apostolate of the Laity, Christian Education, Training of Priests, Pastoral Ministry of the Bishop, Ecumenism. The contents of all these documents aim to focus the minds and hearts of all members on the continuing mission of the Church - the spread of the Gospel. As it says in paragraph two of the Decree on the Apostolate of Lay People (usually referred to as 'Apostolicam Actuositatem'): The Church was founded to spread the kingdom of Christ over all the earth for the glory of God the Father, to make all people partakers in redemption and salvation, and through them to establish the right relationship of the entire world to Christ. Every activity of the Mystical Body with this in view goes by the name of ' apostolate'; the Church exercises it through all its members, though in various ways.
What is clear from this statement is that all the faithful are responsible for the spread of the kingdom - it is not simply reserved to one group of people within the Church. All of us have a responsibility to work for Christ. We need to look at how we are doing this - and try to improve. The question is - how do we effectively go about a renewal of our own understanding of God, Jesus Christ as revealer of God. Church, Sacraments, Faith and Apostolate? It is a question we will have to answer and act upon in the near future.
In Apostolicam Actuositatem no. 4 it states: Christ, sent by the Father, is the source of the Church's apostolate. Clearly then the fruitfulness of the apostolate of lay people depends on their living union with Christ; as the Lord said himself: 'Whoever dwells in me and I in him bears much fruit, for separated from me you can do nothing' (Jn 15:5). To begin we need to pray, asking the Lord to enlighten us and guide us as we begin to explore and examine ourselves as Church expressed in Milford, Freemount and Tullylease.