PMPC IV

Sep 23, 2016

The Peninsular Malaysia Pastoral Convention Four (PMPC IV) is here! There is on-going discussion as well as comments about this forthcoming Convention (Oct. 2-5, 2016). This event is not about what we can do or cannot do, but more! It is about the expectant presence of the Holy Spirit.

This is why the People of God from the three Peninsular Malaysia Churches will gather again to be borne on the wings of the same Holy Spirit who enlightened the hearts and minds of the Apostles and Mary. It is with the power of the same Spirit that the Apostles went out to proclaim the Good News of the Lord to all the peoples, especially the poor, in a creative manner.

It is this same Holy Spirit who moved St Pope John XXIII to convene the Second Vatican Council. The effect of the first Pentecost, which was also felt at this Holy Council (1962 -1965) reached our shores in Penang during the month-long gathering of the three Peninsular Bishops with their priests. This phenomenal experience became known as the Aggiornamento of 1976.

Today, four decades later, with Pope Francis steering the barque of St Peter, that Pentecost is kindling the flames of love and mercy in numerous hearts of the People of God.

There is, indeed, a new awakening in the Universal Church as well as in the Particular Churches. New areas of evangelisation have surfaced and it is once again a call that we need to hear afresh — Go out and preach the Good News to the Poor. Therefore, we cannot but recall the epoch-making event known as the Aggiornamento of 1976 for all our three Particular Churches.

Can we ask what significant progress has this call to renewal or Aggiornamento made on the life of the parishes in the three Particular Churches of Peninsular Malaysia? Definitely much! There is a growing sense of ownership in proclaiming and witnessing to the person of Jesus Christ by the way we live our lives as Laity, Religious and Clergy. There is much joy in being a friend of God, of Jesus Christ and being in the fellowship with the Holy Spirit. Thus, we can say that we are trending towards becoming an evangelising Church. Indeed, with the enthusiasm of Pope Francis, most churches have deepened their missionary thrust by being “missionary disciples”.

This is precisely the emphasis of the Aggiornamento — that our core need is to become Basic Ecclesial Communities (BECs). This understanding gained much depth and vibrancy at the 1996 PMPC II. It was said that there “are many Catholics (who) have found joy, fellowship and caring in such communities and the grace to reach out to our less fortunate sisters and brothers in compassion.” And with a sense of joy, it was noted that “The People of God have truly been nurtured in their human and spiritual lives”.

But a decade later at PMPC III in 2006, the BECs were seen not as a “Core Need” of the Church but as a Basic Option! In some ways, the above enthusiasm seems to have flagged!

However, in the Federation of Asian Bishops Conference (FABC) report of 2000, we are told that “As small communities — (BECs) — widely scattered across the continent, the local Churches of Asia face the stark choice of either becoming closed enclaves servicing their own internal needs, or bravely opening up to the real needs and deepest aspirations of the wider society (cf GS 1). We are being challenged to grow into a vibrant diaspora of hope, to mature into an unceasing movement in mission (or be missionary disciples).”

This is also the call of the newly ordained Bishop Bernard Paul who, at the Malacca Johore Diocesan Synod said, “In the BEC we centre on the Word, and in the Parish, we centre around the Mass. A common complaint everywhere was that leaders in ministries don’t go for BEC gatherings. We need to keep reminding one another (including the Parish Priest) to be present in the BEC gatherings.”

But there are some, according to Bishop Bernard Paul, who have a “minimalist mentality which says Sunday Mass is enough — this is an attitude problem. We can overcome it by going through a conversion that is, Personal, Communitarian, Ecclesial and Ecological!"