We need to move forward

Feb 13, 2015

By Eddie Joseph
The Parish of the Visitation held its 2014 Parish Pastoral Assembly on Sunday January 25 this year. Close to three hundred parishioners, including a good representation from the indigenous communities, attended the 2.00pm to 5.00pm session at the Visitation Community Hall.

Present was His Grace Archbishop Julian Leow, his first official visit to his home parish since becoming Archbishop last year.

Present were the parish clergy team headed by Parish Priest Fr John Gnanapiragasam, together with Fr Alvin Ho SJ and Fr Gregory Chan. Also present were Edwin Moo, the Chair of the Parish Pastoral Council, Anthony Joseph Param, Chair of the Parish Coordinating Council, heads of the language apostolate groups and coordinators of parish ministries.

Taking on a new dimension for effective participation and interaction, the assembly was personally animated by the Archbishop who focused on Conversion, Communion and Mission — the core goals or targets of the parish, its Basic Ecclesial Communities (BECs) and Ministries.

“We need to love our faith and to live it to the full. We need to put ourselves in the life of the parish and in the life of our Basic Ecclesial Communities (BECs). We need to move forward in mission. Our children need enhanced faith education and new foundations. We need to stop looking at faults and difficulties. We should be part of the solutions. Listen to God’s promptings. Be strong and allow the Holy Spirit to guide you to keep the faith.”

The Archbishop stated, in no uncertain terms, that Conversion is the first step towards being in Communion with one another. It is only then that there can be an engagement towards a commitment to Mission. “We tend to be merely a praying people. We need to be a people engaged in mission. In communion, we need to move towards broader goals with wider vision and interaction with people of other faiths and cultures,” he said.

2016 would mark forty years since the Agiornamento. In 1976 the pace was set for the growth of parishes towards being a Communion of BECs. Archbishop Julian called for renewed impetus in this direction. He explained that there ought to be conversion of both mind and attitude in making BECs a meaningful communion. He urged that those who are absent from meetings and gatherings be visited, motivated and invited. He said that such follow-up is an engagement in itself in the Church’s mission. He called on leaders to create opportunities for growth in the BECs.

Touching on communion, he said that the thrust is towards spirituality, and one should be open towards embracing all in the community, interacting with those from other cultures and faiths.

“Have we built our own walls which separate us from others in the community? If so we need to break these walls of separation through interaction and fellowship, to get to know and accept each other.”

To be engaged in mission, he said, we need to “move out of our comfort zones if we want to express care for others. We need to develop a welcoming nature, and be a welcoming community. Is this being missionary?” he asked. He urged the parish community and the BECs to extend a welcoming hand to migrants who are in their midst. “Let us open our doors to them,” he urged.

To wind up the session, parishioners were asked to deliberate on two challenging questions: “How can my BEC become missionary? and “What conversion do I need in order to make my BEC missionary?”

In his closing summation, Parish Priest, Fr John Gnanapiragasam, touched briefly on the missionary dimension and the need to focus on the growing number of Outstanding Catholics, Lapsed Catholics, Casual Catholics and Un-churched Catholics. He said that “Mission begins with having to sustain the Church. Catholics are going away. We may have failed. That’s the challenge that we now have.”

In calling for more involvement in the life of the Church by the people of God, Fr Alvin Ho SJ suggested that, with at least one family member stepping forward there would be a sizeable number of people involved across the board.

The Parish Pastoral Council would compile the feedback for further action.