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Now with the help of God we will
begin the implementation phase. At
this time it is helpful to recall
that one of the major components of
our pastoral planning process is a
greater awareness of the meaning of
Stewardship, the sense of our
responsibility to discover, develop
and share our gifts of nature and
grace with others for the sake of
the Gospel. When we take time to
discover, develop and share our
gifts, we not only contribute to the
mission of the Church but we also
discover meaning and purpose for our
lives.
Commenting on the parable of the
talents in St. Matthew’s Gospel,
chapter 25, Pope Benedict XVI noted
that “Christ’s gifts are meant to be
multiplied.” Our Holy Father stated:
“The man in the parable represents
Christ himself, the servants are the
disciples and the talents are the
gifts that Jesus entrusts to them.
These gifts, in addition to their
natural qualities, thus represent
the riches that the Lord Jesus has
bequeathed to us as a legacy, so
that we may make them productive:
his Word, deposited in the Holy
Gospel; Baptism, which renews us in
the Holy Spirit; prayer – the ‘Our
Father’ – that we raise to God as
his children, united in the son; his
forgiveness, which he commanded be
offered to all; the sacrament of his
Body sacrificed and his Blood poured
out; in a word: the Kingdom of God,
which is God himself, present and
alive in our midst.”
Pope Benedict then stressed how
important it is to be prepared to
receive the gifts and to cooperate
with God to develop and share the
gifts that are given to us. He said
that the “parable stresses the inner
disposition necessary to accept and
develop this gift. Fear is the wrong
attitude: the servant who is afraid
of his master and fears his return
hides the coin in the earth and it
does not produce any fruit.”
Fear shows a lack of appreciation
and gratitude for the gift of faith
and other gifts from God. When we do
not develop our God given potential
others do not benefit from what God
has given to us. Individuals and
communities can fail to appreciate
and share their gifts in the service
of the Gospel. Pope Benedict
comments on this failure: “This
happens, for example, to those who
after receiving Baptism, Communion
and Confirmation subsequently bury
their gifts beneath a blanket of
prejudice, beneath a false image of
God that paralyzes faith and works,
so as to betray the Lord’s
expectations.”
Individuals and parishes need to
discover, develop and share their
gifts and resources, not hide or
waste them. Pope Benedict further
states: “the parable places a
greater emphasis on good fruits
brought by the disciples who, happy
with the gift
they received, did not keep it
hidden with fear and jealousy but
made it profitable by sharing it and
partaking in it…Yes, what Christ has
given us is multiplied in its
giving. It is a treasure made to be
spent, invested and shared with all,
as we are taught by the apostle
Paul, the great administrator of
Jesus’ talent …The central message,
however, concerns the spirit of
responsibility with which to receive
God’s kingdom: a responsibility to
God and humanity.”
The responsible and grateful use of
God given gifts and resources is
described as stewardship. It is a
responsibility that helps people
find personal meaning through use of
their talents and abilities that are
shared to promote the evangelizing
and reconciling mission of Jesus
Christ which continues in the
Church. Each person and each parish
needs a greater awareness of
stewardship and deeper motivation
inspired by the Gospel and
strengthened by God’s grace for the
responsible use of gifts and
resources.
What are the best ways to contribute
to the mission of the Church?
Called to Holiness and Mission
is our process for beginning to
answer that question as responsible
and grateful stewards.
Called to Holiness and Mission:
Pastoral Planning in the Diocese of
Scranton
has as its primary aim the spiritual
and pastoral renewal of the Diocese
and all of its parishes and
institutions. Without neglecting
spiritual and pastoral renewal, the
first phase responded to a question
that I raised in my July 22, 2004
Pastoral letter: “The spiritual and
pastoral renewal of the Diocese of
Scranton will mean that we need to
look at every one of our structures,
i.e., our parishes, schools,
institutions, buildings and
programs. Are these entities the
right ones for the 21st century? Are
these entities currently prepared to
announce the Good News of Jesus
Christ as Jesus intends them to do?”
Now in the implementation phase
there will be a greater emphasis on
spiritual and pastoral renewal as
parish reorganization continues. In
this new implementation phase we
need to become aware of our
responsibility to be good stewards
of the gifts of God in our personal
lives, in our parishes and in our
Diocese.
On another occasion, Pope Benedict
XVI encouraged stewardship as a way
of living and thinking in these
words: “Christians in particular,
conforming their lives to the
gospel, recognize that all people
are brothers and sisters: that life
is a stewardship of the goods
received from God, which is why each
one is responsible for the other,
and whoever is rich must be as it
were an ‘executor of the orders of
God the Benefactor.’ We must help
one another and cooperate as members
of one body.”
Eleven of the twenty criteria
approved by the Diocesan Planning
Commission and accepted by me, are
concerned with some aspect of
stewardship and will continue to
guide the ongoing work of
implementation. I want to recall
these stewardship criteria at this
time.
Stewardship and Justice
1. Parishioners are educated and
formed in stewardship, where all
disciples share their time, talent
and treasure.
2. Social justice, advocacy and
outreach programs are well
integrated into parish life through
the spirituality of good
stewardship.
3. A comprehensive view of being
good stewards of God’s gifts of
creation and of the Church is
embodied in all aspects of parish
life.
Stewardship and Administration
4. The pastor, staff, parish
councils and finance councils exert
effective leadership that embodies
stewardship and points to the
future.
5. The parish is financially stable
and exercises good stewardship of
its resources.
6. Working with neighboring parishes
and sharing resources is operational
in the parish.
7. The parish exercises good
stewardship of human resources as it
works positively and creatively with
the diminishing number of priests.
8. The parish is taking into account
its geographic proximity to other
parishes and its Mass attendance
when it plans for the future.
9. The parish has adequate staff to
carry out its mission.
10. The parish has adequate and
well-maintained facilities to carry
out its mission.
11. The parish supports the programs
and ministries of the Diocese and
the Church universal.
As we continue our pastoral planning
for spiritual and pastoral renewal,
we must promote a deeper awareness
of the meaning of stewardship and
find ways to motivate its practice
in our lives and parishes.
The implementation process will be a
time of endings and new beginnings.
As people of faith we need to look
at implementation in light of the
paschal mystery. I want to repeat
what I stated in my September 2008
pastoral letter:
“As a people of faith, we must look
at our present experience of
pastoral planning in the light of
the paschal mystery of the death and
resurrection of Our Lord. “Amen,
Amen, I say to you, unless a grain
of wheat falls to the ground and
dies, it remains just a grain of
wheat; but if it dies, it produces
much fruit” (John 12:24).
During this year of Saint Paul, we
should use his instruction to
appreciate how much we need to
understand the paschal mystery as we
live our lives. Let us reflect
prayerfully on Paul’s words to the
Romans: “Are you not aware that we
who were baptized into Christ Jesus
were baptized into his death?
Through baptism into his death we
were buried with him, so that, just
as Christ was raised from the dead
by the glory of the Father, we too
might live a new life. If we have
been united with him through
likeness to his death, so shall we
be united with him in the
resurrection” (Romans 6:3-5).
Change, especially when it involves
loss, can cause much stress and
profound pain. This is precisely the
“dying” Our Lord is referring to in
speaking about the grain of wheat
falling to the ground and dying.
Saint Paul is talking about the same
dying in addressing the Romans.
Believing the word of God as
expressed by Jesus and Saint Paul
will keep before our minds that in
Christ our dying leads to life.
Truly, I do appreciate the hurt we
experience when one familiar,
beloved parish church is replaced by
another. Let us, however, put our
faith to work. It will empower us
during these times of change and
loss to keep our focus on growth,
strength and new life.”
I also want to repeat some pertinent
thoughts from my October 2008 audio
message:
“Please allow me to assure you that
I understand very well why the
closing of one’s parish church is so
troublesome. You were baptized
there. You received your First Holy
Communion there. You were married
there. You buried deceased loved
ones from there. And many of your
children and grandchildren received
the sacraments there too. In some
cases, your ancestors helped to
build the church – literally. Some
of our churches have connections to
particular ethnic groups. Some
parishes were established at a time
when the immigrants who settled in
the area did not speak English and
needed to hear the Word of God in
their native tongues.
“So I do realize that you will
experience sorrow, perhaps even
anger, if the church you are used to
attending should close. Even if your
church should remain open as the
primary worship site for a
consolidated parish, you might be
feeling unsure about how you will
interact with a whole new group of
parishioners. I trust and pray you
will welcome them with compassion
and good will. I hope you will
recognize that they are your
brothers and sisters who will enrich
the life of the parish.
“I know that you love your churches.
But I also know that you love God
and your faith even more. You want
to see the faith preserved and
handed down to future generations.
And so, I believe you will recognize
that changes must be made to deal
with the realities of the 21st
century. The structures that served
us well in the 19th and 20th
centuries may not be the best ones
for the future.”
Strengthened by faith, hope and
charity, we can move forward
together to meet the challenges of
the 21st century with the gifts and
resources that we have. To renew our
commitment and renew our parishes
prayer is a necessity. Please pray
for the successful completion of our
pastoral planning process and its
goal of spiritual and pastoral
renewal.
With kind personal regards and every
good wish, I am,
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Most Reverend Joseph F. Martino, D.D.,
Hist. E.D.
Bishop of Scranton
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