The Mission of the Parish: Attracting All To Jesus Christ
By Monsignor Vincent J. Grimalia, V.G. 
 

The recent workshop on the Parish Mission Statement was the first step in parish self-study and pastoral planning. By Oct. 30, every parish is required to either develop or revise its parish mission statement and file it with the regional Episcopal Vicar. The mission statement will focus the attention of the parish, and help the pastor and Parish Pastoral Council do a parish self-study and develop a pastoral plan for promoting the evangelizing mission of the parish, and communion within the parish and with the Diocese.

Parish self-study and pastoral planning will take place in the context of the Eucharist and the evangelizing mission of the parish. These activities will help to revitalize the parish community, and to help it establish priorities and evaluate its resources: spiritual, human, financial, etc. The parish mission statement, parish self-study and pastoral plan will inspire and motivate the parishioners concerning the mission of the parish, their responsibilities to the parish mission, and spiritual renewal of the parish.

During his homily opening the recent Conference of the Bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean, Pope Benedict stated: “The Church considers herself the disciple and missionary of this love: missionary only insofar as she is a disciple, capable of being attracted constantly and with renewed wonder by the God who has loved us and who loves us first…”

We can see here the reminder that the Church is both communion and mission, and that all have the responsibility to actively work to promote communion and unity and to participate in the mission of the Church. The pope reminds us that there must be authenticity and integrity in our faith and every aspect of our lives.

He further notes: “The Church does not engage in proselytism. Instead she grows by ‘attraction;’ just as Christ ‘draws all to himself’ by the power of his love, culminating in the sacrifice of the Cross, so the Church fulfills her mission to the extent that, in union with Christ, she accompanies every one of her works in spiritual and practical imitation of the love of her Lord.”

The lectionary reading for Wednesday of the seventh week of the year is from John 17:11b-19. It expresses both communion and mission, when Jesus prays: “Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are one….Consecrate them in truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world.” Prayer is a most important component of the mission of the Church and the mission of the parish. 

Drawing Strength From the Eucharist

The recent World Synod of Bishops had as its theme: “The Eucharist: Source and Summit of the Life and Mission of the Church.” This provides a two-fold focus for parish life, for parish self-study and for pastoral planning.

In his encyclical on the Eucharist, Pope John Paul II stated: “Every commitment to holiness, every activity aimed at carrying out the Church's mission, every work of pastoral planning, must draw the strength it needs from the Eucharistic mystery and in turn be directed to that mystery as its culmination.”

Pope John Paul stressed the importance of the Eucharist and the development of a spirituality of communion and mission in many of his writings. In writing on the vocation and mission of the lay faithful, he noted: “The dignity as a Christian, the source of equality for all members of the Church, guarantees and fosters the spirit of communion and fellowship, and, at the same time, becomes the hidden dynamic force in the lay faithful's apostolate and mission.”

Pope John Paul clearly made the connection even more clear when he wrote: “Bearing fruit is an essential demand of life in Christ and life in the Church. The person who does not bear fruit does not remain in communion: ‘Each branch of mine that bears no fruit, he (my Father) takes away’ (Jn 15: 2).

“Communion with Jesus, which gives rise to the communion of Christians among themselves, is an indispensable condition for bearing fruit: ‘Apart from me you can do nothing’ (Jn 15:5). And communion with others is the most magnificent fruit that the branches can give: in fact, it is the gift of Christ and His Spirit.

“At this point communion begets communion: essentially, it is likened to a mission on behalf of communion. In fact, Jesus says to his disciples: ‘You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide’ (Jn 15:16).

“Communion and mission are profoundly connected with each other, they interpenetrate and mutually imply each other, to the point that communion represents both the source and the fruit of mission: communion gives rise to mission and mission is accomplished in communion. It is always the one and the same Spirit who calls together and unifies the Church and sends her to preach the Gospel ‘to the ends of the earth’(Acts 1:8).”

Prayer, Eucharist, and communion are interconnected with mission. Every Christian and every parish community needs to grow in the understanding and living of a spirituality of communion and mission. The parish mission statement, parish self-study and pastoral planning in the context of prayer and study will help everyone deepen their awareness of both communion and mission.

In his Apostolic Letter, Novo Millennio Ineunte, Pope John Paul stated: “Before making practical plans, we need to promote a spirituality of communion, making it the guiding principle of education wherever individuals and Christians are formed, wherever ministers of the altar, consecrated persons, and pastoral workers are trained, wherever families and communities are being built up. A spirituality of communion indicates above all the heart's contemplation of the mystery of the Trinity dwelling in us, and whose light we must also be able to see shining on the face of the brothers and sisters around us.

“A spirituality of communion also means an ability to think of our brothers and sisters in faith within the profound unity of the Mystical Body, and therefore as ‘those who are a part of me.’ This makes us able to share their joys and sufferings, to sense their desires and attend to their needs, to offer them deep and genuine friendship. A spirituality of communion implies also the ability to see what is positive in others, to welcome it and prize it as a gift from God: not only as a gift for the brother or sister who has received it directly, but also as a ‘gift for me.’ A spirituality of communion means, finally, to know how to ‘make room’ for our brothers and sisters, bearing ‘each other's burdens’ (Gal 6:2) and resisting the selfish temptations which constantly beset us and provoke competition, careerism, distrust and jealousy.”

Pope John Paul noted that if there is a failure, it is to be found in a failure to be established in prayer and focused on the Eucharist: “Let us have no illusions: unless we follow this spiritual path, external structures of communion will serve very little purpose. They would become mechanisms without a soul, ‘masks’ of communion rather than its means of expression and growth.”

Bishop Martino has directed that every meeting of the Parish Pastoral Council include at least 20 minutes of prayer and 20 minutes of reflection or study on pertinent Church documents. The importance of prayer and study cannot be stressed enough. Our theology shapes our pastoral practice and parish structures. It is important that all parishioners, and most especially members of parish pastoral and finance councils and other groups of parish leadership, have an understanding of the theology of the Church and parish.

Pope John Paul also noted: “If in the planning that awaits us we commit ourselves more confidently to a pastoral activity that gives personal and communal prayer its proper place, we shall be observing an essential principle of the Christian view of life: the primacy of grace. There is a temptation which perennially besets every spiritual journey and pastoral work: that of thinking that the results depend on our ability to act and to plan. God of course asks us really to cooperate with his grace, and therefore invites us to invest all our resources of intelligence and energy in serving the cause of the Kingdom. But it is fatal to forget that ‘without Christ we can do nothing’ (cf. Jn 15:5).

It is prayer which roots us in this truth. It constantly reminds us of the primacy of Christ and, in union with him, the primacy of the interior life and of holiness. When this principle is not respected, is it any wonder that pastoral plans come to nothing and leave us with a disheartening sense of frustration?”

The parish needs to deepen its awareness of unity and catholicity, its connection with the Church universal and the diocesan church of which it is a member. A spirituality of communion and mission helps overcome an attitude or practice of parochialism, of a congregational mentality that ignores a parish’s connection with the diocesan mission and spirituality. Prayerful study of the Diocesan Mission Statement is one way of developing a sense of diocesan mission and overcoming a congregational mentality.

During this time of prayer and preparation for profound parish renewal, the words spoken by Pope John Paul to the bishops from the Detroit and Cincinnati province are important for all members of the Diocese of Scranton to prayerfully study and plan to put into practice: “A spirituality of communion will naturally bear fruit in the development of a diocesan spirituality grounded in the particular gifts and charisms bestowed by the Holy Spirit for the upbuilding of each local Church… At the same time, an authentic ‘diocesan spirit’ will also inspire and motivate the whole Christian community to a greater sense of responsibility for the fruitful carrying out of the Church's mission through its rich network of communities, institutions and apostolates (cf. Apostolicam Actuositatem, 10). 

Evangelization for Both Persons and Cultures

What do we mean by culture? Pope Benedict, then a cardinal, writing in Truth and Tolerance, described culture in these words: “Culture is the social form of expression, as it has grown up in history, of those experiences and evaluations that have left their mark on a community and have shaped it…Culture has to do with perceptions and values. It is an attempt to understand the world and the existence of man within it; an attempt… guided by the fundamental interest of our existence.”

Culture helps us to discover meaning in our lives, the purpose of our existence, of what it means to be human, to discover the true, the good and the beautiful. Then-Cardinal Ratzinger continued: “This understanding is meant to show us how to go about being human, how a man takes his proper place in this world and responds to it, so as to improve himself, to live his life successfully and happily. This question, in turn, does not in the great cultures refer to the individual alone, as if each person could work out for himself a pattern of coping with the world and with living. Each can do this only with the help of others; the question of correct perception is thus also a question concerning the proper shaping of the community. This in turn is the prerequisite for each individual’s life being successful.”

We live in a culture that tends to be individualistic, but the Gospel is a call to communion, unity and community. It is important that a parish get in touch with culture in the surrounding community as well as the culture within the parish. Parish renewal will have a two-fold focus on the Eucharist and Evangelization, on Communion and Unity. The focus will be on mission, not on maintenance of present structures, buildings or activities.

Some of the many questions we will be asking will include the following: How are we accomplishing our mission? How are we bearing fruit, witnessing and proclaiming the Gospel through our parish community? Are our parish resources adequate for our parish mission? What is the quality of communion in our parish? Are we a welcoming and supportive community? How are we expressing the signs or marks of the Church? How are we fulfilling our responsibility of being and becoming more clearly and effectively the one, holy, Catholic and apostolic Church? Why was our parish formed in this location? How do we fulfill our mission today? Do we cooperate with neighboring parishes? How do we participate in the diocesan mission and spirituality?