The Parish: A Sign and Instrument of Communion
By Msgr. Vincent J. Grimalia, V.G.

       Parish Pastoral Councils are now in the process of being formed or reorganized in accordance with the Diocesan Directives issued by Bishop Martino. The theology of Communion and Catholicity form the foundation for this activity, as well as the development or revision of a parish mission statement which is the first stage of the Parish Self-Study for pastoral planning.

What do we mean by Communion in this context? In the Final Report of the Extraordinary Synod of 1985, commemorating the Second Vatican Council, we read: “The ecclesiology of communion is the central and fundamental idea of the Council's documents…much was done by the Second Vatican Council so that the Church as communion might be more clearly understood and concretely incorporated into life.”

How does our understanding of catholicity help us appreciate the need for cooperation and collaboration? In The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, we read:

 “In virtue of this catholicity each individual part contributes through its special gifts to the good of the other parts and of the whole Church. Through the common sharing of gifts and through the common effort to attain fullness in unity, the whole and each of the parts receive increase…Between all the parts of the Church there remains a bond of close communion whereby they share spiritual riches, apostolic workers and temporal resources. For the members of the people of God are called to share these goods in common, and of each of the Churches the words of the Apostle hold good: ‘According to the gift that each has received, administer it to one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.’ ”

In the plan outlined by Bishop Martino, the understanding of communion and catholicity will require all parishes to act in communion with him and in communion with each other, willing to cooperate and to collaborate in mission. By following the same organizational plan and process for Parish Pastoral Councils, developing and evaluating parish mission statements according to the uniform directives in Parts II and III of the Resource Manual, and using the parish self-study instrument that is in the process of being developed, parishes will deepen their awareness and put into practice communion and catholicity.

Since all parishes will be using the same Directives, resources and instruments, it will be easier for them to develop pastoral plans for sharing programs and activities. In so doing, the theology of communion and catholicity will become alive and life-giving for them, and as the Holy Father noted in his address to the Pontifical Council on the Laity, help the parishes to be a sign and instrument of communion.

These structures and activities will cultivate communion with neighboring parishes, a deanery, a pastoral region and the Diocese. The Parish Pastoral Council and inter-parochial cooperation will help parishes to be more effective in their mission and help them to understand and act as members of the Diocese in accordance with the thought of the Second Vatican Council: “They should develop an ever-increasing appreciation of their own diocese, of which the parish is a kind of cell.”

Parishes must avoid a “congregational” attitude, acting independently of neighboring parishes and the Diocese. The document, The Priest, Pastor and Leader of the Parish Community, supports the development of a “catholic” attitude when it advises:

“The parish priest is obliged to collaborate with his Bishop and with the other priests of the diocese so as to ensure that the faithful who participate in the parochial community become aware that they are also members of the diocese and of the universal Church. The increasing mobility of contemporary society makes it all the more necessary that the parish does not become introspective. Rather, it should welcome the faithful of other parishes and avoid discouraging its own parishioners from participating in the life of other parishes…”

Another opportunity to cultivate an understanding of diocesan communion is working towards the development of a parish mission statement or evaluating a parish’s mission statement according to the plan outlined in Parts II and III of the Resource Manual. This plan is available on the Diocesan Web Site (www.dioceseofscranton.org).

Writing in Sources of Renewal, the late Pope John Paul II noted that the Second Vatican Council raised certain questions: “What does it mean to be a believer, a Catholic and a member of the Church?” He said that the Council began to answer these questions through its 16 documents.

In creating or revising parish mission statements, a parish will raise and answer similar questions in the context of their parish. In April 2007 in our Diocese, pastors and their Parish Pastoral Councils will attend a workshop on the Parish Mission Statement.

A third opportunity to cultivate an awareness of catholicity and communion with the Diocese and neighboring parishes will be the Parish Self-Study for the development of a Pastoral Plan.

During the Parish Self-Study, a variety of questions will be raised. For example, “How can parishes cooperate in a neighborhood, a deanery, a pastoral region?” After Parish Pastoral Councils are functioning, a Vicariate Pastoral Council will be formed to promote cooperation and collaboration in a region. After these Vicariate Councils are in place, a Diocesan Pastoral Council will be established by the Bishop. These councils are meant to promote communion, cooperation and collaboration in mission.

We are now in the first phase of this process of developing structures to promote communion in mission. By Feb. 4, 2007, all parishes are to establish a new council or re-organize a Parish Pastoral Council according to the Diocesan Directives.

Responding to the Pontifical Council for the Laity and their theme “The Parish Rediscovered: Paths for Renewal,” Pope Benedict XVI focused on the mystery of communion. The pope noted: “it is impossible to separate the theological, pastoral and active dimensions (of parish renewal) if one wishes to have access to the mystery of communion, of which the parish is called always to be a sign and an instrument of implementation.”

In his address to the Pontifical Council on the Laity, Pope Benedict shared a reflection on Sacred Scripture that is pertinent to our present concerns:

“In the Acts of the Apostles, the Evangelist Luke points out essential criteria for a correct understanding of the nature of the Christian community and hence, also of every parish, where he describes the first community of Jerusalem whose members were devoted to the Apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the ‘breaking of bread and the prayers’: a welcoming, supportive community ready to share everything (cf. 2: 42; 4: 32-35).

“Parishes can relive this experience and grow in understanding and in fraternal attachment if they pray ceaselessly and continue to listen to the Word of God, and especially if they participate with faith in the celebration of the Eucharist at which the priest presides…Thus, the hoped-for renewal of parishes cannot only result from pastoral initiatives, albeit useful and timely, nor even less from programs worked out theoretically. Inspired by the apostolic model as shown in the Acts of the Apostles, parishes ‘rediscover’ themselves in the encounter with Christ, especially in the Eucharist.”

These words challenge each parish and Parish Pastoral Council to pray, reflect and apply the meaning of this passage from the Acts of the Apostles so that it can be alive and life-giving in each parish.

Writing in his first encyclical, Deus Caritas Est, Pope Benedict also reflected on this passage of the Acts of the Apostles that inspired our Diocesan Mission Statement and can provide inspiration for Parish Mission Statements as well:

“Love thus needs to be organized if it is to be an ordered service to the community. The awareness of this responsibility has had a constitutive relevance in the Church from the beginning: ‘All who believed were together and had all things in common; and they sold their possessions and goods and distributed them to all, as any had need’ (Acts 2:44-5). In these words, Saint Luke provides a kind of definition of the Church, whose constitutive elements include fidelity to the ‘teaching of the Apostles’, ‘communion’ (koinonia), ‘the breaking of the bread’ and ‘prayer’ (cf. Acts 2:42). The element of “communion” (koinonia) is not initially defined, but appears concretely in the verses quoted above: it consists in the fact that believers hold all things in common and that among them, there is no longer any distinction between rich and poor (cf. also Acts 4:32-37). As the Church grew, this radical form of material communion could not in fact be preserved. But its essential core remained: within the community of believers there can never be room for a poverty that denies anyone what is needed for a dignified life.”

Pope Benedict, in this reflection, focuses our attention on Word, Worship, Community, and Service in each parish. On another occasion, Pope Benedict, in an article he wrote before becoming pope, shared still another reflection on Acts 2:42:

“Luke says there that the primitive church persisted in ‘the apostles’ teaching and fellowship…the breaking of bread and the prayers. A glance at the context, and thus at the purpose of the Acts of the Apostles, is, however a necessary preliminary…The path begins with the sending of the Holy Spirit, who gives himself to a community that is united in prayer and centered on Mary and the Apostles (Acts 1:12-14;2:1). If we reflect for a moment on what is said here, we may note the basic characteristics of the Church to which tradition strongly holds unmistakably make their appearance: the Church is apostolic, she is a praying Church and, thus, turned toward the Lord – ‘holy;’ and she is one. The first sign by which the Holy Spirit manifests himself adds a fourth characteristic to these: the presence of the Spirit is displayed in the gift of tongues… and thus from the first moment of its existence it is portrayed as ‘catholic.’ The realization of the dynamic contained in this sign which obliges the Church to go to the ends of space and time – this is the underlying theme of all the chapters of the Acts of the Apostles.”

Another way that a Parish Pastoral Council can help to bring unity to life and service, to be a sign and instrument of communion, is to see how the parish communion is expressing and promoting unity, holiness, catholicity and apostolicity. Reflection on this passage from Acts helps us to understand the evangelizing mission of the Church and parish. Spiritual renewal can deliver a parish from the sad condition described by Monsignor David Bohr of the North American College in Rome when he described some parishes that lack a sense of communion and evangelizing mission:

“Ministry perceived from the perspective of evangelization takes on a new dynamism, a new purpose and focus…Our churches can easily provide the comfortable pew where we simply bask in the consoling news of God’s love and plead that he lend an attentive ear to our self-interest and private concerns. Ministry within the churches then becomes a matter of pastoral maintenance and customer satisfaction. Members develop a consumer mentality regarding weddings, baptisms, and funerals. Paying their dues, they simply expect the church to supply the needed religious and social services.”

Taking these words seriously will lead to prayerful discussion on the nature and mission of the parish and how to promote spiritual renewal. Reflecting on the Acts of the Apostles and the three commentaries cited in this article will deepen an awareness of what a parish is meant to be.

The parish is a local expression of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic church in the neighborhood. What is its mission? It has a Eucharistic-evangelizing mission to announce the Good News of Jesus Christ, to proclaim the Love of God and call every one to respond to their vocation and responsibility through love of God and neighbor. It calls persons and cultures to conversion and communion, and provides pastoral care that enriches the understanding of persons and communities to live according to the teaching of Jesus.

How does a parish fulfill its mission? A parish fulfills its mission through Word, Worship, Community, Service and Witness. It calls people and forms people to discover their personal vocation and mission.