The Spiritual Foundation of the Pastoral Planning Project
By Monsignor Vincent J. Grimalia, V.G.
 

Planning Assumption 1 – The Paschal Mystery

 “The paschal mystery is both central to our faith and to this planning process. Changes to parish and school structures are potential examples of the life-death-resurrection mystery.”

The opening prayer for the first Sunday of Lent focused our attention on the paschal mystery and our lives: “Father, through our observance of Lent, help us to understand the meaning of your Son’s death and resurrection, and teach us to reflect it in our lives.”

We can learn the meaning of the paschal mystery if first we look in the Scriptures. We can look to the Old Testament and see the paschal mystery prefigured in the Exodus – a time of ending, a time of wandering in the desert and a time of new beginning, when Moses led the people out of Egypt, through the desert, and Joshua led them into the Promised Land. It was a time of leaving behind and letting go, a time of reaching out. We can look to the New Testament account of the death of Jesus, his burial, the time the apostles spent in the upper room, and the resurrection of Jesus.

The prayer also states: “teach us to reflect it (the paschal mystery of the death and resurrection) in our lives.”

St. Paul can help us to learn how to understand and to reflect the paschal mystery in our lives when he writes of new life coming out of death, of finding strength in times of weakness, and of gaining of something new in times of loss. Endings and new beginnings with a time of transition in between can be understood through our faith.

Through Called to Holiness and Mission: Pastoral Planning in the Diocese of Scranton, our Diocese is being called to a time of prayer, “profound parish renewal,” study and pastoral planning for more effective ways of living out our mission in the 21st century. It will involve a time of endings, transition, and new beginnings. Every parish in the Diocese will be touched in some way; every parish will be different. Seeing change through the eyes of faith, in the light of the paschal mystery of the death and resurrection of Our Lord, will give us hope and courage to meet the challenges of our time. 

Planning Assumption 2 – The Parish Is a Mission

“Parishes exist for the mission of the Church and as a presence of Christ and his Church to the local area.”

Monsignor David Bohr, former Rector of St. Pius X Seminary, Dalton, has clearly and succinctly stated the purpose of a parish: “Every task and every ministry within the Church serves this continuing of Jesus' mission and ministry among us. All ministries, whether in the area of missionary extension or pastoral care, whether in outreach to the unchurched and inactive Catholic, whether in the areas of family life, catechesis, preaching, international life, peace, justice, and liberation – all ministries converge to serve the one ‘primary and essential mission’ of evangelization.”

In a talk, later published in Catholic Evangelization Today, Monsignor Bohr compared and contrasted the difference between a mission model of a parish and a maintenance and consumer model or mentality. He stated that a new focus for parish life is necessary in these words: “Ministry perceived from the perspective of evangelization takes on a new dynamism, a new purpose and focus. Given the principle of entropy, the law of inertia, it is so easy for Church leaders, and members as well, to slip into a maintenance mentality. 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. Parishes become suburban clubs of the saved. 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.”

Through the parish self-assessment, the parish will come to a deeper awareness of its mission and plan for pastoral renewal. The Long and Short Form being used for the parish self-assessment are available on the diocesan website, www.dioceseofscranton.org, under “Called to Holiness and Mission.” 

Planning Assumption 3 – Eucharist and Spirituality of Communion

“A commitment to Eucharist, prayer and the spirituality of communion and mission is a necessary component of the diocesan planning process.”

In his Apostolic Exhortation on the Laity, the late Pope John Paul II noted: “This Exhortation intends to stir and promote a deeper awareness among all the faithful of the gift and responsibility they share, both as a group and as individuals, in the communion and mission of the Church.”

He further notes: “The Synod Fathers for their part have given much attention to the present state of many parishes and have called for a greater effort in their renewal: ‘Many parishes, whether established in regions affected by urban progress or in missionary territory, cannot do their work effectively because they lack material resources or ordained men or are too big geographically or because of the particular circumstances of some Christians (e.g. exiles and migrants). So that all parishes of this kind may be truly communities of Christians, local ecclesial authorities ought to foster the following: a) adaptation of parish structures according to the full flexibility granted by canon law, especially in promoting participation by the lay faithful in pastoral responsibilities; b) small, basic or so-called ‘living’ communities, where the faithful can communicate the Word of God and express it in service and love to one another; these communities are true expressions of ecclesial communion and centers of evangelization, in communion with their pastors’(99). For the renewal of parishes and for a better assurance of their effectiveness in work, various forms of cooperation even on the institutional level ought to be fostered among diverse parishes in the same area.” (Christifideles Laici, no. 26)

Called to Holiness and Mission: Pastoral Planning in the Diocese of Scranton takes up the challenge of a “profound parish renewal” and looks for ways that parishes with limited resources can be more effective in their mission. Parish core teams and parish clusters will look at the parish and look at various possibilities: consolidation, linkage, partnership, etc. Every parish will be affected; no parish will remain the same.

Partnership involves substantial sharing of resources and cooperation. The Planning Guide describes what is involved in partnership: “Parishes enter into partnerships with other parishes when: They create joint programs. When appropriate, they share staff to enhance the quality of ministry and practice good stewardship of resources. They share in-services or retreats for parish pastoral councils, finance councils, or parish committees.”

“Examples of ways parishes can partner include: A common catechetical program; a shared youth ministry program or adult formation program; Support for a common Catholic School; A joint RCIA program; a shared parish outreach program. A partnership is a formal relationship between two or more parishes which reflects the substantial sharing of current programs and resources and/or the development of new resources for ministry. Partnerships commit to the development of programs, the allocation of material and human resources and/or the creation of new joint activities or services which further the mission of Christ.

Some partnerships may share staff or have common in-services for both staff and parish pastoral councils. Partnerships conserve resources by avoiding unnecessary duplication of services and enhance ministry by working together to do things that are needed but a single parish might not be able to do them alone. In some cases one focus of the collaborative efforts might be twinning with an urban parish or a parish in another country.

“What the Planning Commission is interested in seeing in a partnership is that in some substantial way new relationships are being formed that will make a positive difference in the ministry and outreach of both parishes.”

In Novo Millennio Ineunte, Pope John Paul II outlined the necessity of a spirituality of communion, in these words: “To make the Church the home and the school of communion: that is the great challenge facing us in the millennium which is now beginning, if we wish to be faithful to God's plan and respond to the world's deepest yearnings.

“But what does this mean in practice? Here too, our thoughts could run immediately to the action to be undertaken, but that would not be the right impulse to follow. 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. 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.”

A spirituality of communion must be rooted in prayer and grow in the awareness of being connected to persons and communities other than your own parish. It is a spirituality that welcomes others and is willing to share gifts with others. The parish self-assessment, by either the Long or Short Form, will be one way to help a parish come to a deeper understanding of the spirituality of communion and mission.  

Planning Assumption 4 – Stewardship

“Stewardship of human, financial and facility resources is essential for quality parish, regional and diocesan life.”

Stewardship acknowledges with gratitude the gifts, talents and resources that are given to a person or community. Each community has a diversity of gifts that can be shared. All resources are limited and not to be squandered. Called to Holiness and Mission: Pastoral Planning in the Diocese of Scranton has 10 of its 20 criteria concerned with some aspect of stewardship, the responsible use of resources:  

Stewardship and Justice

10. Parishioners are educated and formed in stewardship where all disciples share their time, talent and treasure.

11. Social justice, advocacy and outreach programs are well integrated into parish life through the spirituality of good stewardship.

12. 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

13. The pastor, staff, parish councils and finance councils exert effective leadership that embodies stewardship and points to the future.

14. The parish is financially stable and exercises good stewardship of its resources.

15. Working with neighboring parishes and sharing resources is operational in the parish.

16. The parish exercises good stewardship of human resources as it works positively and creatively with the diminishing number of priests.

17. The parish is taking into account its geographic proximity to other parishes and its Mass attendance when it plans for the future.

18. The parish has adequate staff to carry out its mission.

19. The parish has adequate and well-maintained facilities to carry out its mission.

20. The parish supports the programs and ministries of the Diocese and the Church. 

The Parish Core Team working with the Parish Pastoral Council, the Parish Finance Council, and the whole parish community will share this information and ask the input of the parishioners. Communication through the parish bulletin, an update during the time of announcements at Mass, and a parish meeting will guarantee that the parish is informed and have an opportunity to participate in the pastoral planning process.