When I was in Madrid recently, attending the 5th World Congress against the Death Penalty, I arranged to meet a friend who supported me years ago in my work as Vice-Chair of the late Cardinal Hume’s Committee for the Caribbean Community. The Cardinal was the Chair. As my friend and I chatted, she informed me that she has drifted away from her faith.
It appears that a series of painful experiences in her personal life caused her to shut God out. Interestingly, it is when I have had similar experiences that I have held on to God with all my might. Each person deals with pain differently. Our task as followers of Jesus is to reach out in love and compassion to others, particularly to those in danger of losing their faith.
Last week’s Gospel (Luke 9:51-62) highlighted the joyful challenges of being a follower of Christ. The urgency of the work of building God’s Kingdom is such that once we lay our hands on the “plough” we cannot look back; it is our duty “to go and spread the news of the Kingdom of God”.
Here in T&T we must support the work of Catholics Return, “a project conceived and piloted by the Living Water Community as a means of reaching, where they are, our sisters and brothers who have left the Catholic Church, and finding creative ways to bring them back home”. Archbishop Joseph Harris, who supports the project, has said: “Be concerned, think out of the box, be creative in finding ways to reach those sisters and brothers who have left our Catholic family.”
My friend and I prayed together in Madrid and recalled some of the work in which we were involved in England – as Catholics. I have kept my promise since my return to continue speaking with her on Skype as we work together to bring her back home to her faith.
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CCSJ’s Parish Link Coordinators and the Vicariate Link Coordinators are just a few of those in our Archdiocese who have been appointed to support parishes in strengthening their various ministries, ensuring that social justice is an integral part of the work of each ministry and not an addendum. As the US Bishops said in Communities of Salt and Light: Reflections on the Social Mission of the Parish: “We believe the Church’s social mission is an essential measure of every parish community . . . . We need to build local communities of faith where our social teaching is central, not fringe; where social ministry is integral, not optional; where it is the work of every believer, not just the mission of a few committed people and committees.”
At the closing Mass (October 28, 2012) of the 25th Synod of Bishops dedicated to The New Evangelisation for the Transmission of the Christian Faith, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI said that our Church must develop new ways of reaching out to those who have drifted from the faith. He said: “Besides traditional and perennially valid pastoral methods, the Church seeks to adopt new ones, developing a new language, attuned to the different world cultures …” He urged Church leaders to work harder to turn around a situation “where the light of faith has grown dim and people have drifted away from God, no longer considering him relevant for their lives”.
For those of us who continue to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, let us remember our mandate as Catholics, as outlined in Luke 4:18: “The spirit of the Lord has been given to me, for he has anointed me. He has sent me to bring the good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives and to the blind new sight, to set the downtrodden free, to proclaim the Lord’s year of favour.”
As we seek to deepen our relationship with Christ, let us build right relationships with our neighbours and with all God’s Creation. We are called to “hunger and thirst for justice” and to serve “the least of these”. How are we doing?
