Synod 2008

Archdiocese of Kingston,Jamaica, West Indies

“IT SEEMED GOOD TO US AND THE HOLY SPIRIT”

The Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 15, records

for us the Council of Jerusalem which

occurred in the first century when the

Apostles and the elders of the Church in

Jerusalem met with Paul and Barnabas over

the vexing question of the admission of the

Gentiles into the Church without

having to subscribe to the Jewish practice

of circumcision. The debate was heated.

But at the end of the day, Paul and

Barnabas were vindicated and sent back

to Antioch to continue their missionary

activity.

We, the delegates of the thirty-first

Archdiocesan Synod, whose theme is “The

Word of God in the Life and Mission of the

Church in Jamaica,” have had some very

spirited discussions, not unlike that of the

Council of Jerusalem.

However, at the end of our own gathering,

we can echo the words of the said Council:

“We, with the Holy Spirit, have decided

not to put any other burden on you except

what is necessary” (Acts 15: 28). What,

then, would be the necessary things that

should be put in this charge that I give?

REGNOCENTRICITY VS ECCLESIOCENTRICITY

First of all, I charge you to love one another,

not with your own feeble, human love, but

with the love of God that has been poured

into our hearts by the indwelling of God’s

Holy Spirit. It is a love that is unconditional,

bearing all things, looking out for the other’s

well-being rather than one’s own selfish

desires.

That means that we not only become our

brothers and sisters’ keepers, but we also

allow for differences—be it at Parish,

Deanery or Archdiocesan levels—that do

not sacrifice the necessary realities of

faith which we must guard quite jealously

as Catholic Christians.

In other words, we are called and sent to

be “regnocentric” (as opposed to merely

“ecclesiocentric”) in order to further, in

collaboration with others, kingdom values:

justice, peace, love, unity and joy in the

Holy Spirit [cf. Rom. 14:17].

That is the general overarching charge of

this Synod. The desirable vision of the

Archdiocese, to be more vibrant, more

visible and more vocal, has as its

objective the kingdom of God.

PROMINENCE OF THE WORD IN OUR LIFE AND WORSHIP

To be kingdom-oriented people we need

to give more prominence to the Word of

God in our lives: in our homes and in our

liturgy (worship).

Consequently, the Word begins to affect or

influence our private, personal decisions

and deliberations, our choice of a specific

vocation (as opposed to our general

vocation through baptism), and our

business endeavours.

How do we begin to accomplish this?

I propose that as a symbolic-oriented

people, we need to enthrone the written

Word in a prominent place in our homes, a

sort of a prayer corner, where the faith is

first handed on.

The Word in our Homes

When the Word is thus enshrined, we

gradually become aware of the importance

of that Word for our inner spiritual

growth. The reverse of the saying “out of

sight, out of mind,” becomes a reality.

Individual and/or familial devotion (e.g., lectio

divina, praying meditatively the Psalms) in the

domestic church orientates Catholic

Christians to be empowered by an awareness

of God’s Presence in our lives. Such a

devotion in the home also conditions family

members to listen to the voice of God in terms

of a specific vocation [cf. 1 Sam. 3: 1 – 21].

Especially at our Sunday liturgy (Mass or

Liturgy of the Word), we ought to enshrine at

the beginning the Scriptures in a prominent

place that is adorned with lighted candles to

remind us that God’s “word is a lamp to my

feet, a light on my path” [Ps. 119: 105].

The Word in our Liturgy

It is certainly not right only to light

candles for the liturgy of the Eucharist,

and ignore totally the Word being

proclaimed.

The highlighting of the Word is in

keeping with the integral connection of

the Scriptures and the Eucharist [cf.

Luke 24: 13 – 35]. However, candles are

not the only thing to highlight the

importance of the Word…

The proper proclamation by well-trained

lectors helps to let the Word become in

truth and in fact a “two-edged sword”

melodiously penetrating the hearing and

lodging in the inner region of the hearers’

mind and heart [cf. Heb. 4:12].

THE WORD OF GOD IS COMMUNICATIVE

“The Word was made flesh, and dwelt

amongst us” [John 1: 14] to bring humankind

the Good News of God’s love [cf. John 3:16].

This indicates that communication is a key to

evangelization and catechesis and

community building for the sake of the

kingdom.

Jesus, the living Word communicated the

love and Presence of the Father and built

up a community of faith, hope and love.

To emphasize this prominence of the

Word in the liturgy, the lectern should

only be used for the proclamation and

breaking of the Word. All other

announcements should be made from

elsewhere, and certainly not from the

altar.

But, this communication is relational, and

spans the pastoral, spiritual, moral and

educational considerations of Christian

formation. Hence, there is need to utilize

and enhance the structures and

organizations that obtain in the

Archdiocese of Kingston.

With the shortage of priests and the scope

of the Parish, the Pastor must foster and

encourage Collaborative Ministries

with deacons, Religious and trained

and equipped lay people

Parish CommunityThis essential structure is the “community

of communities,” encompassing the

domestic churches within its jurisdiction

with its the various cells (be they Pastoral

and Finance Councils, B.E.C., or other

Organizations and Committees: Liturgy,

Evangelization/Mission, Catechetical, Voca-

tion, Family Life, etc).

Not only will the Pastor be spared early

burn-out, but it will underscore the

general vocation of all to be responsible

for their Church Community in the task of

furthering kingdom values.

With this collaborative ministry approach

to Parish life, the Pastor can devote

himself to those things that are more

proper to his priestly ministry: proper

preparation of homilies and well-planned

liturgies that will take into consideration

the various groups in the Parish.

It is in the Parish where our Catholic faith

and culture, devotions, symbols, and

history ought to be taught with the aid of

the resources available: St. Michael’s

Theological College; Catechetical Centre;

Family Life Commission, etc.

Here is communicated the “best tried” in

the pertinent Parishes so that the

ongoing evangelization and kingdom

building can be realized.

Deanery Collaboration

It is at this level where attempts should first

be made to address the problematic of

priest-less Parishes and outlying

communities. Within deaneries there should

be consideration given for periodic “pulpit

sharing” to give the faithful a new voice

once in awhile, and the priests new

challenges.

Calendaring: need to promote a coordinated effort to

avoid conflicts of dates/activities, etc at

Parish, Deanery and Archdiocesan Levels.

To be our brothers and sisters’ keepers in

their pastoral and spiritual well-being,

serious thought will be given to this last

resort approach to maximize the limited

manpower that we now have.

Merger/Consolidation of Urban Parishes

Notwithstanding the short term proposal

to import priests from Africa and the

Philippines (which has its drawback if the

cultural differences cannot be bridged,

and which is no assurance),

Pastor and delegates should share with their

Church Communities the crisis that we face, in

order to sensitize them to the possibility of this

move. The Eucharist is at the centre of our

Catholic identity and spirituality, and yet some

rural communities have Mass only twice per

month, while urban Parishes in close proximity

have only one Mass each but at the very same

hour.

This seems like poor stewardship! This

idea of sharing personnel should first start

at the deanery level before any decision is

made at Archdiocesan level.

In homes, as mentioned before, a spiritual

foundation should be laid with family

devotions and reflection on the Word of

God and Prayer for Vocation.

Creating a Culture of Vocation

In Parishes, there should be some explicit

attempt to foster vocation, example being

Eucharistic Adoration on specific day(s) of

the week; also, parishioners—as well as

clergy—should identify youngsters who

seem to be close to the Church.

At the Archdiocesan level, there is need to

resurrect a Vocations Commission

comprising priests, Religious and deacons

to work together to promote vocations at all

levels, including marriage and single

dedicated life. This general Vocations

Commission would be different from the

present Diocesan priests Vocation Team.

The Archdiocesan Education Board must definitely

intensify their efforts to establish the Catholic

identity in our Catholic Schools and other centres

of formation. The Board does this by equipping

promising and dedicated Catholic men and women

with leadership training so that they can carry on

the task of holistic Catholic formation and

education.

Catholic Formation and Education

More scholarships should be sought—

even from abroad, if necessary—to effect

this urgent task. In the meantime, the

commendable start of Campus Ministry

should continue.

Too, efforts should be made by the

Parishes to utilize better the services

offered by the St. Michael’s Theological

College and the Catechetical Centre for

formation in faith and ministries. This

redounds to the vibrancy of the Parishes

The cry for more formation of our Catholic

faithful and the shortage of personnel (clergy

and teachers/lecturers) would seem to beg a

genuine consideration of a Radio Station that

would disseminate Catholic programmes,

human interest stories, the social teaching of

the Church, the Catholic position on moral

and life issues, devotions, and Church history.

Catholic Radio Station

Experts in our Catholic Church will be

sought to investigate the feasibility and

sustainability of this project.

The Word of God is prophetic and should be

communicated to the society, not only by the

written or spoken word, but primarily by the

lives Catholic Christians live.

The contrast society proposed by

theologian Peter Phan should be considered

by disciples of Jesus who are promoting

kingdom values.

Church and Society

To this end the Justice and Human

Development Commission and the Family Life

Commission must intensify their efforts to

make known in a none-judgmental way the

Catholic understanding of life in all aspects—

from womb to natural death. A culture of life

(inclusive of the quality of life) is definitely a

contrast to the culture of death.

The brief Statement from Synod commenting

on the violence and murders in our society is

but one instance of saying a prophetic Word.

The positive endeavors of the Mustard Seed

Communities and the Missionaries of the

Poor emphasize this prophetic Word in action

and underscore the sacredness of life—no

matter the condition—of the human person

whose dignity the Church must champion.

“What is the human person that you

should keep him in mind… Yet you

have made him a little less than a god,

you have crowned him with glory and

splendour” [Psalm 8: 4 – 5].

May the Lord who has inspired us all through

this Synod strengthen our resolve to put into

action, after prayer reflection, all that we have

enthusiastically pledged to do when we return

to our Parishes. The Lord is counting on your

being serious in collaborating with him,

because he does not call you servants, but

friends [cf. John 15:15]

+Donald J. ReeceArchbishop of KingstonSynod 2008