synod 2008 archdiocese of kingston, jamaica, west indies
TRANSCRIPT
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Synod 2008
Archdiocese of Kingston,Jamaica, West Indies
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“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
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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.
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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.
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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?
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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.
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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.
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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].
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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.
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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).
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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?
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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
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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.
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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].
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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
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It is certainly not right only to light
candles for the liturgy of the Eucharist,
and ignore totally the Word being
proclaimed.
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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…
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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].
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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.
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Jesus, the living Word communicated the
love and Presence of the Father and built
up a community of faith, hope and love.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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).
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Here is communicated the “best tried” in
the pertinent Parishes so that the
ongoing evangelization and kingdom
building can be realized.
Deanery Collaboration
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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.
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Calendaring: need to promote a coordinated effort to
avoid conflicts of dates/activities, etc at
Parish, Deanery and Archdiocesan Levels.
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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
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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),
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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
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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
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Experts in our Catholic Church will be
sought to investigate the feasibility and
sustainability of this project.
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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
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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.
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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.
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“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].
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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