Renewal not Reform
Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Today we celebrate the Sunday of the Renewal of the Church. It is fitting that the Maronite Church markedly stops at this station after it commemorates the holiness (consecration) of the Church and just before it enters into the Christmas liturgical narrative which leads us to shining star of Bethlehem. Why is this so? As the world changes, the Church must also renew itself to be able to nurture and care for its members, and society as a whole, whose needs are constantly changing. The needs of society today are very different to the needs of society one hundred years ago! For this reason, the Church needs to have open doors and be aware of what is taking place; what issues people face; what struggles they endure; what challenges they deal with on a day to day basis; what brings them happiness and joy; on so on. The Church cannot understand this if its doors are closed. It must also be open to review, criticism, evaluation and renewal. Now, renewal does not mean reform.
I need to make this clear. The Church does not and will not compromise on its teachings and dogmatic beliefs. The truth that the Church proclaims is exactly that – the truth! However, by renewal, it seeks different ways of
proclaiming this true so that it can be more effective. This may be through different pastoral practices, revision of liturgy, different processes and procedures. Basically, the Church needs to continually update itself while holding fast to the Catholic Apostolic teachings grounded in the virtues of faith, hope and love.
Renewal is something that we continually strive for in our parish. Together, priests, religious and lay, we must work as one team so that we truly cater for the needs of our parishioners. I take the opportunity today to ask you to speak to us (me personally or any of the priests) about any issues (positive and negative) that you or someone that you know has. Many times we find that people speak about negative issues in closed forums in front of friends and family. Often, these issues are blown out of proportion causing an environment of gossip which unfortunately leads people away from the Church. I encourage you to come and speak to us about any
issue. In this way you will get the clarification that you need and we will be made aware of issues that you are concerned about. If we work together, we will insure that the renewal of our parish is continually taking place for the greater good of its parishioners.
The last week has been very busy. The Sodality trip to Our Lady of Mercy Shrine at Berrima was very successful with three buses full of people commemorating the end of the month of the Rosary. On Tuesday, we had the Melbourne Cup Luncheon which many people took part in to raise funds for the new presbytery and throughout the week we have had a range of talks and bible discussions which have been very rewarding for those who attended. Thank you to all the committees, organisers and priests who organise them. Your work is exceptional.
Fr Tony Sarkis
