Lay Formation
From the Bishop
A Pastoral Message to the Laity in the Diocese of the Australian Defence Force
My sisters and brothers in Christ,
Perhaps the greatest event in the life of the modern Catholic Church was the Second Vatican Council. The teachings of that Council are so profound and far reaching that many of them are still not fully understood. One of the themes from the Council that animate the life of the Church was the clear vision of the Church as the whole Family of God. A family that willingly embraces the abiding presence of Jesus Christ as totally involved in our everyday life. A family that is constantly renewed in faith, illuminated by deeper understanding, and living positively in fulfilled relationships with our Lord and with each other. It gave a new dimension of our understanding of what it means to be in the Catholic Church. It clearly refocussed the Church to see beyond the organisational dimension, as a necessary element, to the exciting view of a community that together celebrates the Good News of Jesus Christ in all its aspects – an equally necessary element.
The Council reminded us that, through our Baptism, we all share in the priesthood of Christ. Each Baptised person is a child of God who shares in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Each Baptised person is a sister or brother of Jesus. Each Baptised person is a source of grace and is promised eternal life. Each Baptised person is consecrated – is made holy – to be a sure sign of the love that the Father constantly pours out upon us. We are His Chosen People in the Age of Redemption. As family we embrace and accept a mission to be instruments through which the love of God is made known and through which others experience the salvation Jesus won for us. We live this both as an individual and as a member of a community united by Christ’s Love and empowered by the action of the Holy Spirit poured out upon us.
The Fathers of the Second Vatican Council were very conscious of the variety and breadth of the experience of the Family of God. They sought to understand and encourage the great diversity of gifts and experiences that are to be found in the Church. Among the special expressions that gained prominence from the Council was the identification of the notion of the Particular Church. That is, within the Universal Church, there are identifiable communities which have special identity and a particular mission. Each Diocese is a Particular Church. The Council Fathers also identified that “Because of the special conditions and way of life of military personnel, their spiritual care requires extraordinary consideration.” (Christus Dominus n.43) The document then went on to identify that in every nation such a Particular Church should be established. Some weeks later in another document (“Gaudium et Spes” n. 79) the Fathers wrote: “Those who are pledged to the service of their country as members of the armed services should regard themselves as agents of security and freedom on behalf of their people. As long as they fulfil this role properly, they are making a genuine contribution to the establishment of peace.”
In this context we have some exciting opportunities and challenges before us. In the year 2000 there was a Diocesan Assembly from the whole Military Ordinariate. That gathering developed some goals which are worth summarising here. The Assembly identified that we need to be a welcoming community that had an identifiable Catholic Eucharistic Community within each large ADF concentration. There is an expressed intention to provide an identifiable Catholic chaplain or lay member for each deployable unit. There was an acceptance of an ownership of ministry in the ADF by members of the ADF itself. There was a commitment to foster within the ADF mutual esteem, pastoral care, healing and nurturing of the whole person. A decision to promote Christian spirituality and ethics is included as well as a commitment to provide a link with other Christian communities within the ADF. And there was also a goal to provide adequate training and formation in Christian ministry within the ADF context. I emphasise that these goals were developed by representatives from across the whole ADF – chaplains and laity, new members as well as those who have served for a long time, presently serving and retired members from the three Services. As we can readily see these are very praise-worthy ambitions and it is not hard to see that they spring from the grace of the Holy Spirit that must have influenced that gathering of our Particular Church. And they are still imperatives for us even after four years.
These goals will not be achieved unless there is a real commitment to implementing them. During this past year we have welcomed some initiatives that give impetus to our work. As I have travelled around the Diocese I have been very moved by the obvious loyalty and devotion of those I have been privileged to meet and have been inspired to encourage the hopes expressed by the Assembly. I have asked all the chaplains to gather around them pastoral action groups – people who are willing to contribute to the spiritual development of the local community, people who will embrace their Baptismal call to evangelise, people who will cooperate together and with their chaplain to express the sincere dedication of our community to reach out and encourage others. I have asked that these groups will form the nucleus for ongoing development of their community and to assist in cultivating our sense of identity. From these groups will flow many graces not only to the local community but also to the wider ADF Church.
I am grateful that Carmel Barnes was generous enough to accept a special office within the Diocese as my Episcopal Deputy and Advisor in those matters of particular contribution that can be made by the valiant women in our Diocese. Carmel has already begun to establish a network of support and encouragement, to establish links with similar groups in the wider Church, and to identify ways in which, as a Particular Church, we can support, affirm and contribute to each other in this special environment. Her willing acceptance of this genuine leadership role is an inspiration.
I have also appointed Deacon Gary Stone as the Director of Lay Formation within the Diocese. I have tasked him to develop and deliver programmes in three specific areas of lay formation. The first is in the area of identifying sources and opportunities for the spiritual, faith and liturgical development of all of us in the Diocese. This might include Sacramental preparation courses, programmes that assist in the seasonal celebrations in the Liturgy, sources of programmed studies to enhance, enliven and refresh our understandings of the riches of the Church’s teaching and practice. The second task is to provide proper formation and resources for Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist and Lay Leadership of liturgies in the absence of a chaplain. The third is to prepare and deliver the means for lay members to be recognised as the principal reference person and contact for specifically Catholic matters in units and formations – called in some countries ‘Catholic Representatives’. Deacon Gary has already done much work in this area. He is already deeply involved in such work in the Archdiocese of Brisbane and much of the experience gained there will be of enormous benefit to us.
There is still much to be done but we have made a beginning. Some of the issues which are of compelling concern to me are opportunities for the development of our youth, the pastoral care of those physically separated by their service, and the identification and affirmation of those who are without genuine and sensitive personal support and encouragement. I often think of the first Christian community who were gathered after the Ascension of Jesus and confronted with implementing the Master’s instruction to go and make disciples of all the nations – I am sure they were wondering ‘what to do next’. They depended upon the gift of the Holy Spirit and responded to that presence as expressed in the first Pentecost experience. I believe that the same is true for us today. We need to recognise the presence of the Holy Spirit and to grasp with courageous hands the gifts He brings. We need to rely on the promise of Jesus and step forward with great confidence as His People in this present age.
The reality is that, as members of the family grow, there are fewer who, for whatever reason, are responding to the Master’s call to minister – particularly in the Ordained Ministry. The community must make their call for consecrated persons more clearly, constantly and attractively. Jesus has assured us of that constant call to service in the Family, but the call is also from the community. Let us make it a strong call. Experience and enthusiasm for the work of evangelisation will contribute greatly to achieving a climate in which that call will not only be heard but will be able to be answered with some enthusiasm. Until that time comes, the mission of the Church will have to be embraced prayerfully, seriously and confidently by the whole Family of God. That will begin by a courageous acceptance of, and a generous commitment to, a devotion to build up the local community in which they live and work. This is, first and foremost, a personal challenge that must be confronted and responded to by each individual member of the Family of God with honesty and openness to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
Of course we are serious about praying for and encouraging vocations to the Ordained Ministry and Consecrated Life. We must also adopt the same attitude to the participation of the laity in the life of our Church – prayer and encouragement. I constantly pray for the gifts of Courage and Fortitude that were received in the fullness of the Sacrament of Confirmation. I invite you to join in that prayer also.
I appeal to all to seriously consider becoming involved in the life of this Family of God. Look at your local community, assess its needs, consider your gifts and talents, and identify how those gifts can be contributed to your Family. If you have already thought of something that needs to be done, then bring it to the community. If there is something that you would like to do, bring that forward also. Local communities may like to take the goals of the Assembly I mentioned as a starting point to identify the potential for growth that is so necessary in the life of the local Church. Let us speak with one voice of the presence of Christ who gives life, love and hope to our brothers and sisters.
I entrust us once again to the loving patronage of Mary, Help of Christians so that, supported by her prayers and inspired by her example, we will receive the graces we need to respond with courage and generosity to advancing the knowledge and practice of the Good News in our own community which is so dear to her heart.
With prayerful best wishes,