Schools Page
Pastoral
Letter
To
The
Priests, Religious and Lay Faithful
Of
The
Diocese of Cloyne
EASTER
2001
My dear friends in Christ,
As
we come to celebrate the great Solemnity of Easter, the first in this new
Millennium of faith, let us look back in thanks to the Great Jubilee Year which
has ended and thrust forward to the experience of New Life won for us through
suffering and the Cross.
The
Great Jubilee gave us the occasion to say thanks and to take stock.
At both Parish and Diocesan levels we gathered together to pray and
reflect, to celebrate and rejoice. My
mind goes back to the great celebrations at Diocesan level: to the Jubilee for
Religious during which their witness to the world was likened to being an ICON
of Christ for humanity; to the Jubilee for Priests when we celebrated the 'gift'
and the 'mystery' of Priesthood; to the Jubilee of the Family and marriage when
we gave thanks for the fruitfulness of consecrated human love; to the Jubilee of
Youth when we joined with millions of young people to celebrate our faith in
Rome with the Vicar of Christ; our most uplifting pilgrimages to the shrines of
the Virgin Mary at Knock and Lourdes. Many more were the occasions in which we celebrated as a
Diocese but the central celebration which brought us together in a unique way as
a diocesan family was that held in Mallow in May when we reflected on the theme:
"I am the Vine, you are the branches" ( Jn. 15:5).
It was said to me that that was one of the finest celebrations we ever
had as a Diocesan Church. For all of these celebrations I give thanks to God.
Indeed,
every Parish Community had its own Jubilee celebrations.
Pilgrimages were made to the various venues where the Jubilee indulgence
was received. Programmes of
reconciliation and renewal were engaged in; Mass Rocks and Holy Walls were
visited; Eucharistic celebrations were held and special shrines and monuments
were erected to celebrate the great occasion of the two thousandth anniversary
of the birth of Jesus.
Now,
as we have concluded our Lenten journey and sing our Easter alleluia in this new
Millennium Year, we must take on board what the Holy Father has said in the
letter he wrote to the whole Church at the end of the Jubilee Year: He invited
us "to remember the past with gratitude, to live the present with
enthusiasm and to look forward to the future with confidence" (Novo
Millennio Ineunte 1.). These words
of the Holy Father call to mind very much what I said at our Diocesan Jubilee
Celebration in Mallow as I challenged all our people, priests, religious and
lay-faithful, to take stock of where we are as a diocesan Church.
I said: "we ask ourselves: are we a dynamic Church?
Are we an enthusiastic Church? Are
we a joyful Church? Or are we just a Church which is barely ticking over?
A Church which is concerned about its future with little thought for its
present?" The Holy Father has
given us our programme of action: "remember the past with gratitude, live
the present with enthusiasm and look forward to the future with
confidence"(N.M.I.1).
The
future of the Church in Cloyne is assured if we live the present with
enthusiasm. Each one of us is
called upon to be enthused about the Good News of the Gospel, about the Person
of Jesus. Each one is called upon
to be on fire with love of the mission Jesus Christ has given us, that is to
make Him known and loved. We may
become disillusioned and tired when we are faced, at times, with apathy, with so
much brokeness, with so much rejection of the truth of the Gospel.
Day by day we encounter brokeness and infidelity in the home, in
marriage, in relationships, in society as a whole, indeed in ourselves.
But we also encounter moments of great courage, heroic trust, genuine
love and steadfast faith. Then we
know that His death has not been in vain.
We know that He is there working in and through people and all He asks of
us is to trust in Him, to realise that it is His Church, His People.
He wants us to set the world on fire by His
power, not our own, with His love not
ours, by His dynamism, with His enthusiasm. We all
are engaged in His mission of
salvation for all. Let us be open
to the grace to be enthused by Christ, to take whatever initiatives are
necessary in this present age, in this dramatically changing world, so that
Jesus may be known and loved. Let
us be prepared to "put out into the deep for a catch" (Lk. 5:6).
That means putting our whole trust in Him and doing things we never dared
to do before, for the sake of the Gospel. In
the words of the Holy Father to the Youth of the World we could all find that
enthusiasm for the Gospel so necessary in today's world: "If you are what
you should be, you will set the whole world ablaze!"
As
we celebrate the victory of Christ over sin and death, as we rise to new life in
Him this Easter, we are struck by the utter and enthusiastic emptying of Himself
for each one. "Yes, dear
friends, Christ loves us and He loves us for ever!
He loves us even when we disappoint Him, when we fail to meet His
expectations for us. He never fails
to embrace us in mercy" (Pope's message to Youth 2000).
Let us tap into this enthusiasm of Christ for our salvation, let us each
one, priests, religious and lay faithful, draw strength and inspiration from the
Risen Saviour so that we will leave no stone unturned, we will go that further
mile, we will spend that last drop of energy in furthering the Mission of
Christ, that is that all may come to Him and through Him to the Father.
Many are those, in this confused and frenetic age, who fail to receive
this message of love and hope which comes from the Risen Christ.
Is it because we have become mediocre, complacent or downright laid back
in our concern for the Mission. He
has given us? The only way we can
go that further mile, the only way we can be credible Christians in a sometimes
hostile world, the only way we can engage in pastoral initiatives which will
take us across boundaries never before crossed, is by remaining intimately
united to Christ Himself, for without Him we can do nothing.
Our relationship with Christ can only be revitalised and strengthened
through a personal life of prayer - priestly prayer, family prayer, community
prayer. Above all we must teach our
young people "the art of prayer" so that truly they may "fall in
love with God". Let us not
doubt the power of prayer. Let each
one of us find our sacred space every day, our space for prayer.
We have been found worthy to stand in the presence of God, as we so often
state in the Second Eucharistic prayer. Let
us stand in His presence every day and allow Him to set us on fire.
Let us pray the Lord to awaken us to the great challenges and
possibilities facing us in this new Paschal season and let us not be afraid to
do the unthinkable because He indeed did the unthinkable for us - He died and
rose again. My friends, be awake to
what the Lord wishes to do through and with you.
I share with you, in closing, this prayer to the life giving Spirit,
which could awaken us every day to the great things the Lord can do in and
through us:
Holy
Spirit, come like a mighty rushing wind
and
awaken us out of our complacency,
our
apathy, our indifference.
Stir
us up - disturb us, for we are too content
to
let things go on as they are.
Awaken
us to a sense of urgency.
Penetrate
the closed gates of our hearts
And
make us live again.
Make
us struggle with the problems around us,
for
in this way we will grow and develop
whilst
in our apathy and complacency
we
slowly die.
O
Holy Spirit, create among us
a
mighty Christian revolution.
Cast
the fear of the unknown out of our lives
and
make us realise
that
however impossible a situation may seem
Your
strength can move mountains.
Amen
May
our Paschal journey at the beginning of this new Millennium bring peace, joy and
happiness to all.
+John Magee
Bishop
of Cloyne