Bishop Gabriel Malzaire

 New Year’s Day 2006: World Day of Peace

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today, New Year’s Day, the Catholic world celebrates the World Day of Peace, which coincides with the celebration of the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.  

New Year speaks of new beginnings. It is fitting that we come together to worship God on this special occasion. We come first of all to seek pardon for the errors of the past year and those we have repeated over the years; those for which we have made resolutions and never kept. Secondly, we come to show gratitude for the successes of the past year and for the fortune of seeing yet another new year. Thirdly, we come to praise God for his reassuring goodness to each one of us. Fourthly, we come to petition God for health and strength to embrace the challenges of the New Year. 

The first scriptural selection of today’s liturgy assures us of God’s desire to be a continuous source of blessing to us, so that we in our turn can be a blessing to others.  

The second lesson reflects the desire of God to treat us as sons and daughters; not like people who don’t belong. We are heirs to an eternal inheritance, with the guarantee that whatever happens this year God will keep us in his protective care. 

In the Gospel text we witness the depth of Mary’s embrace of the responsibility to be the mother of the God-Man, Jesus. Instead of complaining about the external conditions under which she was to give birth to her Son, she “treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart.” 

Brothers and sisters, these three lessons can inspire in us the right disposition to approach the New Year: the disposition of trust in the blessings of God, by accepting ourselves as sons and daughters of an eternal Father; a disposition of contemplation on the realities of the present life that would help us forge a desired new world. Indeed ours is a duty to create that new world.  

The theme chosen by our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI for the World Day of Peace is: “In truth, peace.” In this theme he expresses the conviction that wherever and whenever men and women are enlightened by the splendour of truth, they naturally set out on the path of peace. He reminds us that peace cannot be reduced to the simple absence of armed conflict, but needs to be understood as “the fruit of an order which has been planted in human society by its divine Founder,” an order “which must be brought about by humanity in its thirst for ever more perfect justice.”  

“Seen in this way,” the Holy Father says, “peace appears as a heavenly gift and a divine grace which demands at every level the exercise of the highest responsibility: that of confronting human history—in truth, justice, freedom and love. Whenever there is a loss of fidelity to the transcendent order, and a loss of respect for that “grammar” of dialogue, which is the universal moral law written on human hearts, whenever the integral development of the person and the protection of his fundamental rights are hindered or denied, whenever countless people are forced to endure intolerable injustice and inequalities, we cannot hope that peace will be realised.” 

The truth is that, the entire mission of the Church is to establish a world that is peaceful and worthy of human habitation. This can only come about by the conscious and deliberate efforts of all who are involved in the ministry of the Church—clergy, religious and laity. How, therefore, do we intend to do so in this Diocese? 

As you are aware, the theme of the Diocesan Pastoral Plan is: “Building Church Together”, a theme that was adopted from the Diocesan Synod of 1996/98. It is built on the programme areas: Family Life, Finance, Youth, Social Communication, Education & Catechesis, Vocation, Social Mission, Liturgy & Spirituality and Ecumenism.  

The Diocesan Pastoral Plan is based on three interdependent pillars through which the programme areas are meant to move forward, namely: Evangelization, Stewardship, and Collaborative Ministry. Evangelization, as you know, is the principle mission of the Church. All her members are called to participate in that mission. Stewardship puts flesh to that evangelical mandate. Collaborative Ministry is the operating method through which we actualize the “Building of Church Together.” 

The Pastoral Plan was introduced since June 2003. And after practically two (2) years of implementation, an evaluation was done on November 12, 2005 with representatives from each parish and Diocesan Secretariats. The evaluation was called for three (3) reasons:

1. Because of the basic need for occasional self-evaluation as an institution.
2. The recognition of obvious set-backs in the initial attempt at implementation of the Pastoral Plan; and
3. The need for us to study together how to proceed with the mission of the Diocese.

I had indicated from the very beginning of my ministry in the Diocese of my dream that every Catholic becomes an evangelizer in his/her own right. As baptized Christians, we participate in the priestly, kingly and prophetic mission of Christ. We each have a function to accomplish in the body of Christ, the Church. We each have the duty to discover how we can best use our talents to help accomplish the mission of Christ in today’s world. I often think of what the Catholic Church in Dominica would be like if every Catholic was sufficiently empowered to exercise his/her gifts within the Church. This can happen if we become better stewards of the kingdom. Stewardship is not a new concept. Scripture is replete with many examples of what it means. 

The Old Testament of speaks of stewardship as offering of first fruits to God; it speaks of tithing, of burnt offerings, of cereal offerings; it also speaks stewardship as responding to the prophetic call from God. In fact, any situation in which people have responded to the call to serve God and God’s people is the exercise of Stewardship. 

The New Testament expresses it in the parable of the talents, in the story of the widow’s mite, in the response of the Apostles to the call of Jesus (Matthew the tax collector, for example), in Zaccheus’ response to his encounter with Jesus. Stewardship is expressed in the witness of the first Christian martyr, Stephen. It is evident in Paul’s response to his conversion in Christ. In 1Cor. 12 Paul’s speaks of the analogy of the body, making it clear that every baptized person has a role to play in building the Church. In short, the concept of Stewardship runs through the scriptures. And over the years Christians have responded in various ways to that invitation.  

The purpose for highlighting the concept of stewardship in the Diocesan Pastoral Plan is to sharpen our consciousness of what working in God’s vineyard entails. There is no Evangelization without the practice of Stewardship! Christian living on all levels essentially entails being a good steward. Good Stewards recognize that the earth and all that it contains has been given to us in trust, and we are called to recreate that world with God: “Be fruitful and multiply, subdue the earth and conquer it” (Gen. 1:28). 

Stewardship begins with a certain disposition towards God. In Old Testament times, it was required as a rule. Tithing and the offering of first fruits were means by which people attained a sense of worthiness before God. The New Testament goes much further. It takes the more wholesome but more challenging way. It calls us to freedom. As you know, it is always easier to follow the law. By responding to a law, the disposition of the heart does not necessarily correspond with the gift given—obedience is all that matters. 

Instead, Jesus calls us to free giving. In the New Testament understanding, true giving comes first from the heart; the gift is secondary. By secondary I do not mean unimportant! It only means that if we love much we give much; if we love little, we give little. Jesus alluded to this truth several times in the Gospels. If we use this principle to examine our Church we would see that we are in a bad shape. I can guarantee you that if we had a better sense of Stewardship as a diocese, this Cathedral would be re-roofed by now. 

Stewardship is indeed a way of being Church. Its ultimate purpose is to give glory to God with all that we are, all that we have and all that we do. This is the best way to show gratitude and appreciation for the giftedness of God to us. 

The best fruit of Evangelization is seen when Christians, fed on the Word of God, give freely of themselves, their time, their talents and their treasure, for the well-being and salvation of all. A self-giving people understand whom God is—the God who gives without reserve. Such a disposition affects all levels of life. The problem of vocations today is not because God has stopped calling people in service of the kingdom. The lack of sufficient good catechists and teachers to propagate the faith has nothing to do with a shortage of people. The lack of good, exemplary families is not due to our incapacity for commitment. The problem of the absence of sufficient men in Church is not because men are incapable of a life that is spiritual. The problem is in us, and our response to God in the world in which we live. If we work at it every Catholic can and ought to become a propagator of the Faith. 

The various programme areas that we have selected in the Diocesan Pastoral Plan are means through which we propose to realize our mission as Church in the Diocese. As I said earlier, these programme areas are not new. They represent the continuation of the ministry of Christ as understood in the Scriptures and in the Tradition of the Church. They represent our attempts to perfect this mission as best we can, as we seek to respond to the needs of the 21^st century. 

As Bishop of the Diocese, it is my responsibility, in collaboration with clergy, religious and the faithful, to guide the Church in Dominica in a manner that seeks to incorporate the gifts of all the baptized to realize the mission of Christ in our time. 

All the programme areas in the Diocesan Pastoral Plan are indispensable. We cannot ignore the challenges that Family Life poses in our time. We cannot overlook the need to give attention to the Youth who are the future of our Church and our nation. We cannot ignore the necessity of having a proper sense of accountability in the use of our finances. Evangelization would be empty without a Social Concern, especially concern for the poor. We need proper education of the faithful in matters of faith (Catechesis). The Church cannot propagate itself without selfless response to vocation in marriage, priesthood, religious life and committed single life. The use of the means of social communication to propagate the Gospel in this modern age is no longer an option. Good Liturgy and a balanced Spirituality enhance our relationship with God. And Ecumenism remains a challenge. We are to work for unity with our Separated Brothers and Sisters. We must work towards a comprehensive apostolate. I believe that this can be achieved by harnessing the resources that exist in the Diocese (i.e. in Parishes and our social institutions) and channeled toward their spiritual end. 

At the evaluation of the Diocesan Pastoral Plan that was held on November 12, 2005, I outlined some of the major challenges that confront the Catholic Church in Dominica today. They are as follows:

1. The level of ignorance among baptized Catholics as regards their faith is very high. This leaves them open to be swayed by other people who are convinced about what they believe, even if some of what they believe is wrong. We lack sufficient ongoing catechesis and spiritual formation for our Catholic faithful, many of whom show very little interest and commitment in learning the faith. We need to evangelize our Catholic faithful. No longer is the penny catechism, which served well in the days of my parents, sufficient to sustain the faith of many in the today’s world. Therefore the use of the means of social communication for Evangelization (radio & television) is no longer an option.

2. We need to act as an adult Church, responsible for our future. After more than 152 year of missionary activity in the Diocese, we are still at a receiving end of things. We need to gradually change the course of events. I know we can do better. The true sign of a mature or maturing Church is its ability to produce its own leaders and even to share with others. So we pray for vocations.

3. There is still a lack of a sense of ownership of our Church. There is still the feeling that someone else has to fix things for us. That time is long gone. I recall after the earthquake many people would ask me what is the Vatican doing for us? It is my belief that in all circumstances we must first see how we can help ourselves before we venture to seek help from others.

4. Globalization also poses a challenge. People’s value systems are being questioned. We do not belong only to that small community that we always knew; we are part of a bigger world, which, in fact, is getting smaller thorough advanced technology. As you know, much of what is being communicated through the media can be quite negative. However, it is within this environment that we have to give witness to our faith.

5. The Church is being challenged to keep up with the demands of the times. We can no longer think small. The same problems faced in the international world are facing us today. As Christians it is our duty to allow Gospel values to influence our decisions on moral, spiritual, social and economic issues. Therefore, the Church today must present herself professionally. We should not settle for mediocrity, incompetence or compromise, regardless of the challenges that confront us. We need to set the standards for the world and not allow the world to set standards for us. It means, then, that we have to come good. We have to show that we are serious about who we are, about what we are meant to do and about what we believe.

6. We face the challenge of the brain drain to Church and Nation through migration. Often very good and dependable leaders migrate in search of gainful employment, to pursue studies or to join their families abroad. This we have little control of.

7. Because of the pace at which the world is moving, long-term commitment is becoming more and more difficult. The Church is affected by this reality.

Now, we ask ourselves, how do we face these challenges?  To do so, I believe, three basic things needed: Spirituality, Knowledge and a Method.

First, the end of all that we do and seek must be the Glory of God and the edification of all—that is spirituality. Secondly, we must have a reasonable knowledge of what we want to achieve and to be open to increase, with the help of God. And thirdly, we must seek to achieve our goals through a deliberate and viable method. 

Therefore, I propose some guidelines to a way forward for the diocese in the New Year: 

1.      I would like a great effort put into a systematic education of the faithful regarding the contents of the Diocesan Pastoral Plan. The Diocesan Pastoral Plan is not optional! It is a Plan for the whole Diocese. I ask that all collaborators in ministry in the Diocese be guided by it in making and implementing their parish plans; 

2.      that seminars and workshops be organized to help the faithful understand the theory and practice of Evangelization, Stewardship and Collaborative Ministry; 

3.      that Pastoral Teams be formed in each parish along with the existing Parish Councils to attend to the various programme areas; and 

4.      that parishes liaise with the Office of Development and Implementation (ODI) and other Diocesan secretariats for direction and co-ordination in the implementation of the various aspects of the Pastoral Plan. 

In summary we ask, what are we trying to accomplish as Church? We are aiming at building a Church where in every parish 100% of all the baptized members are engaged in the ministry of the Church through the Parish. 

We attempt to accomplish this through the method the methods of: 

• Through Evangelization where every parish continually calls all the baptized, committed to Christ and His Gospel, to consciously direct all its efforts to transforming the world to Christ.
• Through Stewardship where 100% of all the baptized give their time, talent and treasure towards realizing the goals of the Diocesan/Parish Pastoral Plan to create a vibrant, Christian community in the parish.
• Collaborative Ministry where 100% of all the baptized are engaged in the ministry of the Church in the Parish, under the leadership of the Parish Priest and the Parish Team.

  What kind of parish, then, are we working towards? What will that parish look like? That parish will be:

• A place where all parishioners are aware of their role in the Church.
• A place where there is a surplus of committed Catholic faithful to assist in the ministry of the Parish.
• A place where there is an increase in new members, more Catholics coming back to the parish through the evangelizing efforts of the baptized.
• A place where there is a greater sense of community and connectedness among the members and a closer link between the faithful, the Parish Priest and the Parish Team.
• A place where there is a great involvement of youth and young adults in the parish programmes and in outreach to the youth.
• A community that shows strong and consistent outreach to the poor, the marginalized and those in crisis.
• A community that has vibrant education programmes to educate the faithful in the doctrines of the Church and the Church’s social teaching.
• A community that is self-supporting and can sustain its programmes because the majority of the faithful are committed to stewardship (tithing) as a way of life.
• A community through which the Church empowers her faithful to make a difference by living out the Gospel message in their everyday lives.

This year the pastoral theme of the Diocese is: Called and sent to Evangelize. While we will be working towards accomplishing the goals of the general Pastoral Plan we will be putting some concerted effort into evangelization. Some of the activities for the year will include:

1. Sensitizing the faithful on the theme for the year
2. Training the laity for one-on-one evangelization
3. Lenten Mission
4. Apologetics – defense of the faith
5. Evangelizing within the Schools and other institutions

 In short we wish to involve everyone in the process of Evangelisation. Pope Paul VI, of revered memory, used to say that the new name for peace is development. If we are able to achieve our goals with our Pastoral Plan we can help significantly in establishing peace in our world. With Mary, Mother of God and mother of the Church, let us put our hand and heart together to Build the Church in this portion of the People of God entrusted to our care.

A happy and fruitful New Year to everyone!