The Catholic Moment Article

Since the end of June, when Bishop Doherty’s Uniting In Heart: 2030 Pastoral Plan was shared in its draft form at the six deanery meetings, there has been considerable activity taking place.  From the perspective of the Uniting In Heart core team, it has been busy.  While preparing for this article, I realized that for most everyone the months of July and August might have seemed quiet and uneventful with regards to the 2030 Pastoral Plan.  Allow me to provide you with a quick update.  

The month of July was busy as more than 2,000 feedback entries from a variety of communication channels flowed into the Office of Communications at the Chancery.  On July 19, we concluded the intake of feedback and continued to read, pray and discern each of the entries.  There were common themes in what was submitted, along with many unique and thoughtful ideas.  The submissions were taken into consideration so that the 2030 Pastoral Plan might be refined and improved, using your input.  

We are grateful for your contributions!  We are sorry that it was not possible for us to provide individual responses to each individual entry.  The other reality about the feedback received is that the refinements to the 2030 Pastoral Plan will not reflect changes that can be specifically attributed to any one specific feedback point, but rather the refinements to the plan will reflect the synthesis of many of your contributions.

During August, the focus has been on applying the changes to all elements of the plan and assessing the implication of how each change influences other elements of the plan.  There are many parts to the Bishop’s plan that are dependent on each other.  Prayer and careful thought have guided our work during the month of August.   

The heart of the Bishop’s Pastoral Plan is Jesus Christ.  The foundational document that is central to the 2030 plan is the 3 Pillars of Mission, Community and Witness.  If you read nothing else about the Bishop’s plan you must read this document because it centers us on what it means to be Catholic; to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.

The first pillar of Mission has been edited, thanks to your feedback. Language was added to leave no doubt that we are united with each other across the diocese in the heart of Jesus Christ. We are led by the gospel, fed by the Eucharist and nurtured by the sacraments to be true disciples of Jesus.  

This past Sunday, the twenty-third Sunday of ordinary time, Jesus speaks to us through Luke’s Gospel (Luke 14:25-33) in no uncertain terms telling us that if we cling to the possessions of this world then we are not his disciples. There is no question that the 2030 Pastoral Plan is asking each of us to change, to let go of all that we are comfortable with so that we can recommit ourselves to being Jesus’ disciples.   The formation of pastorates, the creation of new deaneries, or the collaboration of parishes in the ministry to our parishes have, for some, been changes that are hard to accept.  I would propose that the real difficulty is not in what is being proposed in the worldly elements of our diocesan structure but rather that the call to missionary discipleship is pressing us to reform our hearts to be in union with the heart of Jesus.

Luke’s Gospel and the Mission Pillar both point us to discipleship and the question of whether we can let go of the people and possessions we have become “comfortable with” so we can reform our lives to Jesus and follow his gospel.

What weighs heaviest on my heart and my conscience about the Mission Pillar is that if I, just one person, fails to change, if I do not recommit myself to the Universal Call to Holiness then what will happen to those who might have come to know Jesus through me if only I would have said yes to being his disciple?

The Mission Pillar must become a reality for each of us if the second pillar, the Community Pillar, is to become a reality.  Vitality and vibrancy of our parishes, schools, and in the clergy and lay leadership of our diocese is only genuine and fruitful when each of us has answered the call to holiness and accepted Jesus’ invitation to follow him as his disciples.  It is the change that is not easy for us when our lives become too attached to the worldly.  Discipleship will always be challenging, but attainable if we live discipleship as Jesus explains in the Gospel of Luke—know who I am, I am a child of God (love God) with his love and grace lean into any spiritual, emotional, physical suffering I may face and offer it up...divest myself of earthly possessions that may be possessing me.