Pastoral Visitations to All the Parishes of the Diocese
By
Bishop Edward K. Braxton
In the month of October I will begin a series of pastoral visits to all of the parishes in the Diocese of Lake Charles. During these visits I will spend the weekend at each parish. In most instances, I will be the celebrant and homilist at all of the weekend masses. I will meet with the Pastor, members of the Pastoral Staff, the parish Pastoral Council, the Trustees, the Finance Committee, the Liturgy Committee and other Parish leadership. It may also be possible for me to visit some Christian faithful who are confined in their homes. This will help me, as your bishop, to come to a deeper appreciation of the life of the Christian community in each parish.
These Pastoral Visits will be a part of my overall schedule. This means that I will not be in one parish after another, weekend after weekend. I will continue to celebrate the Eucharist on Sundays at Immaculate Conception Cathedral, celebrate special liturgical events such as the installation of new pastors and participate in liturgical celebrations outside of the diocese. For these reasons I will probably do only about one Parish Pastoral Visitation a month. I will begin, appropriately, with the Cathedral Parish, October 19-20, followed by Sacred Heart (Creole), November 2-3, Our Lady Help of Christians, January 25-26, St. Philip Neri, February 1-2, Our Lady of Seven Dolors, March 1-2, St. Paul (Elton), May 17-18, Sacred Heart (Lake Charles) July 12-13. It will take several years for me to visit every parish.
The teachings of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) stress that vital, active parish communities are essential to the life of every local church or diocese. The Council Fathers (the Bishops gathered in Rome with the Holy Father) urged all diocesan bishops to manifest a direct interest in the well-being of all the parishes entrusted to their pastoral care. The Council specifically instructs bishops to make sure that teachings, practices, and new
pastoral structures mandated by the Council itself are in place. Bishops are required to be particularly concerned to ensure that the Good News of Jesus Christ as understood by the teachings of the Catholic Church is proclaimed faithfully and that the sacraments, especially the Eucharist are celebrated meaningfully and prayerfully. Therefore, during my pastoral visit, I will be particularly interested to learn about in programs and activities that contribute to sacramental preparation, especially the sacraments of Christian initiation, Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist.
The celebration of the Saturday and Sunday Masses are the spiritual heart of parish life. For this reason I will make every effort to encourage the full, conscious and active participation of our people in dynamic, well prepared and reverent Eucharistic Liturgies. I have given all of the parishes copies of my Pastoral Letter, "Let us Put Out Into The Deep" as well as my "Notes for a Possible Pastoral Letter on Liturgy" and asked them to share them and discuss them with appropriate parishioners. These documents will be an important part of my Visitation.
In the course of my Pastoral Visit, I will seek to foster and strengthen communication and collaboration between the Pastor and the Parish Staff as well as all of those involved in various forms of religious education and adult formation (including the school, where there is one). In this context I will place a special emphasis on meeting families, learning about the programs for all age groups and supporting vocations to the priesthood, the diaconate and the religious life. I will be anxious to support everything that increases the spirit of welcome, friendliness, hospitality and open communication in our parish communities. An informative and interesting parish bulletin can play an important part in this communication.
The parish community is not a private social club but a community of the faithful disciples of the Lord. The parish, by its nature is always reaching out to those in need within the parish and beyond the parish boundaries. It will be important for me to learn how each parish is faithfully living the Commandments and the Beatitudes, which impel all of us to participate in ecumenical and interfaith activities and to labor tirelessly for social justice and peace in our neighborhoods. In Southwest Louisiana the harmonious relationship between people of different races, economic and social backgrounds is strengthened by our authentic living of the Gospel. It is an essential part of my ministry as the one given pastoral responsibility for the whole community of faith by the Holy Father to call forth this authentic living of the Gospel, even in situations where this may be difficult and challenging.
The material resources of each parish will also be examined during my Visitation. This means learning about the condition of the buildings, the income, the expenses, the long range plans for growth or decline, the prudent stewardship of resources and the willingness of the faithful to contribute their time talent and treasure for the good of the work of the Church.
In the Gospel of John, Jesus tells Peter, the prince of the apostles, that he must strengthen the other followers of Jesus in their faith. Today that mandate rests in a special way on the shoulders of the successor of Peter, Pope John Paul II and we who make up the College of Bishops as successors of the apostles. The primary purpose of my Parish pastoral Visitation will be, therefore, to do all that I can, humanly speaking, to strengthen our people in their faith. I pray to the Holy Spirit each day for those in pastoral ministry (priests, deacons, religious, laity) that they may faithfully build up the Body of Christ. I, in turn ask you to pray for me as I prepare to begin my Visitations that I may faithfully carry out my ministry to teach, govern and sanctify the holy People of God entrusted to me.