I hope you have been good about keeping your New Year’s resolutions; I have, just about! Resolve is an interesting word, it comes from the Latin verb resolvere which means, “to loosen, unyoke, melt, set free…” presumably of those things that burden us or hold us back so that we might have more determination (noun) and be able to move forward.
In many ways this is what our 2018 focus at SLdM will be about; Stewardship. We will, over the course of the year, look at the whole of our life as a parish reflecting upon our mission statement and how best our talents and time can be offered to make it a more effective ongoing reality. And yes, when we have a clearer picture of the way forward together we will look at the financial implications for an effective mission to bring Christ and our Catholic Faith to the wider world in our area. Stewardship is ultimately about the Mission of the Church and requires us to move further than simply maintaining the good practices and assets that we have. Our calendars this year have the theme of stewardship. January has the byline “Stewards chart their course, guided by faith and charity, with steady eyes on Jesus Christ” We are going to do just that this year; chart our course. We will free ourselves from those things, be they burdens, mindsets, assets or practices, that keep us from being determined Christophers – Christ bearers. As Ps 40:10 says “I have not hidden your saving help within my heart, I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation; I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great assembly”. We must become proclaimers of the light of God that entered our world through the Christ child to a world ever increasing in its need for such light. So please let us all enter into this adventure for Christ together wholeheartedly.
May God bless you, your families, and the week ahead,
Fr Aidan Peter