Commissioning of Parish Pastoral Councils and
Parish Finance Committees 2024-2028
Cathedral of Our Lady Assumed into Heaven and St Nicholas
Homily by Bishop Michael
10th of September 2024
“With those words of Christ’s great commission ringing in our ears, I would encourage all members
of these newly constituted bodies and all of our priest to please not let these new Parish Pastoral
Councils or Parish Finance Committees be anything less than real.” – Bishop Michael
Choosing your parting words
Back then it was just something we accepted as part of our programme of formation
for the priesthood. Students studying in Rome were allowed home only once a year.
For me, it made the going away in September all the harder knowing that it would
be next July or August before you would see family and friends again. The days
before your departure you tended to savour your time with people a bit more. You
even put extra thought into choosing your parting words.
The parting words of Jesus
The Gospel we have just heard brings us back to what we tend to call the Ascension
of Jesus. That event in his life that marked his definitive departure from this world
once his initial work here had been done. I suspect that, for Jesus, those days back
then were coloured with that “going away feeling”. I imagine that not only did he
savour his time with people a bit more but that he too thought deeply about his
choice of parting words. The Gospel of Matthew recalls that moment as follows:
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“Jesus came up and spoke to them. He said, 'All authority in heaven and on
earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, make disciples of all nations;
baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
and teach them to observe all the commands I gave you. And look, I am with
you always; yes, to the end of time.” (Mt 28)
The “Great Commissioning”
Down through the ages, many have described this Gospel passage as the “Great
Commission” or the “Great Commissioning”. The Oxford Dictionary describes
“Commissioning” as “formally choosing or asking someone to do a special piece of
work”. Jesus formally chooses and asks his disciples to go and make new disciples –
to go and invite new people to see in his message a truth that has the potential to
transform their lives for the better. He commissions them to be, above all else,
“disciple makers” and promises that he would always be with them on this mission
even “to the very end of the age.” (Mt 28)
Commissioned in a time of challenges
We gather here this evening from every one of our forty parishes in the Diocese of
Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfneora. In a very real sense, we gather for our own
“Great Commissioning” – the commissioning of our newly constituted Parish
Pastoral Councils and Parish Finance Committees. Like the disciples, who were no
strangers to challenges, we too have an immensity of challenges facing our parish
faith communities today. All we have to do is look around. Pews that were once full
are now half empty.
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We hear our children’s voices from the nearby sports fields and lament their absence
from our churches. Our priests are advancing in age. There is no one to replace
them. Energy is often in short supply. Volunteers are few and far between. In many
places it often is a struggle to heat the church building -to keep the lights on.
A new opportunity to “shake things up”
At times it is not easy to keep our spirits up or hope in our hearts. However, Jesus
calls people today just as he called those reluctant disciples on the shores of Galilee
those many years ago. Gathered tonight, I sense that he is calling and commissioning
each one of us here to work together for the good of our local faith community. He
is calling both priest and people to grasp the opportunity a new Parish Pastoral
Council or new Parish Finance Committee presents for renewing the life of their
parish. He is calling us to listen more attentively to his voice, to trust in him, to have
courage, to move away from the “way things have always been around here”
mentality. Not that long ago Pope Francis encouraged the youth of the world, to
“shake up” their parishes. I believe God is calling us to do the same. You and I and
the priests gathered here this evening, we are being called to “shake up” our parishes
like never before, to do something brave – to do something new. This term of office
of these Parish Pastoral Councils and Parish Finance Committees may indeed be our
last attempt to keep some of our local faith communities alive.
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Co-responsibility
During the training evenings we had – I threw out two ideas that might become, so
the speak, the oars that would propel our parishes going forward. The first idea was
that of “co-responsibility”. The days of the people leaving it to the Priest or of
“Father” lording it over the people are over. We must work together. Each one has
a responsibility, according to their own calling, for the life of their local parish. There
can be no hurlers on the ditch when it comes to the future of our faith communities.
All have a right to be involved. All should be involved.
Missionary Discipleship
The second idea that I spoke about was that of “missionary discipleship”.
Missionary not to foreign lands but rather to our own land and our own people.
Missionary to our families, our local communities, to those we live and work with.
This is not an easy change of mindset and certainly not an easy task. In the Ireland
of today, it is not easy to open a conversation with people about faith. It is not easy
to invite people to come and be part of our local faith community or to come and
pray with us on a Sunday morning. However, perhaps the greatest challenge for
parishes – and for you as members of the Parish Pastoral Council or Parish Finance
Committee and therefore as leaders in your local parishes is to be missionary in
outlook. To ever seek to reach out and to bring new people into the pews each
Sunday.
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“Fake News”
In the last years, a powerful concept that has emerged throughout the world is that
of “Fake News”. It sheds light on how in certain instances situations can be
intentionally influenced or controlled by a false story. The idea of Parish Pastoral
Councils or Parish Finance Committees has been around for well over half a century
now. It is not something new in the Church. However, in some places our Parish
Pastoral Councils and Parish Finance Committees seem to be less than real. Focused
not on what they should be focused on. Engaging in rubberstamping rather than
proactive planning. Meeting infrequently and achieving little.
With those words of Christ’s great commission ringing in our ears, I would
encourage all members of these newly constituted bodies and all of our priests not
let these new Parish Pastoral Councils or Parish Finance Committees be anything
less than real. As you are commissioned tonight make it your focus to give your all
to the important task at hand.
To work together in a spirit of co-responsibility for the mission given to us by Jesus
and to focus in particular on outreach to those who do not believe or those who
once believed and who now no longer believe or practice. We are at that juncture,
now more than ever, when the future survival of your parish depends on adopting
this particular focus- this particular mindset.
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In gratitude
I thank all the members of our newly constituted Parish Pastoral Councils and Parish
Finance Committees for your generosity and goodness in answering the call to serve
in this way. I thank our priests for the tireless work they have put into the formation
of these important parish bodies and for the nurturing care they give them. I thank
the staff in our Diocesan Office for the support they give to them. I thank all those
involved in our formation programme for members of Parish Pastoral Councils and
Parish Finance Committees and for their support into the future.
Tonight as you are commissioned, let the thoughtfully chosen parting words of Jesus
himself in that “Great Commissioning of Christianity”, ring in your ears and stir
your hearts. Let them inspire your thoughts and direct your hands and your feet
towards the urgent action now needed.
“Jesus came up and spoke to them. He said, 'All authority in heaven and on
earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, make disciples of all nations;
baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
and teach them to observe all the commands I gave you.
The Parish hosts a variety of programmes, workshops, talks and events throughout the year, which, the Parish Pastoral Team feels enhance the life of the community.
Some of these are highlighted below.
The Rainbows Programme is not running in Ballybane this year.
The Parish hosts Sacramental Programmes in Baptism, First Communion and Confirmation to help parents and children gain a deeper understanding of what it means to receive these sacraments.
Please go to our Sacraments page for details of these programmes
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Regular Workshops are held to keep Parish Groups and Teams up to date in terms of training and ensure that prayer and Scripture remain at the heart of all ministry and work within the parish.
Talks are arranged at intervals throughout the year and aim to focus the attention of the parish on key areas of faith and life.
Prayer and Scripture are central to parish life. In recent years St. Brigid’s has hosted a variety of Prayer Experiences such as Soul Journey, Pray for May, Lenten Prayer and Guided Prayer.
Each Lent and Advent the people of the parish are invited to take part in a Reconciliation Service where as a community they come to pray and ask for forgiveness.
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During Advent Deirdre Ni Chinnéide led us in an evening of prayer and reflection Waiting with Wonder”. The hauntingly beautiful music and song complemented appropriate scripture passages and evocative poetry. It was the perfect preparation for the very important feast of the Birth of Jesus.