PARISH MINISTRY IN THE HERITAGE OF HOLY CROSS

“Work ceaselessly to care for the flock entrusted to you.”

The five qualities cited in this series of bulletin inserts were articulated by the 1998 general chapter (assembly) of the Priests and Brothers of the Congregation of Holy Cross.

II. WITNESS OF COMMUNITY WHICH INSPIRES THE COMMUNITARIAN MODEL FOR THE CHURCH AND SOCIETY.

Father Moreau always insisted on excellence in all ministries. Because Holy Cross was born in the wake of the French Revolution, it would have been easy to take a minimal approach to ministry in terms of the quality of service provided. Because there were no or few parish services available, whatever would be offered could have been considered sufficient.

Even with this insistence on ministerial excellence, there is a theme to which Father Moreau consistently assigned high priority: community and family. If there was not a fundamental union among those in ministry, then their lack of unity would counteract the long range effects of whatever they might accomplish. In his very first letter to the members of Holy Cross, Father Moreau wrote,

To succeed in the important undertaking entrusted to us, we must be, first of all, so closely united in charity as to form but one mind and one soul; for, as you well know, ‘In union there is strength;’ and ‘A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand.’

Father Moreau believed that the most powerful example that could be given by ministers was union in charity simply because this is what the Lord Jesus commanded of those who would continue his mission. It is no accident then that so many parishes associated with the Congregation of Holy Cross identify themselves as a parish family, a parish community, a faith community.

The challenge today is to examine and to reflect on our witness as parish ministers so we and others can see that our presence and activity are a power for good within the parish. All our efforts must be accompanied by an example of love and unity. The parish must be a working model and a living example of what the church and society are to be and do in continuing the mission of Jesus.

At Dolores:

1. What concrete examples does the parish have of “community”?

2. What practices and programs within the parish demonstrate and inspire the “communitarian model for the church and society at large”?

3. How is spirit of being a faith-community fostered and maintained at Dolores Parish?