Today is a busy day in the Church. Pope Francis has set October 2019 as an Extraordinary Missionary Month (EMM) to foster greater awareness of "missio ad gentes" (mission to all peoples) and to animate the missionary transformation of Church life and pastoral activity. The purpose of this Extraordinary Missionary Month is to help us answer our individual mission call to be “Baptized and Sent.” Today, World Mission Sunday, is the highpoint of the month. While most Catholics will not be called to travel to one of the more than 1100 mission dioceses, in territories covering more than half the globe, all of us can respond to our missionary call through charity. It begins by consciously offering prayers for those living in mission territories – that they experience the love and mercy of Christ Jesus. Of course we are also invited to share some of our treasure; monetary contributions for World Mission Sunday support the priests, religious, and lay pastoral leaders who are proclaiming the Gospel, building the Church and serving the poor and most vulnerable half a world away. Their work and witness to Christ brings both practical help and God’s love, hope and peace.
Today is also the kick-off of Pastoral Care Week. Pastoral care for the sick and infirm is one of the most significant ways that members of the Body of Christ continue the ministry and mission of Jesus. Pastoral ministry is considered to be the responsibility of all the baptized. Understood in the broad sense of "helping others," pastoral ministry is the responsibility of all Christians. The theme for this year’s Pastoral Care Week is “Hospitality – Cultivating Space.”
Pastoral/Spiritual Care has been an important part of our society’s well-being since humanity sought meaning and connection in its life together. Religions and communities have valued its supportive influence. Hospitality as welcome and nurture requires space for people to feel free and accepted.
The offering of space can involve silence. A person can find silence in one’s space and likewise one can create space in silence. Cultivating space can be an opportunity to create something where there was once nothingness. What a person does with his or her space is personal be it reflective or shared. When space is cultivated, it is dug out, set aside, nurtured for a purpose. If someone allows you into that space it is an invitation where silence can speak and meaning can be fostered.
Many Catholic parishes employ lay ecclesial ministers as "pastoral associates" or "pastoral assistants", lay people who serve in ministerial or administrative roles, assisting the priest in his work, but who are not ordained clerics. They are responsible, among other things, for the spiritual care of frail and housebound as well as for running a multitude of tasks associated with the sacramental life of the Church. Here at Resurrection Parish Barbara Meehan heads up our Pastoral Care Team. She has a group of volunteers who bring Holy Communion to those who are homebound. Having talked with several of these Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion (EMHCs), they find their ministry very rewarding. It is not just bringing them Jesus in the Eucharist, but it involves becoming part of their lives, listening to their joys and their sorrows. For some, the weekly visit by one of our EMHCs is the only human contact they have through the week.
If you are interested in participating in this rewarding ministry, call the office and we will get you in contact with Barbara.