Dear Christ the King Family,
Our Gospel reading this Sunday continues Our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount with the beautiful and powerful declaration: “You are the light of the world!” Our discipleship—our lived response in faith in following Jesus Christ—is indeed meant to be a light that shines and illuminates, not to be hidden away or obscured. As you notice, there is a special report included in our parish bulletin this weekend: it is the final synthesis and summary of all that was shared in the different Listening Sessions we offered for our parish’s participation in the Diocesan Synod. It’s no easy task to compile all of that together into one summary document but I was also impressed by how many convergences were shared across every small group—undoubtedly the work of the Holy Spirit! In the Spirit of today’s Gospel, I am happy to put the light that was shared on a “lampstand” for all of you to see as well in sharing this final report with everyone at Christ the King. I pray this all can bear fruit for us in discerning ways to renew our lived faith here at Christ the King and spread the fire of God’s Love. In my own reading and reflection, here are a few key areas that stand out:
-There is a hunger and thirst to grow as active disciples who live out the call to evangelization, but often we aren’t sure what that looks like. What does it mean to evangelize in our different vocations and stations in life and how can we offer formation for evangelization?
-We have so many adult Catholics who can be considered “cradle Catholics” and have faithfully lived out the Catholic life but are often hungry to know the “whys” of so many things they have been practicing for many years. How can we provide offerings for adult catechesis and refine those offerings that are already there but poorly attended?
-Many of us have been affected by members of our family and friends who were raised in the faith but have since fallen away. We are especially noticing a drop-off in the practice of the faith among young adults, even those who have gone through Catholic grade school and high school. How can we grow in our ability to communicate our welcome to them, evangelize within our families, and help form our youth for an active, lived faith as they transition to adulthood?
-There were many positive things shared about our school and parish communities, but often it can seem these two communities feel more like silos than one cohesive community. How can we strengthen the bonds and interaction between our parish and school as one family in faith?
I hope you each take some time to discern where you think the Holy Spirit is calling us to enliven our parish, both on a personal level and collectively. I am incredibly grateful for all those who assisted and helped run these small groups and for the 127 parishioners who were willing to join our Listening Sessions and let the light of Christ shine through in their sharing. It seems that everyone that came and participated was moved by a real, tangible sense of Communion—that we may have different details to our stories and yet we all share the same journey of faith and the same desire to make God known, loved, and served! May we grow always together in that Communion by God’s grace—as salt of the earth and light of the world!
In Christ our King,
Fr. David
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