It was a time of hope; indeed one of great hope when I entered the seminary with many others over fifty years ago. May be as my mum might say “we were all young then”. The war was long over and indeed in time the same will be said of the coronavirus.
The important thing then was good Pope John and the 2nd Vatican Council that he had set in place. Pope John said “to let some light and fresh air into the church”, which was certainly called for. In our seminary we were truly blessed with a professor, Fr Seamus Ryan, a great teacher but above all one who inspired.
His focus was the presence of Christ in the life of the church. He was very good at setting out his subject, particularly when it applied to Scripture and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Highlighting the different ways that Christ is present, beginning with His presence in the assemble of the faithful. This was tackled in depth, creating a platform for the renewal of the liturgy, and indeed the people of God. It highlighted the background to the different ministries, that needed to be developed in order to express the life of the church.
When lockdown happened, it revealed what little progress had been made in building a “new generation” and what a poor job we had made of this great window of opportunity. The question of stewarding arose; the age requirement being under seventy exposed a lack of parishioners able to meet that demand. I had to face up to the poor job that had been done to encourage new growth in my parish with the same situation being true of most parish priests.
Now as the window of opportunity returns for a fresh start, with the help of God, we can set sail once again for the future. It is a time to live and learn, a new generation is needed. A fresh structure, with greater flexibility and encouragement, in one word “inspiration” is now called for. We must work together to share, encourage and develop lives of faith, that give witness to our Christian lives which we receive at baptism. The celebration of the sacraments of First Holy Communion and Confirmation this year gave us a tangible sense of this when the ceremonies took place using the candidates baptismal candles. At our baptism this light symbolizing the light of Christ was entrusted to us to be kept burning brightly. Please God, may this be at the heart of our resolve as we return to church with hope and fresh motivation.
May the Lord bless and complete our work, the work of God’s salvation for all.