Pastoral Message: Advent 1998

PASTORAL LETTER OF BISHOP CORMAC MURPHY-O'CONNOR

To be read at all Masses
on the Weekend of the first Sunday of Advent, 1998

My dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

I had an uncle who was a priest serving in the Island of Jersey at the beginning of the second World War and who remained there during those years. He told me once that when the Germans occupied the island, everyone was forced to hand in their wireless sets or anything that could communicate with the outside world. But he took his wireless down to the church and hid it under a radiator! Every night, he and his fellow priest would creep down to the church, turn on the wireless and listen to that other world, not so far away, a world where the news was true, and where there was freedom and hope. It seems to me that, in a similar sense, we can be in captivity to the spirit of our age as, week in, week out, year in, year out, we persevere in our Christian life. Every now and again, however, God calls us to look afresh at the gift of faith that is given to us, to listen to the Good News, and to reach out, yet again, to the well springs that nourish us as disciples of Jesus Christ. I feel such a time is now.

What I am going to say to you is something for which I have been preparing in a particular way over the past year. I have visited all the Deaneries, spoken with many priests and people, attended various gatherings and visited a number of parishes in order to listen afresh. In the course of my reflections I have discerned that there are questions that engage the minds and heads of many of our people. Some of these questions are very personal and touch the faith and practice of an individual believer. Others touch on the structure of our parishes, the life of the Diocese, and concerns for the future. But, above all, I discern a need to reach out again and see how, in the new millennium which is approaching, we will be able to live a rich and confident faith within the culture of our times.

Today, I want to propose a way of addressing these questions. I want to call a Synod of the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton to take place in the year 2002. You will be asking yourself what I mean by a 'Synod' and what are its implications? This is the reason why I have written a letter to each one of you, which will be given out to you at the end of this Mass. It explores the reasons for this present initiative, the process of preparation and how you can be involved. I ask you to read it carefully.

In today's reading Isaiah invites the people, 'Come ,let us walk in the light of the Lord'. Throughout history people have marked important moments by going on pilgrimage, a journey to discover and renew their faith. The new millennium is such a moment and the journey to the Synod will be a pilgrimage for us. While the word 'Synod' means a 'coming together', or a 'meeting', it also indicates that we are travelling together. I invite you to make this pilgrimage with me and to spend the next three years preparing, not just for a Synod, but for the shape of the Church to come. Strangely, even though there are many things that give us cause for concern, I feel a very great sense of hope as we look to the future and see the mission of the Church to bring Christ to our society, to our world.

In the New Year, I will be visiting every Deanery and invite all of you to join me in discussing how this process will develop. The dates of these meetings are also given in the letter you will take home. I know you have many things to do but please read the pastoral letter that will be given to you today.

I remember Pope John Paul's first sermon when he declared: Be not afraid open up swing wide the gates to Christ. Quite simply, that is what I wish our Diocese to do over these next years. Hear again what St. Paul says to us today, 'You know 'the time' has come; you must wake up now; our salvation is even nearer than it was when we were converted. The night is almost over, it will be daylight soon (Romans 11:12).

With an assurance of my prayers and kindest wishes,

Yours devotedly in Christ, Rt. Rev. Cormac Murphy-O'Connor Bishop of Arundel and Brighton.