Our Parish
1. Just as every Christian belongs to a family, so also he belongs to a
parish. The parish should be the necessary complement of the family, in
which everyone cannot receive the complete formation which he needs.
The family is the first cell in the organism of the Church. The parents
should regard their duties as sacred and, in a way, priestly. They are
joined together not only for the purpose of procreating children, but
also of educating them. This is a lofty honour and responsibility. They
do not possess, however, the means of completing the education of their
children. They can do a great deal, but they cannot do everything, for
they are not, in fact, priests possessing the necessary means of
communicating the supernatural life through the Sacraments and through
the authoritative word of God.
Parents are the natural guardians
of their children, but in the Church there is a spiritual father to
assist them, namely, the parish priest. No good Christian should ignore
the existence of his parish priest and of his parish. In his parish
church he has received the priceless gift of supernatural life through
the Sacrament of Baptism. There, too, he recited his childhood prayers,
obtained forgiveness for his sins in the confessional, received the
Sacrament of Confirmation, made his First Holy Communion, and received,
perhaps, the nuptial blessing at his marriage. There will come a day
when he will be borne to his parish church for the last time, to receive
from the priest his final blessing and prayers for the repose of his
soul. We should love our parish, therefore, in the same way as we love
our family, and we should cherish our parish church. It is not enough to
visit any church, but we should give pride of place to our own, which
houses our spiritual family and holds for us so many precious memories
of the past. We ought to make a special point of attending it in order
to give good example.
2. There is another reason for frequenting
our parish church. Priests today feel very isolated and inadequate to
look after all the needs of the faithful entrusted to their care. Good
parishioners ought to help them and should consider it an honour to
cooperate in the work of the apostolate. The parish clergy are no longer
competent to deal with all the situations which arise. Many people keep
them at a distance, almost as if they feared them. Good laymen should
realise that they can help to bridge this gap and should be anxious to
cooperate in parish work. They can help in the teaching of Christian
doctrine to the young and can assist in the various fields of Catholic
Action.
This will mean sacrifices, because they have their own
personal interests and occupations to absorb their time. But true
Christianity entails sacrifice and unceasing dedication.
3. Let
us resolve, therefore, to be active in our own parish. Let us give good
example by our prayers, by frequenting the Sacraments and attending Holy
Mass, and by collaborating with the clergy in the sanctification of
souls.
It was for this purpose that we received the Sacrament of
Confirmation. We should always remain soldiers of Jesus Christ,
especially in our own parish.
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