19 November, Antonio, Cardinal Bacci: Meditations For Each Day

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.