Fr. Earl Fernandes

January 20, 2022 by Fr. Earl Fernandes

The road that lies ahead for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati with Beacons of Light will not be an easy one. It will require discernment, both at an individual and communal level. In the Joy of the Gospel, Pope Francis invited every particular church to enter into a resolute process of discernment, purification and reform so that the missionary impulse of the Church might be more focused, generous, and fruitful, adding that the important thing is “to not walk alone, but to rely on each other as brothers and sisters, and especially under the leadership of the bishops, in a wise and realistic pastoral discernment.” (Evangelii Gaudium, 30; 33)

To recognize. Three phrases that help us understand discernment are: to recognize; to interpret; and to choose. Individuals and Families of Parishes must be able to confront situations and difficulties in life; they need to be able to recognize and name these difficulties. At the same time, they also must possess a sense of self-awareness. Many today are well-educated in the sciences and have a refined background, but are illiterate when it comes to affectivity. Hence, there is a serious need to form people and communities in recognizing the interior movements of the Spirit and to have an honest assessment of one’s own identity. There must be a recognition of those movements of the Spirit which bring joy and which last, and those that do not.

To interpret. Individuals and Families of Parishes must not only recognize challenges, but also learn to interpret experiences, especially in light of faith. As individuals and communities attempt to understand the meaning of that which they are experiencing and how to evaluate experiences, the hierarchy of truths of the Catholic Faith can assist in the discernment process.

Pope Francis, in Evangelii Gaudium (n. 20), calls all of us to discern: “Each Christian and every community must discern the path that the Lord points out, but all of us are asked to obey his call to go forth from our own comfort zone in order to reach all the ‘peripheries’ in need of the light of the Gospel.”

The process of discernment and deliberation is critical. People and parishes will need to weigh the pros and cons, using faith and reason, when making proposals or decisions. Laity, across the spectrum, are called to fulfill the responsibilities of their baptism, to work for the sanctification of the world, and to take part in the evangelizing mission of the Church, offering insights from their professional, personal and spiritual experiences.

Religious men and women, are uniquely positioned to illuminate the transcendent and eschatological dimensions of some of the issues that arise. As co-workers of the bishop, priests, and especially pastors, offer their theological, spiritual and pastoral insights, possessing the experience of shepherding and accompanying the flock, standing as Christ in their midst.

To choose. Discernment demands being able to choose. Mindful of their duty to listen to the flock, pastors must have the “smell of the sheep.” Locally, the Archbishop ultimately has a personal and specific responsibility to witness to the truth and to preserve the unity and integrity of the faith and the flock. After careful discernment, flowing from the unanimity of the consent emanating from the deliberations, he will have to make decisions, but his choices will come only after input from the people and clergy of the Archdiocese and after prayerful discernment.

For example, in the Beacons of Light process, the grouping of parishes into “families of Parishes” demanded gathering insights and data from lay men and women, through their pastors, pastoral councils, and staff, and working together to look at possible groupings. Input was sought from the Deans, Presbyteral Council, and heads of Archdiocesan Departments. Priests and School Principals were invited to offer their insights. Finally, after a three-week period of public comment, the Archbishop decided to finalize the groupings. Later in the process, each Family of Parishes will propose a pastoral plan, and the Archbishop will have to decide whether to approve that plan.

This consent – this choosing – is never an assertion of power but remains a service to the Church in the name of the Lord Jesus. Ultimately, discernment is of a communitarian nature and an expression of the co-responsibility that believers have; it demands that its members have an ecclesial conscience leading to communion. The keyword is “co-responsibility.”

In 2009, Pope Benedict XVI said:

It is necessary to improve pastoral structures in such a way that the co-responsibility of all the members of the People of God in their entirety is gradually promoted, with respect for vocations and for the respective roles of the consecrated and of lay people. This demands a change in mindset, particularly concerning lay people. They must no longer be viewed as “collaborators” of the clergy but truly be recognized as “coresponsible”, for the Church’s being and action, thereby fostering the consolidation of a mature and committed laity. (Benedict XVI, “Discorso all’apertura del convegno pastorale della diocesi di Roma sul tema: ‘appartenenza ecclesiale e corresponsibilit pastorale,’” May 26, 2009)

Difficult decisions and choices must be made. No one cannot expect to experience some pain in the process, but, if the process is a shared process, then, in the end, it is hoped that our local church will be in a better position to carry out the mission of evangelization and that our parishes will truly be Beacons of Light.

September 1, 2021 by Fr. Earl Fernandes

How does a parish share the good news of Jesus?

Last month, I reflected on the Church as the Family of God. We need to think not only of parishes as families, but of multiple parishes as extended families or “Families of Parishes,” as we move from maintenance to mission. Beacons of Light is a means for channeling our resources in a way that best serves the mission of evangelization.

What are characteristics of an evangelizing community? First, we are a Church that goes forth. We are missionaries. Going forth demands courageously leaving our comfort zone. In an interview in 2013, Pope Francis said:

“Instead of just being a church that welcomes and receives by keeping the doors open, let us try also to be a church that finds new roads, that is able to step outside itself and go to those who do not attend Mass, to those who have quit or are indifferent. The ones who quit sometimes do it for reasons that, if properly understood and assessed, can lead to a return. But that takes audacity and courage.” (Antonio Spadaro, Sept. 21, 2013)

Second, the community of missionary disciples shows initiative. The Spanish word primerear captures this idea of being proactive rather than reactive. In Evangeli Gaudium the Holy Father writes:

“An evangelizing community knows that the Lord has taken the initiative; He has loved us first, and therefore, we can move forward, boldly take the initiative, go out to others, seek those who have fallen away, stand at the crossroads and welcome the outcast.” (EG, 24)

Here in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, we cannot afford to wait for people to come to us; rather, we must seize the initiative and become “spiritual entrepreneurs.”

Third, the evangelizing community is engaged with its members. Pope Francis sometimes uses the word balconear, which means to stand on the balcony to see what is happening without personal engagement. The Pope proposes Jesus as the opposite of this sort of person:

“Jesus washed the feet of His disciples. The Lord gets involved and He involves His own, as He kneels to wash their feet. He tells His disciples, ‘You will be blessed if you do this.’ An evangelizing community gets involved by word and deed in people’s daily lives; it bridges distances. It is willing to abase itself if necessary, and it embraces human life, touching the suffering flesh of Christ in others.” (EG, 24)

The priest cannot do everything. He must encourage his people to get involved by identifying and utilizing the talents and gifts of his flock.

Fourth, a community of missionary disciples accompanies others. Speaking in Assisi in 2013, Pope Francis said:

“I repeat it often: walking with our people, sometimes in front, sometimes in the middle, and sometimes behind: in front in order to guide the community, in the middle in order to encourage and support; and at the back in order to keep it united and so that no one lags too far behind, to keep them united.” (Pope Francis, Cathedral of San Ruffino, Assisi, Oct. 4, 2013)

A father of a family must lead his family, spend time with his family and offer encouragement, keeping the family together. Accompaniment entails guiding, encouraging, supporting and uniting. The pastor must lead the process, accompanying his own people, learning about their joys, sorrows, hopes and needs, and offering encouragement. This demands listening and empathizing on his part. At the same time, the parish community walks with him, with each member playing a role in strengthening each other, serving as bridges, rather than barriers, in a united effort to evangelize.

Fifth, the evangelizing community is fruitful. Commenting on the parable of the weeds and wheat, the Holy Father says:

“An evangelizing community is always concerned with fruit, because the Lord wants her to be fruitful. It cares for the grain and does not grow impatient with the weeds. The sower when he sees weeds sprouting among the grain does not grumble or overreact. He or she finds a way to let the word take flesh in a particular situation and bear fruits of new life, however imperfect or incomplete these may appear.” (EG, 24)

Fruitfulness demands discernment and patience. The parable of the weeds and wheat speaks of discerning what is from the Son of Man, who sows good seeds in the field, from the weeds, sown by the devil. In Greek, the word for weeds is zizania, which refers to rye grass. Zizania looks like wheat initially, but only when it is mature can one discern the difference. Jesus warns of the need to be patient and discerning because things are not always initially clear.

Patience and discernment allow us to move forward. It is particularly necessary for all of us to help the faithful understand why Beacons of Light is happening and to accept the reality of change.

The final characteristic of an evangelizing community is joy. The Eucharist is the sacrament of Christian joy. In the Eucharist, the joy Jesus has won is not only preserved and shared, but perdures. The Church celebrates the Eucharist with the spousal joy of one promised to Christ. It is a foretaste of the heavenly banquet.

Families of Parishes, nourished by the Holy Eucharist, will have the courage to go forth, to seize the initiative, to be engaged and to accompany others so they might bear lasting fruit. They will be evangelizing communities, marked by the joy that comes from the Gospel and the Eucharist.

September 1, 2021 by Fr. Earl Fernandes

Understanding the Mission of the Church

The Church is a sign and instrument of communion with God and of unity among all men and women who are called to bring the joy of the Gospel to the whole world. One scriptural image used by the Second Vatican Council which may be helpful for understanding the forthcoming parish groupings and the Beacons of Light process is that of the Church as the Family of God – “the house of God in which His family dwells; the household of God in the Spirit” (cf. Eph. 2:19, 22).

The image of the Church as a family is ancient, and the idea of a family as a “domestic church” has re-emerged in recent times. Parishes are communities of families, gathered under a pastor, a “father” of the family, in communion with the bishop, to worship God and to build the Kingdom. The family is a place of belonging, a privileged place to experience love and growth, an original sign of Christ’s love for His Church, given to us by God the Father. It is both a building block of society and a critical means by which we are introduced into a decisive relationship with God.

The family exists to generate life and deepen the companionship between believers as they journey toward their common destiny. Family stability is critical for the future. This is true not only of our individual families, but also of our parish families. Every family, including a parish family, has a mission to build up the Church and increase the Kingdom of God in the world; to be a community of love in which people experience a sense of belonging; and, to be a beacon of light and hope to others.

In the Family of God we continually meet and encounter Christ who, according to Pope Benedict XVI in Deus caritas est, “gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.” In our personal families, we learn to confront difficulties and face the realities of life, enlightened by His Presence. In family life, we encounter Christ in each other. In both our individual families and parish families, our companionship comes together in a space, in our daily living and working together, on a common journey with a common goal: our destiny with God.

The Church can be understood as the Family of God. Jesus addresses God as Father and the early Church addressed its members as adelphoi (brothers and sisters). The Church is not principally an administrative grouping, organized and occasionally re-organized like a company; rather, its distinctive characteristics are prayer and the Eucharist. Believers are called by name to be part of this family and are drawn together and constituted as a family by the Holy Spirit. No family is perfect, and there are always members of the family with different temperaments, but there is one fundamental bond: faith.

The Church, constituted by God, is mandated to evangelize. Every family and every parish must have a missionary outlook. We must radiate Christ to the world, and yet, we are experiencing profound change, which makes the task of evangelizing more challenging. Pope Francis frequently says, “we live not so much in an epoch of change as in a change of epoch.” Acknowledging this and the current reality of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, which includes demographic shifts and fewer priests, it is essential to adapt to effectively carry out the Church’s mission in a changed environment.

Beacons of Light is not principally about a priest shortage; it is about the mission of evangelization. At the beginning of his Pontificate, Pope Francis described his dream for the Church in The Joy of the Gospel: “I dream of a ‘missionary option,’ that is, a missionary impulse capable of transforming everything, so that the Church’s customs, ways of doing things, times and schedules, language and structures can be suitably channeled for the evangelization of today’s world rather than for her self-preservation.”

I invite you to dream about how our parishes can be evangelizing communities, beacons that radiate the light of faith and respond to the needs of the whole Family of God.

Father Earl Fernandes is the pastor of St. Ignatius of Loyola Church in Cincinnati and holds a doctorate in moral theology from the Alphonsian Academy in Rome.