by Bob Hendrie

Some thirty odd years ago, a perceptive member of the Diocesan Curia delivered a grim forecast to our deanery. Using names and dates from the Directory, he painted a picture of a future where the surviving clergy would be travelling from church to church to provide Mass and the sacraments, with little opportunity for anything else.

It was a shocking prospect – we had not joined up to be ‘Massing Priests’. Liturgical celebration was expected to be the focus of our work, not the whole of it. Reaction was tempered by an expectation of the outcome’s unlikelihood. Surely, in the projected timescale, the authorities would have made the necessary adjustments? Vatican II had already had twenty years for its grand vision to sink in. The Council had accepted the historical awareness brought forward by historical, biblical and theological studies, not forgetting the continuous and active presence of the Holy Spirit. The new openings and freedoms would surely be utilised in pursuit of the Church’s mission as the effective sign of the Kingdom?

As it happened, nothing happened. That projected future became the reality, the prophecy fulfilled in our sight. As a retired parish priest, I could only watch with sympathy as the number of priests at deanery meetings dwindled and dwindles. A striking feature at close of business is the production of mobile phones to assess coming appointments. There is neither time nor energy to be parish priests, to gather, foster and guide a caring community. Formal demands must fill the time and drain the spirit. If we were supposed to be good shepherds, how could we now say: ‘I know mine and mine know me’?

St Paul tells the Galatians: So, James, Cephas and John, these leaders, these pillars, shook hands with Barnabas and me as a sign of partnership: we were to go to the pagans and they to the circumcised. The only thing they insisted on was that we should remember to help the poor, as indeed, I was anxious to do. (Gal. 2,9f)

One necessity

One necessity alone was imposed on the early communities: the Christian community must look after the poor. Presumably that has not changed. Could it be that, in our preoccupation with the long overdue and largely successful reordering of the liturgy and rubrics, we might be overlooking something?

‘The poor’ as we know, is a term not limited to those in monetary distress. It includes all who need help – the sick, bereaved, the mentally or spiritually disturbed, addicts of one kind or another and those who love them. Of course, targeted and professional help must be called upon when needed, but personal, ecclesial contact and care can never be superfluous. Lack of that lived-with, professional and commissioned contact presents the church with a serious problem. A task, the only one enjoined on the earliest communities, is in danger of being overlooked. But how can it to be accomplished in the realities of our present world?

A good shepherd

1 Peter 5,2f. tells us how the elders should go about it: Be the shepherds of the flock of God that is entrusted to you, watch over it, not simply as a duty but gladly, because God wants it, not for sordid money but because we are eager to do it. Never be a dictator over any group that I put in your charge but be an example that the whole flock can follow.

A good shepherd is a good metaphor, especially if it is envisaged in times and cultures of small flocks. But, as all metaphors, it should not be pressed beyond its value. The relation between human and animal is not the same as that between human and human. I suspect that most of us would be rather horrified to be reminded of the mediaeval extension which called on the military power to be the watchdogs to keep the sheep together and in order.

Nevertheless, as the contemporary saying has it, we are where we are. Care of the poor in its extended sense is the primary task of the Christian community. There seems to be a danger of fitting the task to the number of available ministers rather than expanding the number of ministers to carry out the task. If the care is the requirement and the present ordained clergy can no longer carry it out, then it must be done by others – the old principle: per se vel per alium. St Paul gives the Ephesians and us some helpful hints: To some, his gift was that they should be apostles; to some prophets; to some evangelists; to some, pastors and teachers. (Eph. 4, 11)

The parish is where the Church happens, culturally, liturgically and pastorally. Its netspread is geographical; it contains all sorts of fish. We find practising and nonpractising believers, doubters who abstain and others who attend, possibly for family unity, possibly to provide structural support for growing children, some out of mere habit, uncertainty or spontaneous impulse.

Nucleus

Around this grouping there is a penumbra of Christian and non-Christian neighbours who are aware of this presence in their midst and live with it in their various ways, mostly respectful. All in the area are addressed and cared for in one way or another, from daily communicants to convinced humanists.

Such a diverse congregation requires a nucleus. In the past, it was provided by a parish priest and his immediate helpers but this seems no longer possible. Is the Lord trying to tell us something?

In the absence of an ordained minister, it would seem that the nucleus would have to be more formalised, Experience tells us that the nucleus needs those who will look after music, children’s liturgy, fabric, cleaning and catering, etc. all that makes a living, Christian community work. In fact, the work makes the community in all its gradations.

There is, of course, a danger of exclusivity within the nucleus but it can be countered by its constant reaching out to those with other preoccupations for all the help they need in particular enterprises. The parish comprises everyone living within its boundaries. A useful working principle is always to look for someone who is not yet active.

To some extent, something is already happening. The SVdP is an obvious example: it is in a position to provide the necessary personal care in each community. It should be cherished and fostered. Eucharistic Ministers are another example, especially in the care of the sick and housebound. Catholic teachers are always indispensable. Such committed people will always be part of the nucleus. Other avenues can be explored and utilised, not excluding the appointment and commissioning of a local organiser and guide, perhaps a deacon. This is especially the case in parishes without a resident priest and which have been subsumed into a larger parish. The manner of her/his selection will no doubt be a matter of some debate.

Further appropriate developments may emerge in due course. For example, it may become evident that it is better that such a local leader should preside at the common Eucharist. That may have to bide its time along with the realisation of the necessity of a sacred centre for the community’s life and a visible sign of the presence of the Kingdom.

Photo by Josie Weiss on Unsplash

Bob Hendrie is a retired priest of the Archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh.