1 Road to Emmaus Robert Zund How can spirituality animate our Pastoral Planning?

2 Image of the Church – the People of God led by the Holy Spirit on pilgrimage

3 “While the were talking with each other and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, but their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?” They stood still, looking sad. “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?”

4 Jesus said to them, “Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.

5 They urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and day is nearly now over. So he stayed with them. When he was at table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.

6 “Stay with us…” Duccio Di BuoninsegnaDuccio Di Buoninsegna 1308

7 They said to each other: “Weren’t our hearts burning within us while he was talking with us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?” That same hour they returned to Jerusalem; they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. They were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, he has appeared to Simon!”

8 Nothing is hidden for long. We learn the value of being community. We accept one another. We come to know the gospels and their value as mentor and comforter. We learn to talk about our experience of God. We share mystical moments. We value the diversity among us as gift. We learn to listen to God. We learn to grow through uncertainty.

9 We come to appreciate in new ways the God who walks with us as well as the God who awaits us beyond the horizon. On the road we focus on the God who is with us, and when we settle in the village we tend to focus on the God who is far from us.

10 Let us take a few moments to find ourselves in the story…

11 Do you find your own voice joining too: “Stay with us, Lord?” Do you experience that “heart burning within?” Do you take comfort in the light that comes from the scriptures? Do you find your “source and summit” in the “Breaking of the Bread?” If so, you may be hearing a deeper call to discipleship and service… To use your gifts for the good of God’s pilgrim people… You may choose to respond to the signs of the times and consider the gospel afresh for today’s Church… You may be invited to embrace a spirituality of pastoral planning…

12  Helps us to recognize God’s walking with us; it is our interpretation on our connection with God.  It shapes our image of God, our relationship with God, with ourselves, and with the world.  It shapes our aspirations, our decisions, and the way we hear and respond to God’s call.

13 Cardinal Joseph Bernardin once said: “Ministry has the simple goal: the emergence of the reign of God.”

14 Centered on Christ “How do we carry out the mission of the parish,  which is the ministry of Jesus,  in this time and place  with these people,  acknowledging our strengths and weakness as a community of faith,  naming the challenges and opportunities we face as we respond to the Gospel?” Dan Conway, Pastoral Planning through the Lens of Stewardship, Origins, 4/10/08 Vol. 37, #43,p.668

15  Grows in the milieu of uncertainty,  Is a ministry and a skill for Church leadership,  Is fundamentally different for pilgrim people. People on the road have less baggage to carry and fewer illusions. They have a stronger sense of needing one another, and have a desire to anticipate tomorrow as each mile brings its own surprises.

16 1. Begins by leading the community to a clear understanding of its reality 2. Leads the community to articulate its vision 3. Projects the future if things continue as they are 4. Compares the envisioned future and projected future with today’s reality and helps the community see clearly the gaps between them. 5. Plans the steps by which they will bridge the gap, and plans to put the pastoral plan into action.

17 What is Pastoral Planning? “What awaits us is the exciting work of parish revitalization – a work that involves all of us.” Pope John Paul II: Novo Millennio Ineunte, #29

18 Always springs from the community’s spirituality. Always seeks to deepen relationships within the community and beyond the community. Always considers the common good and the reign of God – never for the sake of individuals. Spirituality of pastoral planners leads them to be:  People of solidarity  People of hope  People uncertain and therefore, people of prayer.

19 Pastoral Planners are called to Step out of the boat onto the water, with our eyes fixed firmly on Jesus

20 The diocesan Vision Statement provides direction for pastoral planning

21 Pastoral Planning enables us to see concrete ways for our parish “…to grow ever more into a dynamic community of faith, hope, and love…”

22 Like the disciples with Jesus said, so do we: “Weren’t our hearts burning within us while he was talking with us on the road…” So we choose concrete ways through pastoral planning… “wherein we reveal the mind and heart of Jesus through our actions and worship.” Peter Mathios

23 Through Pastoral Planning we advance the Vision in our parish As we proclaim the truths that save “…Weren’t our hearts burning within us … while he was opening the scriptures to us?”

24 Pastoral Planning invites our parish take up the work of evangelization: “To welcome back those who have left our family of faith…” and to proclaim to those who have yet to hear the good news: “The Lord has risen indeed, he has appeared to Simon!”

25 Pastoral Planning will open doors to peace, reconciliation, charity, and justice “… To forgive and seek forgiveness. To care for our brothers and sisters in need, To work for peace within our families and communities To promote respect and justice for all people…”

26 We are the Body of Christ 1 Cor. 12:27 A spirituality of communion underpins pastoral planning today. Like the disciples on the road, we are brought into communion with Christ at Eucharist. Through Christ we are brought into communion with each other.

27 Pastoral Planning  tries to discern the movement of the Spirit.  is a time to deepen relations with God in today’s circumstances.  is a time to reflect on what has happened and where the community is going as did the disciples on the road to Emmaus.  “Where is God in all this?”  “What is God saying to us?”

28 Guided by the Holy Spirit We are a people of hope because we are guided on the journey by the Holy Spirit. Consider the presence of the Holy Spirit  brooding over the waters at creation  calling Moses to lead the chosen people out of Egypt to the Promised Land  driving Jesus into the desert after his baptism  with the early church at Pentecost  inspiring the Church at the 2 nd Vatican Council  Among us today as we gather in Jesus’ name.

29 Discerning As we listen to what the faithful say, we must ponder what we hear to discern what God is saying to the Church through this. Jesus said, “Father, you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.” Matthew 11:25

30 The Cultural Context of the Journey We proclaim the gospel in the midst of signs of darkness as well as signs of God’s healing presence. As planners, we are challenged by cultural undercurrents “ to strengthen unity within our diversity.”

31 Planners embrace these struggles:  Individualism – yet all of life is connected  Anxiety – that everything is moving toward death  Consumerism – yet we must conserve our resources. Planners move prayerfully from today’s reality toward the vision of tomorrow. “Truly creative people use the gaps between vision and the current reality to generate energy for change” The 5 th Discipline by Peter Senge

32 Mystery  Mystery cannot be explained away. It must be embraced so it can nourish us.  We touch mystery when we ponder life, death, creation and nature.  The Church is called to be the Body of Christ present in the world today – the ever renewing mystery of the Incarnation.  The only constant is change!

33 In the Words of Moses to the People… “Surely the Lord your God has blessed you in all your undertakings: he has watched over your journeying through the great wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you, and you have lacked nothing.” Deuteronomy 2:7

34 All along the way…with burning hearts… Parishes engage in pastoral planning to find meaningful opportunities “…to celebrate the sanctifying love of God that heals and transforms our world.”

35 So we take up the Journey And we listen along the way! This presentation was inspired by an article, “A Spirituality of Pastoral Planning,” by Michael Brady, Archdiocese of Adelaide, 2002.