Trust God that His will be done.
They’re easy words to read, but often difficult to put into practice.
As the Archdiocese of St. Louis goes through the process of the All Things New strategic pastoral planning initiative, all of us are being invited to participate in sharing our thoughts and hopes for the future of the Church here in St. Louis.
As we do so, it’s important to look outward toward the greater needs of the Church beyond our personal desires — and even our own parish boundaries. All Things New should be a process that ultimately draws people closer to Christ and His Church.
At the heart of our unceasing prayer should be a desire to answer Jesus’ commission to “Go and Make Disciples.” All of the Church’s ministries — schools, hospitals, food banks, homeless shelters, etc. — fall short of the mark if leading people into a relationship with Jesus and His Church isn’t the focus.
We also pray that we are able to use the spiritual and material resources we have inherited and those that God has given us, so that we may generate new ways of evangelization for today and generations to come.
We are called to an evangelization that often expresses itself as walking with people throughout their everyday lives, witnessing to the love that we have received and then inviting those that we have developed relationships with to receive God’s love.
At the Last Supper, Jesus prepares the apostles for His departure. He tells them that His crucifixion is part of God’s plan for salvation, yet the apostles are fearful of the change that’s coming next. Our faith helps us to see that change — even something as monumental as Christ’s death and resurrection — is an opportunity to be steadfast in our faith, relying on the will of the Father.
Beginning Ash Wednesday, Catholics are invited to share their thoughts about the future of the Church through the Disciple Maker Index survey. The survey examines each respondent’s personal beliefs about the Church, level of participation in the sacraments and other parish-based activities and experience of the parish. The results are expected to be a driving force in deciding what will happen within the archdiocese in the future.
Gathering the lived experience of every person in every parish is an essential companion to archdiocesan statistics and demographics. To become an archdiocese of missionary disciples, we must take an honest look at our current strengths as well as our opportunities for growth.
By prayerfully and honestly filling out the Disciple Maker Index survey — and encouraging others to do the same — you can help give the archdiocese a clear look at your parish. Then, with parish-level results in hand, the conversation will expand to regional and diocesan levels.
The Disciple Maker Index survey will not be the only opportunity to contribute to the All Things New process, either. In addition to the work of many subcommittees made up of parishioners around the archdiocese, 372 listening sessions will be held in October and November to gather feedback on proposed models for the future structure of the archdiocese. Go! Your voice matters.
The Archdiocese of St. Louis is not just an archdiocese of beautiful buildings and institutions — it is made up of individual Catholics working together to share the Good News of Jesus Christ through our own lives and relationships. As we work to mold our archdiocese with a discipleship mindset, some difficult decisions will need to be made. Those decisions will be made, though, with the help of the faithful — if we are willing to participate in the process, using our own fervent prayer and experience to help discern the Lord’s plan.
Lord, not our will, but Yours be done.