Diocesan Assembly!

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The Diocese of Armenia has been carrying out its diocesan assembly in 3 moments: a first meeting from the parishes with the various pastoral realities and the leadership of the parish priests, in addition to the presence of the parochial vicars and the religious communities. In this fraternal meeting, each parish, under the action and dynamism of the Holy Spirit, responded to the question: Where are we? applying the methodology of ‘See-Judge and Act’ that commits us to take a look at reality and respond to the challenges that the world poses to the Church. We know that we are experiencing moments of social, economic, political, religious, family, moral crisis and this reality must challenge us to be able to give a concrete response from the gospel. The Church cannot ignore this change of era, the consequences of the pandemic and the moral and religious weakening of our society. Her attitude, as a mother and teacher, with a maternal and merciful face, must be that of one who ‘listens’, contemplating the signs of the times, since, based on the context in which we are situated, we can affirm that ‘the Church goes one side and the world on the other. Today pseudo-religious movements are emerging that speak of God without God, that speak of faith without community and we are showing the impulse of a subjective faith without the slightest interest in the ‘community’; in other words, a faith lived without the need for the Church and, beyond that, a religious experience clinging to a cross without Christ or to a Christ without a cross in which pain and suffering do not touch us and we live only ‘in the moment’, the ‘instant’ without spiritual depth. A second moment brought together the faithful and pastoral realities of the foreign vicariates, I am referring to a group of parishes under the guidance of a foreign vicar, called to give pastoral and spiritual dynamism to the vicariate, through common activities. In this vicarial meeting, the question was answered: What are we doing? A look of faith, open to seeking God’s will and asking the Lord, in an attitude of discernment, prayer and action: What do you want from us? It is a retrospective look that allows us to recognize the lights and the shadows to be able to project ourselves, with an evangelization that is ‘new in its ardor, in its methods and in its expressions’, in the words of Pope Saint John Paul II. Finally, next Saturday we will live the third moment, which we have called ‘diocesan assembly’, in which representatives of parishes, pastoral delegations, religious communities, spirituality movements, the Saint John Paul II Major Seminary will participate and some special guests who will act as ‘observers’.

An assembly to ‘listen and listen to each other’, to answer the question: Where are we going? and, from the gospel, to set clear goals that allow us to be a beacon of light for the Quindian community. There are many challenges facing us today and we want, open to the grace and mystery of God’s love, to respond with a generous heart, especially when our diocese will celebrate, on December 17, seventy years of having been erected by the Pope Pius XII. We cannot ignore the path traveled, on the contrary, in the midst of the shadows, there are many lights and strengths that allow us to continue dreaming with hope, sowing seeds of truth, peace, love, joy, service, announcing Christ, ‘Way, Truth and Life’, showing the face of God’s mercy, contemplating Mary as mother and model of faith and perseverance, tracing an evangelizing itinerary that requires us to go through the cross to reach the light, serving Christ with joy in the most poor and socially discarded, looking into the eyes of the sick to invite them to unite their pain to the cross of Christ, bringing a message of hope to brothers and sisters deprived of their liberty, spreading the seed of the gospel in communities without respecting persons , requiring children, adolescents, youth, families, older adults to be instruments of peace and love, open to dialogue with the world, culture and cultures, in an attitude of listening and service with our public servants, armed forces, professionals from various areas, educational institutions -colleges and universities-, ethnic minorities, assuming an attitude of charity and understanding with those brothers who attack us, who denigrate the Church or who have decided to distance themselves from it, raising flags against life, the family institution or gender identity, not to ‘temporize’, but to remind them, from humility, that God loves us all, calls us to conversion and wants us happy. We place these resolutions in the hands of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and I invite readers to join us on this journey of ecclesial renewal.

Diocesan Assembly!