This is the second part of my homily at the Chrism Mass
on 13 April 2022 at Our Lady of the Assumption (Cathedral)
on 13 April 2022 at Our Lady of the Assumption (Cathedral)
One more thing. Let us make sure also that we never read today’s passages from Isaiah and Luke too much in “singular” as they are written. We are one body and our ordination is to serve together this body. We should always say: “the Spirit of the Lord is upon us”. All of us: bishops, priests and laity (which, of course, includes the religious). Every now and then we might forget that the laity has also received the gift of the Spirit. Since I became bishop I have always asked the priests to lay hands with me on those that are going to be confirmed. We pray in silence to the Father through Jesus that the gift of the Spirit is granted to them.
During this synodal journey which we started last October, we have always been reminded that all of us - clergy and laity - need to listen to the voice of the Spirit, to what the Spirit is telling our particular church here in eSwatini.
There was a time - many years’ ago - when it was common to hear that “the laity helps the priest” in his service in the parish. In 2012, though, Pope Benedict said:
“Co-responsibility requires a change in mentality, particularly with regard to the role of the laity in the Church, who should be considered not as "collaborators" with the clergy, but as persons truly "co-responsible" for the being and activity of the Church.”
As priests, we are called to fire into our laity the sense of being co-workers with us, being co-responsible in the building of the Church and in her service to all. It is therefore important that together with our laity we discern how our Diocese should respond in the present situation of our country. We must encourage our laity to actively listen to the voice of the Spirit that is upon them and not passively wait for what Father or the Bishop will say we should do.
As a bishop I am always grateful for the commitment of our Diocesan Pastoral Council executive to our meetings, to our reflection together, to the implementation of what has been decided. I must confess I also struggle when hear the cry of a priest about a Parish Pastoral Council that hardly meets or that some of the members hardly attend. They don’t resign but they don’t attend either. That makes the body of the church walk with difficulty.
We are baptised and sent, the Spirit of the Lord is upon us, it applies to all of us, in different ways, with our different calls but as Paul reminds us, it is the same Spirit in each one of us for the building of the Body of Christ.
