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ECCLESIAL TEAM DOCUMENT
by Fr. James Flanagan
There
are three distinct parts in the following document on
ecclesial teams; namely, Beginning
of Ecclesial Teams, Growth
in Ecclesial Teams, Communion
for Ecclesial Teams.
BEGINNING
OF ECCLESIAL TEAMS
Sections
INTRODUCTION
Beginning
of ecclesial teams deals with a gradual unfolding in
the understanding of the concept of ecclesial teams,
touching upon its purpose, spirit, mission and ministries.
It deals with the Person of Christ - His Life, witness
and work - as being the very center and source of the
ecclesial team. It reviews how He formed the first ecclesial
team, and links the beginnings of the ecclesial team
to the mystery of the Incarnation. It also touches upon
certain dangers and difficulties to be faced in beginnings
and some ways we can respond more creatively to these
difficulties. It ends with a number of paragraphs concerning
ministries of the team and within the team.
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The
purpose of this first part is not to give a detailed
description of every step to be taken in the beginning
and formation of a team. It gives general spiritual
guidelines or principles - a sort of insight into
the essential spirit, life and work to be found
in beginning a team. Each disciple, as well as each
team, must seek to absorb the spirit found in these
following pages, as they work to set up and to build
their particular team.
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SECTION
1. Description of Ecclesial Team
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The
description of an ecclesial team is useful in that
it can be enriched gradually, helping to reveal
in a dynamic way, exactly of what we are speaking.
An ecclesial team then is that in, which the Church
is truly present and operative at its most basic
level. This is through filial relationships with
the Father, the brotherhood of Christ and His Body
and through the action of the Holy Spirit. It is
in bringing forth all that is in accord with the
will of our Father and pleasing to Him.
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It
is a portion of the people of God, the Church, in
which Christ is truly present and operative. It
is a part, as a particle of bread, although it is
not the whole loaf. The ecclesial team is truly
Church. No matter how poor and small these teams
may be, Christ is present in them, and by virtue
of Him, the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church
gathers us together.
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SECTION
2. Purposes of the Ecclesial Team
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The
ecclesial team exists primarily for three interrelated
purposes for which it makes itself responsible as
a basic community. First, the team is responsible
for the richness and expansion of the faith. Secondly,
the team brings us into the oneness for which Christ
prayed and the destiny planned for us by the Father.
(Although these teams are small, they create a community
of faith, hope and charity). Thirdly, the teams
are formed to prepare themselves intensely to promote
renewal of the Church.
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Within
the teams a new Church environment, a new vision
and attempts at changes in the Church, on the basis
of experiences, begin to surface. Others, as well,
begin to move in new directions. As they promote
this renewal it becomes expressed in renewal in
a gifted ministry. The teams must take the time
necessary in their organizational development to
discover new directions, helping to intensify the
collaboration and the communion visible at different
levels within the Church and within their ministry.
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These
teams are built with the help of the Lord and they
bring us to become more and more aware of ourselves
truly as the Church of Christ, preparing us for
the eternal oneness with Jesus that He Himself desires
with us. Essential to the building of the teams
are the leaders. The simplest vision of the team
is that they are expressions of the Church.
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SECTION
3. Ecclesial teams - A response to the Signs and
Needs of the Times.
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(I)
... Time of renewal.
At
certain times in the history of man, the Holy Spirit
in a very profound way makes all things new in the
Church. We feel we are in just such a time of the
Spirit. The need for renewal can be seen in the
very life of society today - technological progress
has brought huge masses of people together in cities
and urban centers, and many people have become lost
and alienated. In contrast, in the small ecclesial
teams people start to know each other; to express
themselves, to grow in respect and understanding
of themselves. The impersonalism of society as a
whole has infiltrated itself deeply into the Church,
with many negative consequences. People do not have
a sense of belonging. They are really searching
for small groups or communities in which their hopes
and fears, joys, anxieties and worries are shared
at a very personal level. And where, with the support
of the team, they can reach to the gifts God has
given to them, as well as to the problems which
relate to their own lives and the lives of the people
of God. We find that in ecclesial teams, life is
based not so much on the law as on being a community
of God's people.
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(II)
... Faith crisis.
There
is currently a deep faith crisis and more and more
the realities we face every day test our Christian
faith. These include the problems of poverty, social
justice, euthanasia, disagreements among authorities,
war, the threat of nuclear holocaust and the pressures
within marital unions and families. These problems
demand of each of us clear answers that are vital
to our faith; but in the present system of the Church.
It is impossible to even face the problem let alone
find livable solutions. In the ecclesial teams and
in the ministry they serve there is a search to
fill the gaps in response to the present situation
and to bring about a renewed certainty of faith
where it has been lost.
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(III)
... Evangelization.
Another
consideration that the Spirit works with today is
the deep reality of so many who still do not have
the Gospel preached to them. Unless the whole Body
of Christ begins to carry out the work of the Gospel,
then God's promise and prophesy concerning His people
and the history of man, will remain unfulfilled.
The only way the whole Church can actually reach
to this work of evangelization which has been given
to her, (and which involves prophesy and relates
to the situations of families, neighborhoods, work,
society, the Church and the world), is by small
ecclesial teams leavening the Church and bringing
forth the fullness of the life of Christ that He
desires for His People.
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(IV)
... Discovering and facing reality today.
In
the ecclesial team each member of the team participates.
It is really one for all and all for one. Here we
conquer passivity with creativity, and this creativity
then helps us to relate to each other in order that
we may form one whole people. Ecclesial teams in
Our Lady's Society discover reality in discipleship,
prayer, faith and union with the Father, Son and
Holy Spirit. This sheds light on the reality, in
which we live, which then demands commitment and
action. Commitment in action is the reality to which
we speak in ministries, and ministries are necessary
for us to grow. In our ecclesial teams we deal first
with interpersonal relationships within the team
and then go to discover the life situations confronting
us.
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This
order for the ministry of the team is important
for it is a process. When reality is not taken into
account the result can become destructive. In order
to act we must first of all discover reality. In
the Spiritual Exercises, under the section on 'Mysteries
of Life' we grow in the reality of life. The Bible
presents the reality of God working with His people
throughout history. We see Jesus staying in touch
with reality when He speaks to His people of the
signs of the times. We see the Church facing reality
head-on as the Spirit speaks to us in the Vatican
II document on the 'Church in the Modern World.'
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In
working with reality, we must try to go deeply to
the source. We are not looking simply at the surface,
but really at the roots of any given work or ministry;
for if we do not penetrate deeply it will lead only
to a broadening of the problem. Looking at the causes
is not easy, but it must be done, and when you find
the solutions at that level then you have really
achieved something solid.
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When
we deal with reality we must deal also with its
scope. This is very complex for it encompasses everything;
the human element, the religious element, the element
of us as Catholics. It includes therefore cultural,
social, historical, economic and political aspects
of life; as well as religious traditions and popular
expressions of worship and devotion, together with
celebration. It refers also to the whole process
of faith in which one sees all things being drawn
up into Christ who says, "If I be lifted up I will
draw all things into myself."
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Reality
does not exist in a vacuum. It exists in time and
space. Therefore it includes the influence of family,
relatives and neighbors; the influence of our country
and of the whole world, as well as the network of
communications and the influence of the past, present
and future. We must try to understand these influences
to act responsibly and become one with the Lord
of history.
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SECTION 4. The
Person of Jesus and the Ecclesial Team
In
the beginning, I think it is important for us in
the ecclesial teams to speak to the person of Jesus
in Himself. Jesus belonged to a race that was despised.
He came from Galilee, a frontier region. Even among
His own people there were many cultural clashes
and lack of acceptance. His people were bilingual,
they spoke Hebrew and Aramaic, but with an accent
of their own, and their particular dialect showed
a level of education that was very low. He was born
in a stable, He lived poorly. He died and was buried
in a sepulcher that was not His own. He was exiled
as a child. He was an orphan. His mother was a widow.
He was on ordinary laborer. Even his relatives and
friends were poor and without influence. He preferred
the company of the simple and anawim. He spoke their
language. He was persecuted because of what He taught
concerning God and the poor. He was accused and
imprisoned and few defended Him. His closest friends
abandoned him; and yet Jesus was very clear about
His mission. He came to establish a Kingdom of Communion
... with God as Father, Mary as Mother, and all
of us as brothers and sisters in communion with
each other.
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Jesus
proclaimed the Kingdom of God wherever He could,
especially in Jerusalem. For Jerusalem was the religious
and political center of God's people. But it was
precisely there that the selfishness and hatred
He sought to overcome flourished. It was there that
the powerful gathered and plotted to crush the weak
and feeble, plotting even against Jesus Himself.
His disciples feared Jerusalem. After His death
on the cross, God raised up Jesus and His Kingdom,
approved of His Person, His teaching and His work.
God showed that there is no salvation outside of
Him.
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Jesus
is the person with a definite identity and a firm
will. He is the founder of an ecclesial team. He
is the herald of the good news of the Kingdom of
God and a prophet of that Kingdom. He took on the
flesh of the human race and lived out His life in
the concrete situation as He found them. He prepared
and sent others as His ministers of the Kingdom.
He learned much from His Mother, for with Mary and
Joseph He formed the first ecclesial team. He suffered
and yet did so with joy, encouraging His followers
to be optimistic and jubilant. He was always reaching
to fulfill the will of His Father on the way to
the realization of the Kingdom.
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The
team imitates Jesus ...
This
is what we are really striving to do in the ecclesial
teams.. i.e. to build a team which is really founded
on persons. A basic community... a community which
will proclaim the Kingdom of God and be prophetic
among His People, especially the poor. What is needed
is a team, which is open to all cultures; which
is one of service where the work that Jesus has
begun will continue until it comes to its completion.
A team united with Mary as we see her, especially
in her God-Mary relationship with the Father, Son
and Spirit. A team working with Jesus for the salvation
of all. A team full of enthusiasm, so that those
within the Kingdom of God can come to the fullness
of the joy that no man can take away.
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SECTION
5. The First Ecclesial Team formed by Jesus.
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Let
us look for a few moments at the ecclesial team
that Jesus Himself formed. After Joseph and Mary,
Jesus called those whom the Father had given to
Him. He called them one by one, called them by name,
repeatedly told them to come and see for themselves,
and showed them where and how He lived. He treated
them as real persons, even giving them a new name.
They responded to Jesus in His Person. They went
with Him and saw where and how He lived. They began
a process of personal relationship, not perfect
in the beginning, but they went on to bring even
their own brothers to Jesus. Andrew called Simon
and John his brother James. They began to share
Jesus with them. And so followed Philip who brought
his friend Nathaniel. They began to follow Jesus
as the Lamb of God, as the Savior, as the one announced
by the prophets. Little by little the Good News
of salvation was explained to them. Later they grasped
it much better.
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This
first community of the disciples of Jesus was based
on interpersonal relationships: primarily fraternal
relationship with Jesus who is Messiah and Lord.
This is what an ecclesial team is. It is a community
because it shares a common vision. It is ecclesial
because it is a primary relationship among members
who work to bring about the fullness of all that
they share with Christ. This collaboration with
Jesus is dynamic because He is the one who is the
way, showing by His Presence, by His Words and His
Works, what must be done in the will of the Father.
"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.
Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son
and the Holy Spirit, and teach them all that I have
commanded you." "As you have sent me Father into
the world, so now I send them into the world."
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SECTION
6. The Ecclesial Team and the Mystery of the Incarnation.
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Jesus
is God Incarnate. He is man like the rest of us.
He spoke like the people of His time, worked with
them. dressed like them and ate with them. He had
the same history and culture they did. He held no
title of distinction. He was like them in all things
but sin, which is the division He came to conquer.
And He won victories over the world, the flesh,
the devil and death. In order to be able to offer
all men the mystery of salvation and life eternal
with God, the Church must encompass and witness
to ecclesial teams. The same motive, which led Christ
to bind Himself in virtue of His incarnation to
all the realities in which man is found, must be
present in the ecclesial teams. Thus these teams
have to be incarnated just as Jesus was, in every
situation and in every age. Not to understand the
situation that is here and now is to fail in our
efforts to make Jesus present, to make fruitful
His works and His words. We have to work with the
reality that is before us. In doing so we incarnate
ourselves. We become one with that reality as we
become the yeast that ferments and lifts it up.
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Vatican
II urges us: "Let us be familiar with the national,
and religious traditions of the people among whom
we live, gladly and reverently laying bare the seeds
of the Word which lie hidden in them. Again, let
missionaries be joined to the people be esteem and
love and acknowledge themselves to be members of
the people among whom they live. Let them share
in the culture and social life of mission lands."
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This
aspect of becoming one in the mystery of the Incarnation
in the ecclesial team is a challenge to our originality
and creativity - a challenge that must be met by
blending an awareness of the here and now situations,
with all that Jesus has proclaimed and given to
us. Proclaim the Good News to all creation, Jesus
says, in His saving, liberating work of communion
of man with God and God with man.
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SECTION
7. Other aspects of the Ecclesial Teams Mission
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(I)...
living the Word
The
ecclesial team lives the Word. The Word was made
flesh and flesh is made Word. It is a living Word
that gives meaning to all others. It is the Word
that announces the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom where
all are children of Our Father, made in His image
and likeness, brothers and sisters of Jesus. The
Word goes beyond sound. It creates and builds the
Kingdom of God. The Word, creator of the world,
is the same Word that creates God's Kingdom. That
Kingdom reveals another way of life, another kind
of society, one in which we truly live as brothers
and sisters with our older brother Jesus, living
for God and with Him as one with our Father here
on earth.
(II)...
worship
The
ecclesial team worships. There is a liturgical and
sacramental work which is given to us as well in
the command of Jesus to His disciples, baptize those
who believe. Baptism, therefore, introduces others
into their community and into the ecclesial team.
Others will come and associate in various ways with
the team. The living of the Sacraments is the very
center of our worshipping life - the Eucharist being
the summit. To us who serve in ecclesial teams,
the Eucharist is a sign, it is a reality, it is
the very center of our lives, and for it is there
in the Eucharist that we begin. From Him who gives
us power to transform the world, we go forth and
then return to that Eucharist as the end of all
our ministry.
(III)...
life of communion
The
ecclesial team ministers in a pastoral aspect of
what Jesus has taught in His command to the disciples:
"Teach them all that I have commanded you." Jesus
teaches us that the Way of life that is to be lived
by us as disciples in our ecclesial teams, is a
life of love and understanding. We are to live in
communion not only with ourselves, but also with
all others, as in the communion of the Trinity.
We must live in union and in unity, for we are a
people brought together by the unity of the Father,
Son, and the Holy Spirit.
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Let
us finally say that our ecclesial teams are communities
in which Christ manifests Himself and that in His
presence, everything is seen in a new light. We
truly desire to bring ourselves to fullness in the
ecclesial team, for what motivates us is truly the
love of Our Father in Christ and through the Spirit,
towards all, so that God may fulfill His divine
plan that He be all in all.
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SECTION
8: How to form an Ecclesial Team?
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Following
now the witness of Jesus as He calls in the Gospels,
let us consider how we are to form or begin an ecclesial
team. There is not a single way to start. We see
that with Jesus it is a person-to-person relationship.
These relationships can be initiated as we serve
in various ministries, realizing that God has given
gifts and charisms be used in service. There is
of course, diversity within unity. The unity of
being called to a particular charism is very important
to the team, but we must not, however, lose sight
of the value of our brother-sister relationships
that are given to us in Christ, outside of the charism
of the team or our own charism.
- Training:
As we begin, there is a desire and a need for
intensive training. Training will be more effective
when it is done by persons who are working with
the ecclesial teams. There will be a need for
those who are apart from the team to help the
team grow; in other communities there will be
those with skills that are needed by the ecclesial
team. The team itself must start gradually.
As the team grows, the deeper, intensive training
may be given as the opportunity arises. Interest
in the team must be kept in the forefront by
the members of the team and remain a binding
force and a top priority. The team will move
gradually from its one ministry to the reality
of that transforming love which Jesus has for
each member, forming them into a single heart,
mind and soul.
- The
spirit to be present in the teams: Openness
and creativity. What I would to speak to in
considering how to start and develop your ecclesial
teams, is the reality of the spirit that should
be actually present in the team. There is in
the team ministry a common interest. There must
be a certain spirit of searching, a spirit of
openness, of creativity. This spirit must be
founded on principles and this will bring us
to a spirit of action. We are action-orientated,
but that must grow from a deep contemplative
reality. We must open ourselves to that reality
in prayer and reflection. Our daily liturgy,
therefore, must also flavor all of the spirit
that is present and bring us truly to the realization
that all of our ministries are certainly only
an extension of the work of Jesus that continues
on with us and through us.
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Reflection and awareness: We must use reflection,
also especially from the point of view of our
faith, so that we can form the conviction of
the reality of viewing God as a loving God,
who desires us to come to that oneness with
Him that He has within Himself. There must be
a critical awareness of the situation that we
will serve. This critical analysis will give
us the dimensions that have to be brought to
development within ourselves in the particular
area of need.
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Evaluation and friendship: We may be able to
bring our ministry to grow through developing
our knowledge of various sciences, for example,
anthropology, psychology, sociology or in some
other particular field, such as natural sciences.
Our ministry should also have a spirit of evaluation
to see if everybody has shared in the process
and done their part. This evaluation is necessary
for us to be real. There should be among the
members also a spirit of friendship. In friendship,
we deepen our relationships with each other
as brothers and sisters in our oneness, in the
Body of Christ in our likeness to God and in
our oneness with the Father.
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Simplicity and responsibility: In the beginning,
I would suggest that your ecclesial team meetings
be very simple. They should start on time. There
should be a real warmth among everybody there.
There should be a report on the previous meetings.
That someone should be prepared to help in the
reflection and study that would go on at that
particular meeting. There should be proposals
for actions. Responsibilities should be given
to each person. There should be prayer in which
all participate. There should be an evaluation
of the meeting held and preparation for the
following meeting. There should be coordination,
reflection, research or anything else that is
really necessary to make the meeting run smoothly
and productively.
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SECTION
9: Some dangers to be found in beginnings.
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There
are some dangers in beginnings and I would just
like to point out a few.
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- Internal
problems: All groups have internal problems
and many more can be solved in our lifetime,
but we do not want to wait until we have all
the problems solved and be perfect before dealing
with the realities of what God has called us
to do. As we see the faults and failings of
the disciples we see that they had begun their
ministry in the ecclesial team which Jesus had
gathered around Him. We should follow this pattern.
It is necessary for the team to grow in relationships
and commitments to others. Unless, you do this,
you become selfish and very caught into yourself.
As we said, it is necessary to pay too much
attention to this. Being together is very good,
but it must not be something that is just simply
beautiful and touching but rather something
that brings us to a true commitment to act with
Christ.
- Fear
of commitment: There is also the danger of fear
of commitment, because of fear of conflict.
We may try to avoid any type of conflict situation,
or we may feel that if we do have conflicts,
it is a sign that something is very deeply wrong.
The truth is that it is impossible to have a
commitment in the modern world without encountering
some conflicts. We have to sustain each other
in tense times of conflicts. We do this by recognizing
the conflicts and searching for the truth and
being willing to pay the price to grow together
as an ecclesial team. In this regard some have
difficulties with egoism (they do not want to
admit that there are any other opinions or options
that might be very valuable for them to develop.)
- Centering
on self: There is a danger of narrowing in upon
themselves and nuclearizing themselves. There
is also the danger of short term enthusiasm
– there can be feelings of great joy in beginnings,
with a new vision as far as the Church is concerned,
but as we encounter realitity that begins to
level off and frustration can set in if you
do not have solid, long term plans.
- Failure
to evaluate: Another danger is to fail to evaluate
the full impact of ongoing and necessary developments
and changes. Sometimes the teams tend to ignore
the realities that are surrounding them or fail
to read the signs of the times. As an ecclesial
team you are at all times to inspire, direct
and correct each other in your actions as well
as in your commitments. This will help you to
strike a balance between the fullness of charity
and action. It will make you realize that you
are in the work of God, to bring forth and establish
the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven.
At the same time you are to become one with
God as Jesus prays.
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SECTION
10: Ministries in the Ecclesial Team
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I
would like to speak to the ministries in the ecclesial
teams. In accord with the gift of the Spirit, there
is a diversity of gifts and talents in the Church.
The word ministry comes from the Latin word meaning
servants, service. The ministry of Jesus continues
in the service of the faithful to build up the Body
of Christ – that is, what Christ worked to do and
that is what He wants us to do. Ministry, works
at all levels. It words at the level of the ecclesial
team, the basic Christian community, the parish,
the diocese, the Church and the entire world. There
are different kinds of ministry. There are the hierarchical
and lay ministries. But in a wide sense any service
rendered to the people of God is a ministry of Jesus.
We know that Jesus is the only minister of the fullness
of the gift of God. He exercises the ministry within
us in the various communities.
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1.
Personal Ministry: Thus in your ecclesial team you
discover your own personal ministry. It is there
that you will discover the gifts God has given to
you and how they can be used to the greatest fruitfulness
for the glory of God. Each person in the service
training is to find the best ways to exercise the
ministries to which God is calling him or him. Because
you are in a small ecclesial team this can be done
gradually. Each one begins his task within his own
competence and then, overcoming timidity and pride,
as well as other obstacles, grows in confidence,
realizing that with Christ we can do all things.
The fruitfulness found in the ministry builds up
our confidence in God. That He is with us and that
we can do the ministry he has given us, even though
we know that by ourselves it is beyond our capability.
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It
is impossible to be about the work of Jesus in our
ministries and not experience other people's problems.
We find that various expressions of laziness, timidity,
insecurity, lack of communication, lack of principles,
fear of making mistakes and lack of creativity are
present and can be overcome if we actually use the
experience that God gives us and profit by it, seeing
it as part of the process by which God has involved
us in a particular ministry. Then we will realize
the fullness of what the Father has destined for
us and we will work to bring for the fruitfulness
of His vineyard in the ministry he has given us.
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2.
Setting Priorities: We must likewise set priorities
in our ministries, depending on the circumstances
and the needs of the people of God. These needs
will determine a great deal of what the plan is
that God has for our work here, the intensity of
the work, the number of those who will serve, etc.
By recognizing the need and the work to be done,
we can set up the necessary guidelines for our ministry
or service to help the whole person and the universal
Church. Our plan can eventually become more comprehensive
and encompass more. This is truly in accord with
our Father's plan and pleasing to Him.
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SECTION
11: Final Exhortation
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We
must have a sensitivity to recognize that our ministry
comes from Christ and that we are becoming obedient
to the mission of the Father, just as Jesus was
in His salvific ministry.
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These
realities finally confirm Jesus as prophet, priest
and king. We realize that from our baptism we share
these realities of Christ and that Christ is really
the only minister and servant of humanity and we
are one with Him. This frees us from a lot of divergence
in egoism or to falsities that might divert us from
the honor of God. May your ecclesial team and ministry
give honor and glory to God, bring us to love Him
for himself, and manifest his greatness.
With my priestly blessings,
Fr. Santan Pinto SOLT
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