Archbishop visits Tobago

Archbishop Jason Gordon made his first pastoral visit to Tobago last weekend (May 19–20) and called for Catholics to “rekindle the fire of the Holy Spirit”.

Delivering the Saturday evening homily at St Joseph RC, Scarborough, Archbishop Gordon identified the ability to recognise the Father and the Son but difficulty in seeing the Spirit.

At a time when the Catholic Church seems to have lost its impact in the world and is taken for granted, the archbishop said Catholics need to open themselves again to the Holy Spirit to receive the power, authority, capabilities and gifts of the Spirit as the disciples did on the day of Pentecost.

The gifts of Pentecost in the New Testament bear in their power the gift of the Ten Commandments given to Moses by God in the Old Testament. “These gifts though received individually by each person, are meant for the common good, for the whole body of Church and the whole body of Christ,” he emphasised.

On Saturday morning, the archbishop also attended the final Service held within the Tobago Council of Churches ‘Week of Prayer’, where he shared a brief reflection and encouraged the Council to strive for greater unity as stipulated in the Gospel of John and commented, “Our failure to do so will be grievous to God.”

During his visit to the Scarborough parish, Archbishop Gordon met with leaders of various ministries and groups including the Sisters of St Joseph of Cluny.

He also ventured to the Delaford parish on Sunday, celebrating Mass at Sacred Heart RC and met members of the Eternal Light Community.

Issues and concerns were raised by the faithful, among them problems regarding infrastructural repairs for the Tobago Vicariate. Archbishop Gordon promised to make at least two visits annually to Tobago. — Agnes Murray