Live Advent well – Archbishop

By Kaelanne Jordan, kjordan.camsel@rcpos.org

Catholics ought to live the Advent season “really well” and prepare for Christ’s coming, Archbishop Jason Gordon said in the final instalment of Ask the Archbishop Live chat 2018 last Wednesday.

The Archbishop observed that as Catholics prepare their homes for Christmas, so must they ready their hearts and lives for His coming. “So when Christmas Day comes, it will be a major climax and you will be ready to receive this infant king who comes as one who is humble and one who is absolutely open to the whole community,” he said.

During the live chat, Archbishop Gordon discussed a myriad of topics, including the archdiocese’s pastoral plan. He shared that this planning process is taking much time, and feedback received was that more was required by parishioners. The Archbishop reminded the faithful that their feedback is critical for the planning committee to “shape and reshape” the ongoing plan.

“That’s why from the beginning we divided the plan in two [parts]: 2018 is planning at the level of the Archdiocese and 2019 is going to be planning at the level of the parish.”

Archbishop Gordon further explained that in 2019, the planning committee will require that “certain” conversations be discussed at a parish level to allow parishioners to really move the dialogue forward.

“…So that the feedback we have received from several parishes around the archdiocese is going to lead us into how to structure 2019, and how to help the parishes in 2019 have a very sharp focus on one hand and on the other hand, to keep that pastoral process going so that the parishes will develop their own pastoral plan and that will be what will guide them for the next five years,” he said.

Ultimately, Archbishop Gordon believed that “digging deep” in thinking and listening will ensure that they move the archdiocese forward from its current state to “where God wants us to get to”.

The general public is invited to download the pastoral plan via the Archdiocesan websites or ‘The Archdiocese of Port of Spain’ Facebook page and share comments/feedback. More in a coming issue.