“We need to surrender to the joy of the Gospel,” Bishop Barnes said. “Through our faith in Jesus, we can be made instruments of hope for the world. Our families need that. We need it too.”
The San Bernardino Pastoral Region had its Combined Vicariate Meeting on Feb. 5, while the Riverside Pastoral Region gathered on Feb. 11. One of the pressing concerns Bishop Barnes addressed was the upcoming Synod of Bishops on the Family and the World Meeting of Families.
In preparation for the Synod of Bishops in October, Pope Francis asked that the perspectives of the faithful be included in the conversation. In response to the Pope’s invitation, Bishop Barnes requested the preparatory document and questionnaire be distributed to as many people as possible. The local responses will then be summarized and sent to the Vatican.
“Be creative in the way you present this, so you can get more people involved,” Bishop Barnes said. “When the Synod is happening, the people will know that they were involved, that they were a part of the conversation.”
The World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia will also be held around the same time. Bishop Barnes saw the aligning of the two events focused on the family as an opportunity for parishes to place a focused effort on reaching out to families.
“My hope is parishes will do something creative to connect with what is happening in Philadelphia. Maybe you will perform some sort of ritual or have a social.”
Some of other suggestions offered by the Bishop included organizing a family night, healing Mass for families, gatherings for families with special needs children, gatherings for older parishioners, processions, and blessings.
“Use the creative power of the Holy Spirit to engage your parishioners so that when the Holy Father arrives in Philadelphia, they may feel connected,” Bishop Barnes said.
While the parishes may organize many gatherings and activities, Bishop Barnes reminded parishes to not overlook issues and challenges many families are facing. Families face challenges like racism, atheism, euthanasia, immigration, domestic violence, suicide, human trafficking, infectious disease, and concern over jobs, education and politics.
“How do we bring that into our prayers? We can’t run away from reality,” Bishop Barnes said. “We need to rediscover what our Church teaches, so that we can walk together.”
Parishes ought to strive to reach out to their parishioners, finding ways to engage them and walk with them, he said.
“We need to be intentional in reaching out to others who are not involved in ministry, not so that they join a ministry, but so that they can be Church wherever they are. In short, we need to impact all, so they are moved to living the faith.”