Circular 37/2024
November 01, 2024
My dear collaborators,
We begin a new month, November, with the celebration of ALL SAINTS DAY – a day when the Church reminds us of the universal call to holiness. The day was instituted to honour all the Saints, both known and unknown, and (according to Pope Urban IV) to supply any deficiencies in the faithful’s celebration of the Saints’ Feasts during the year. On November 02, we will remember all those who have passed away from our midst – from our own families, our brother priests, not forgetting the late Bishop Thomas Bhalerao SJ, the first Bishop of our Diocese, religious men and women, significant people who have made a deep impact on our lives, and yes, all those souls who have no one to pray for them. It is my sincere request to each one of you to remember and pray for the souls in Purgatory, that they be liberated and enjoy the bliss of the heavenly glory where there will be no more weeping, but only joy and happiness in the Risen Lord.
We will also celebrate the 8th World Day of the Poor on Sunday, November 17 with the theme, “The prayer of the poor rises up to God” (cf. Sirach 21:5). Please find enclosed the message of Pope Francis for the 8th World Day of the Poor.
May I earnestly request you to organize programmes in your parishes/institutions/communities where the poor, irrespective of caste, colour or creed are treated as our brothers and sisters. The Liturgical Year comes to an end with the celebration of the Solemnity of Christ the Universal King on Sunday, November 24. It is on this day that we must reflect on our leadership role as baptized into the Body of Christ: do we exercise our leadership role as servants of Christ whose kingship was one of service unto death out of love for his people, or do we see ourselves and act as Lords and Masters? The world needs more and more people like St Teresa of Kolkata who is our role model, reaching out to the poorest of the poor in acts of joyful service. Could we rise to the occasion, and become witnesses of the Lord Jesus who taught us “not to be served, but to serve” ensuring no one is in want in all our parishes/institutions/communities and our society at large. May I remind you that we have to inaugurate the CCBI Pastoral Plan in all the parishes of our Diocese on Sunday, November 24. I had sent you this information a couple of weeks ago. As the day draws near, I will remind you of this important event in the life of the Indian Church.
With the XVI General Ordinary Synod over and all the delegates having returned to their respective places, may I inform you that the Catholic Church has undergone Diocesan, National and Continental stages as well as the first phase of the Synod at the Vatican in October 2023. The second phase of the Synod that has just ended culminated the discernment phase of the Synod. During the concluding Eucharistic celebration of the Synod on Sunday, October 27, Pope Francis said, “The Church, in turn, does this when it takes up the cry of all the women and men of the world who seek the joy of the Gospel, wish to rediscover faith, or are set back by suffering poverty or marginalization; we do not need a sedentary and defeatist Church, but a Church that hears the cry of the world and gets its hands dirty in serving”. May each one of us discover ways and means to ensure more and more communion, participation and mission so that our Diocese becomes a missionary and inclusive one. Please find enclosed a summary of the document presented to Pope Francis that will inspire us to make all our parishes and our Diocese truly a synodal one.
May I draw to your kind attention an important aspect of our ministry. I would be happy if you could set time aside and visit your parishioners regularly. Visiting is an important aspect of our ministry. We need to visit and interact with our parishioners in a systematic manner. As Pope Francis said and continues to exhort us, “priests should be shepherds living with the smell of the sheep” (March 28, 2013).
Besides the aspect of visiting, may I also request you to brainstorm programmes and/or events with the help of your Parish Pastoral Council members that would make the celebration of the Ordinary Jubilee Year 2025 a memorable one for your parishioners. Fr Kishor Vidhate, Coordinator, Ordinary Jubilee Year 2025, will surely suggest some ideas to help celebrate the Ordinary Jubilee Year 2025 at the parish level, zonal level and Diocesan level. Please note that the Inauguration of the Ordinary Jubilee Year 2025 will be held at St Anne’s Cathedral, Nashik on Sunday, December 29 with a solemn Mass at 4.30 p.m. Details of who can attend the inaugural Mass will be communicated to you later. In the meantime, please block the date and do not organize any programme(s) on Sunday, December 29 during the evening hours.
On October 24, 2024, Pope Francis released his 4th Encyclical letter entitled Dilexit Nos, “He Loved Us” on the Human and Divine Love of the Heart of Jesus Christ. This Encyclical born out of the spiritual experience of Pope Francis, who senses the drama of the enormous suffering produced by wars and the many ongoing acts of violence, wants to be close to those who suffer by proposing the message of Divine Love that comes to save us. I would like to quote two paragraphs from the end of the Encyclical where the Pope sees each of us as called to a mission of love at the service of the Gospel: “In the light of the Sacred Heart, mission becomes a matter of love, and the greatest risk in this mission is that many things are said and done, but the happy encounter with the love of Christ that embraces and saves is not brought about” (n. 208). Therefore, the mission, ‘requires missionaries in love, who still allow themselves to be conquered by Christ and who cannot help but transmit this love that has changed their lives’ (n. 209). The Holy Father goes on to explain, “This love then becomes service within the community. I never tire of repeating that Jesus told us this in the clearest terms possible: “Just as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me” (Mt 25:40). He now asks you to meet him there, in every one of our brothers and sisters, and especially in the poor, the despised and the abandoned members of society. What a beautiful encounter that can be!” (n. 213). I take to heart, personally, the words of Pope Francis and I offer them to each of you and our people, “Jesus is calling you and sending you forth to spread goodness in our world. His call is one of service, a summons to do good, perhaps as a physician, a mother, a teacher or a priest. Wherever you may be, you can hear his call and realize that He is sending you forth to carry out that mission.” (n. 215)
May we grow to be Missionaries of love in our Diocese drawing grace and strength from the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, and spreading His love especially to the poor and needy in our Diocese.
Thank you for the wonderful work you are doing in the Diocese and with every good wish,
Yours in Christ,
+Barthol Barretto
Bishop, Diocese of Nashik