Letter to all Parishioners

Dear Friends in Christ,

     In his recent letter, Pope Francis writes of his dream for a “missionary option” - one that impels that Church to go out into the world, adapting its customs and practices as needed, to evangelize the world and share the Good News of Jesus Christ. “An evangelizing community knows that the Lord has taken the first initiative, he has loved us first, and therefore we can  move forward, boldly take the initiative, go out to others, seek those who have fallen away, stand at the  crossroads, and welcome the outcast...Let us try a little harder to take the first step and become involved.” (Evangelii Gaudium, 24)
     This is our first step.
     The Collaborative of our two parishes, Sacred Heart and Our Lady Help of Christians, is not simply a new organizational structure. The Newton Collaborative, like all other Collaboratives in the Archdiocese, is intended to be a school of discipleship, where parishioners can come to experience a renewed, or a new, heartfelt knowledge of Christ.
     All of us who have been baptized have become Christ’s students, His disciples. We have been touched by His love, which then impels us to live our discipleship on a daily basis.
     The challenge that has been handed on to us is to ask the Lord to give us new insight and engaging faith experiences that will sustain and deepen our friendship with the Lord and with one another, by means that are both traditional and contemporary.
     Over the last two years, members of Sacred Heart and Our Lady’s have developed a Pastoral Plan that is meant to guide and support our life as a community of faith, and enable us, both as a community and as individuals, to be a   living Gospel for others to see and hear. This Pastoral Plan will gradually give form and shape to our inner life and to our common mission as Catholics within Sacred Heart and Our Lady’s.
     The Pastoral Plan defines our Purpose—our reason for existing; our Vision—how we see ourselves now and in the future; and our Priorities—the focus and direction for our communities over the next few years. It describes ways that, as a collaborative community, we:

Encounter Christ     Respond in Love     Share the Good News

     We invite you to read and reflect on the Pastoral Plan and prayerfully consider your own calling as a disciple of Christ. Over the next weeks and months, you will have opportunities to become actively involved in helping to address our priorities.
     As we continue on this journey together, let’s pray for one another—that our admiration of Christ will continue to increase, that our capacity to imitate Christ will be strengthened, and that, as communities of faith, we will clearly be seen and felt as people who, by grace, participate in the very life of Christ, for the wellbeing of others and the glory of God.

Peace,
Father John Sassani
October 2015