OAPCE
2024 message from the Liaison Bishop
✠ Yvan Mathieu, SM
Dear members of the Ontario Association of Parents in Catholic Education (OAPCE),
Even though I am a little late, let me start by offering you my best wishes for the New Year. May “the Lord bless you and keep you; [may] the LORD make his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; [may] the LORD lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.” (Num. 6:24-25)
Throughout this year, during our Sunday liturgies, we will read the Holy Gospel according to Saint Mark. “Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news’.” (Mk 1:14-15). These first words of Jesus are an invitation to seize the moment. This is the time, the kairos, when the kingdom of God is near. Why? Because Jesus, the risen Lord, is among us. He says: “Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me.” (Rev. 3:20)
As Catholic parents, how are we to open the door to Christ and allow him to be present in the life of our families? Here are a few suggestions. Prayer is a wonderful way to start a day. We could create a little moment as the little family is getting ready in the morning to offer our day to the Lord. We could ask him for his blessing and for his protection. We could also ask for the help of the Spirit to support each family member in his/her challenges of the day.
Another way of turning to the Lord (this is the meaning of “to repent”) is to make sure we take the time to share one meal a day as a family. In today’s hectic way of life, we often must take quick meals, then to be on the run. Occasionally, the whole family could take some time to eat slowly and to exchange about what each member lived during the day. That meal could start with a short prayer. And in the conversation, we could relate the shared experience to a passage of Scripture we remember. These are a few means to open the door to Christ and to allow the kingdom of God to be in our midst.
These little moments will allow us to be faithful to the mission Christ entrusted us with. Let us remember Jesus’ last words in Mark’s Gospel: “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation.” (Mk 16,15) I pray that what we are, what we do, and what we say in our daily lives as Catholic parents always be a proclamation of the good news. Let us open the door of our hearts. If we do so, what a year it will be!