FROM THE PASTOR'S DESK……

JUNE 20, 2004

Dear Fellow Parishioners,

    In the rite of baptism, there is a touching moment that sometimes gets overlooked or lost to the attention of those participating and observing because of its simplicity and brevity.  I'm talking about the clothing ceremony with the white garment after the candidate has been baptized and anointed with chrism.  Usually it is the role of the godmother to clothe her godson or goddaughter with the white robe.  It is a loving gesture of care and concern for the newly baptized.  It also symbolizes the desire to prepare and equip that person for life ahead just as a mother or father clothes their child to get them off to school or a husband or wife buttons a dress or fixes a tie to get their partner ready for a special event.

    Our second reading, appointed to be read on this Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time from the Letter to the Galatians, refers to this custom.  St. Paul says:  "THROUGH FAITH YOU ARE ALL CHILDREN OF GOD IN CHRIST JESUS.  FOR ALL OF YOU WHO WERE BAPTIZED INTO CHRIST HAVE CLOTHED YOURSELVES WITH CHRIST."  (See Galatians 3: 26)  We have been studying the Pastoral Letter "AS I HAVE DONE FOR YOU" these past two weeks which bases the call to ministry in the church and in the world upon the sacrament of our baptism which we all share together whether clergy or laity.  Equipping and preparing one another for service in God's Kingdom, according to the Pastoral Letter by Cardinal Mahony, requires that we plan for the future with an eye towards collaboration and inclusiveness in carrying out our call to ministry.  Cardinal Mahony describes collaboration in this way:  "TRUE COLLABORATION REQUIRES AN APPRECIATION OF THE DISTINCTION AND DIFFERENTIATION OF ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES IN THE BODY OF CHRIST, TOGETHER WITH A CLEAR RECOGNITION OF THE FUNDAMENTAL EQUALITY OF ALL THE BAPTIZED, ORDAINED AND NONORDAINED.  FOR EFFECTIVE COLLABORATION TO OCCUR, EACH ONE MUST BELIEVE THAT HE OR SHE HAS SOMETHING TO OFFER, AND HAVE TRUST IN THE GIFTS THAT OTHERS BRING TO OUR COMMON TASK.  ABOVE ALL, WE MUST BE WILLING TO ADMIT THAT WE CAN ACHIEVE SOMETHING TOGETHER THAT WE CANNOT ACHIEVE ALONE."  ("AS I HAVE DONE FOR YOU",  p. 28 paragraph #1)

     If we've learned anything as a result of the San Simeon Earthquake and our struggle to continue to survive as a parish in its aftermath, it is that we cannot achieve our goal "alone."  In the days and weeks ahead, I'll be proposing some concrete and definite strategies to accomplish our goal of collaboration & inclusiveness in ministry here at the Old Mission Parish.

                                                         Sincerely yours in Christ,


    Fr. Raymond J. Tintle, OFM
                                                         Pastor