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1. ARCHDIOCESAN POST-SYNODAL BULLETIN 2.
My dearly beloved in Christ Jesus,
Peace be with you all! As I mentioned in our first Archdiocesan Post-Synodal Bulletin, the year 2010 is the second year in our Ten Year Strategic Pastoral Development Plan (2009-20018). This year is dedicated to the in-depth study of the Acts of our Second Synod, and to the implementation of the plan towards the renewal of our Church and the fulfilment of our vocation and mission in the Archdiocese.
I therefore like to dedicate this bulletin to the first chapter of our Acts entitled “Call to Holiness and the Sanctification of our Archdiocese”.
First among the recommendations is that “pastors and pastoral co-workers, should make every effort to grow in holiness and to work towards the sanctification of the faithful People of God in this Archdiocese”.
Our Synodal Acts emphasize that “for a true renewal of the Church in the Archdiocese of Accra to take place, it must begin with a life of sanctification in our Archbishop, the Priests and Religious and of all the Lay faithful, be they in marriage and family life, or our youth and children, as well as those of our Church members called to leadership in the social, political, economic and traditional sectors of life today”.
In answer to this call for the renewal in holiness and the sanctification of our Archdiocese, and as recommended in the Acts, we celebrated the First Vespers of last Advent (December 2009) at the Holy Spirit Cathedral, during which our dear lay faithful were introduced to the praying of the Liturgy of the Hours and we also launched the Archdiocesan Year for the Priests as requested by our Holy Father.
It is my hope and prayer that many more parishes will soon take up the prayer of the Liturgy of the Hours regularly by our lay faithful.
Secondly, permit me to call attention to the supreme importance of our liturgical celebrations especially of the Sacraments of the Holy Eucharist, of Penance and Reconciliation, etc., as very indispensable channels of grace instituted by Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ for the holiness and sanctification of our lives.
The time has therefore come for us, especially the Clergy and Religious, to become more concerned about the celebrations of our liturgy and to ensure that the liturgical rites and ceremonies are performed in accordance with the Church’s teaching (i.e. the General Introduction to the Roman Missal-GIRM).
Our Synod mothers and fathers commented on the lack of decorum and true expression of our Catholic faith in the Church’s liturgical worship of late, due to an incorrect sense of ecumenism and inculturation. This is seemingly due to weak, if not even the total absence of appropriate knowledge of our faith and our Church’s time-tested and officially approved liturgical traditions.
I therefore call for regular and sustained liturgical catechesis in all our Church communities, especially during meetings of the various lay societies. This catechesis is to be done by the priests and religious who have been trained for it so that our lay faithful will know their Catholic faith and worship the Lord our God as is required of them. This expectation is captured in the axiom “lex credendi, lex orandi, lex celebrandi” (see Synodal Acts ch. 2).
It is only in this way that we can ensure what the Second Vatican Council asks of all, namely “the full, active, conscious and devout participation” in the Church’s worship.
Wishing you all a fruitful season of Lent; let us be more prayerful than before, undertake more practice of self-denial and good works as Holy Church recommends, I remain
Most Rev. Charles. G. PALMER-BUCKLE,
Metropolitan Archbishop of Accra.
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