By Amanda Murthy
“There are people coming to your parish Masses looking for a spiritual home. They are looking for a people who show personally and communally the Jesus lives in and among them.
“Many more will come once your new church is built, they will stay if they find the Living Jesus in you and they will be looking for the face of Jesus in your faces.”
These were the words of Perth Auxiliary Bishop Don Sproxton, who spoke to the Baldivis Parish community during his visit to celebrate Mass and blessing of the foundations of the Church on Sunday 7 July.
The occasion was a way to officially mark the beginning of the building of the new Mother Teresa Catholic Church building.
Bishop Sproxton celebrated the Mass with Baldivis Parish Priest Father Geoff Aldous as concelebrant.
The parish church, which has been nine years in the making, received its construction approvals on 30 May this year.
During his homily, Bishop Sproxton took the time to share his reflections on the readings of the day, explaining the charism and ministry of the missionary which is what Jesus called the first disciples to, and how He began forming them, as highlighted in the Gospel reading.
“This would be one of Jesus’ great challenges but, by and large, the first missionaries were able to work with him to build the first Christian communities,” he stated.
“Success came whenever the missionaries depended on the spirit of Jesus and His Gospel message and Saint Luke stresses that what is needed above all else is attachment to Jesus and detachment from other plans and strategies.
“He realised, probably from his own experience, that when we take our focus away from Jesus and His message and look to gimmicks and slick methods, we quickly loose our way,” Bishop Sproxton added.
Acknowledging the “flourishing of ministries in the Church” since the bishops of the world met with Popes John XXIII and Paul VI in the Vatican Council of the early 1960s, Bishop Sproxton said that more lay Catholics have accepted the invitation to take on roles of ministry work within their parish community.
“This next church in the Archdiocese will stand in a sort of sacramental way as a sign that a Catholic community exists in the midst of this district,” he affirmed.
“In its own way, even silently, it will invite people to come and see. Come and see the one we have been seeking.
“We pray that when they come to see and to find Jesus in the midst of this parish community, they will clearly see him through the warmth of our welcome and their inclusion in the community as brothers and sisters,” Bishop Sproxton concluded.