The Archdiocese of Port of Spain will meet and overcome every challenge that comes its way.

That was the stout declaration made by Archbishop Edward Gilbert as he preached the homily as chief celebrant at last Sunday's annual La Divina Pastora celebrations in Siparia. Parish priest Fr Stephen Doyle, OP concelebrated.

“We can do this. We will do this. And we will do it together,” affirmed the archbishop to an – as expected - overcrowded La Divina Pastora Church.

The Archbishop began his sermon by informing the congregation that the April 30 - May 5 meeting of Caribbean bishops in St Lucia was held under tight security due to the recent attempt on the life of Archbishop Kelvin Felix.

He said there were many who were against the Church and that there were reports that a “non-Catholic sect” was attempting to “take over the Caribbean ”.

He declared that he would not allow that to happen here and that the Church would meet this challenge while remaining “committed to inter-faith dialogue and the ecumenical movement”.

He said another challenge being faced was a shortage of priests, brought about by a combination of factors – the death of five priests in the last eight months, ill health among the clergy and the Government's policy which required foreign priests and other expats to leave the country for a year after serving for three years. The solution required collective discussion, the Archbishop stated.

“We must find a way, we must come together…and dialogue” as this situation would be with us for the next five to ten years, he said.

Reflecting on the readings and the Gospel, Archbishop Gilbert noted that shepherding was “personal and demanding” and required “the shepherd” – whether priest or laity – to be present to the people “in sickness, in health, in baptism, in death…in joy or sorrow”.

Archbishop at the sign of peace during the Mass at La Divina Pastora

But he said the Church seemed to have lost its way in that regard.

“One of the things the Roman Catholic Church was good at for centuries was being present to the people… somehow though, as Church, we may have lost that,” he remarked, adding that the Church needed to once again be present to people and to actively listen, as many in the society were hurting. Archbishop Gilbert highlighted the role of women, saying the archdiocese has benefited greatly from women's involvement in ministry.

“The shepherding power of women is extraordinary,” he commented.

Continuing on shepherding, he said an important duty of the shepherd was to protect the sheep and, in this context, one form of protection was to educate the sheep in Christian values. Without that, the sheep “would be in trouble”, he stated.

Speaking earlier on the topic of witnessing, the archbishop said the faithful must recognise their role.

“If we appreciate who we are in Christ and what we are given, we will be compelled to share our faith and touch the lives of people who have no relationship with God. With our lives, we must imitate the values of God,” he said.

He went on to say that people for various reasons, either accepted, rejected or were indifferent to God's message. In our world today, he said, there was a “massive wave of indifference…People just don't care… It is up to us to witness to them so strongly that they begin to doubt their position”.

As it was Vocations Sunday, Archbishop Gilbert reiterated that the Church needed the various vocations – priesthood, religious life, married life, single life. Noting that the entire archdiocese was represented at the La Divina Pastora celebration by pilgrims from various parishes, he asked the congregation when last “you encouraged a young man from your parish to join the priesthood?” He continued: “It's a two-way street...I can't create robots.”

The liturgy continued, punctuated by the lively singing of the joint parish choir, which infused the hymns with African rhythms. For the meditation, the choir sang La Divina Pastora .

The celebration ended with the customary procession along Siparia's main streets with the statue of La Divina Pastora.

The archbishop later conducted Benediction and blessed oils and other religious items for pilgrims. - RS