Come and See - Diocese of Leeds

Year 3 - Being the Local Church - Celebrating Being Catholic

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What does it mean to belong to the Church? How can we deepen our understanding of what it means to be a Catholic? How can we celebrate being the Church in the parishes and schools of our diocese?

These questions are fundamental for Year 3 of Come & See, launched at the beginning of Advent 2007 with the theme Being the Local Church – Celebrating being Catholic. Building on our focus on Scripture and Prayer in Year 1, and on Repentance and Reconciliation in Year 2, this coming year presents us with an opportunity to reflect on and celebrate what it means to be a member of Christ’s body and to live as branches grafted onto Jesus the true and living vine. It’s a chance for parish and school communities to reflect on who they are and what they are about. It’s a time to review and rediscover the important aspects of our common life of faith and to celebrate the good things that are taking place in our local Church.

In our Diocese and in our personal Christian living, we want to explore who we are. There are many images used in the scriptures to describe the Church. St Paul uses the analogy of the body, made up of many parts, with Christ as the head (1Cor 12:12). Every person has a unique role to play, making an invaluable contribution to the life of the Church. Christ calls each of us to join together to celebrate, most especially through the Eucharist.

In this third year of Come & See we want to proclaim again the wonderful Good News that Jesus Christ is Lord in and through his Church. We want to be reminded of our history and heritage; the lives of holiness that have gone before us, the assistance of the saints praying for us continually; an encouragement that we belong to something amazing! We need to hear this afresh ourselves and in turn speak it to others.

When Jesus met with his disciples before he ascended into heaven he said, “Go therefore and make disciples from all nations. Baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to fulfil all that I have commanded you.” (Matt 28:19-20). He commissioned the Church to bear witness to him through the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8). Today, the world, our friends, family and neighbours need us to be Good News.

Whatever form our efforts take during Year 3, they will flow from the unshakable conviction that Jesus Christ is the source of life and love, for our hearts, for our relationships, for the Church and for our world.