Spiritual Corner -- Growing in Incessant Spiritual Practices

A while ago, I participated in a seminar organized by the Archdiocese of Toronto for priests. The contents of the course are very rich and it places strong emphasis on believers’ faith development and the growth of spiritual life. When each of the faithful has experienced individual encounters with Jesus, such an experience will turn into an incessant strength of conversion which will grow from individuals to the community to make them “salt of the earth, and light of the world”.

The Archdiocese, based on the statistics of 2023, has shared with us the current situation of the pastoral mission and evangelization of the whole Diocese. At present, there is a total population of 6,517,320 in the Greater Toronto area. There are 1,602,370 Catholics, with one Archbishop, 4 Auxiliary Bishops, 389 Diocesan Priests, 371 Religious Order Priests, 150 Permanent Deacons, 39 Religious Brothers and 429 Religious Sisters, 224 Parishes, 24 Missions and 2 Chapels.

In 2023, 11,552 people were baptized in the Archdiocese: 6,353 were newborns, 3,989 one to seven years of age, and 1,210 were over seven years old. Within the same year, 13,444 received First Communion, 12,116 received Confirmation, 1,958 couples received the sacrament of Matrimony; 5 were ordained to the Priesthood and there were 7,214 funerals.

The above data from the Archdiocese have provided us meaningful reference for pastoral reflection. Each parish, based on the actual needs in pastoral care, can make the best use of the resources from the Archdiocese or resources readily available in individual parish to make pastoral plans or modify existing ones.

Thanks be to God, our parish will soon launch the Catechism Revisit Programme. Such a programme is a timely response to the expectations of the Archdiocese: the faith development and the growth of the spiritual life of the faithful. I would like to encourage our parishioners to treasure this learning opportunity and to grow with us together in Christ.

Below is an extract of the introduction to the Course that I would share with you:

Theme : I Believe —-We Believe (Catechism of the Catholic Church)

Anyone who believes in God does not do so only through his own senses because to believe is a choice and an action. Such a choice and action requires total commitment of his whole being, which includes his everything, i.e., his senses, feelings, will power, knowledge, talents, family, work etc., in other words, his whole life. Thus, one cannot just talk about “believing in God” without action. In order to believe in the existence of God, one needs to view it with the concept of “love”. Love will change with the changes in life: with its ups and downs, agony, joy, doubts and complacency. People have the freedom to love, or not to love; but love should not remain dormant after a choice has been made. People need to make choices incessantly in life, and they will grow with this freedom of choice.

Your Pastor,
Fr. Francis Chong