By Fr Kenneth Pereira for BIS Mumbai

 August 6, feast of the Transfiguration, witnessed the parish-priests of our province converging at Provincial House for a day of reflection, study and planning.

The early morning Eucharist began on a subdued note, since many parish priests were late in arriving, due to delays in public transport. Fr Ashley Miranda (Provincial) in his homily spoke about the theological significance of the Transfiguration and its practical implications for our pastoral ministry.

The session at 9 a.m. began with Fr Provincial sharing with all the parish priests his concerns, and encouraging us all to promote the Salesian identity of our parishes, by taking special interest in the young and the poor, by being warm-hearted leaders and accessible shepherds rather than aloof administrators, and by practising the three pillars of the Preventive System.

Thereafter, the assembly took a closer look at the OPP of our province for the current sessennium, along with the recommendations of the parish commission in response to each of the seven directives for parishes in the OPP.

The most interesting session of the day was the presentation by Fr Michael Fernandes, our Canon Law expert, on how to tackle marriages in need of rectification. The session was very engrossing and elicited frequent queries from the audience. In fact, it even continued into the post-lunch session. Other issues raised were: Mass stipends and adult baptisms.

The last part of the day’s proceedings was again focused on the OPP. Besides this, the idea was mooted to come out with a booklet—even if only in soft copy—of parish protocols and proformas without reference to any specific parish in the province. It was generally agreed that this would be a project worth taking up!  As we dispersed after tea, one could sense an air of satisfaction at having been able to come together, voice out our concerns, share our experiences, and draw inspiration from the successes of one another.