By Fr Valerian Cheong – Spiritual Director, Catholic Leadership Centre
What kind of leadership is needed to build the Church of tomorrow? This is a question which would have been answered very differently just over a couple of years ago, given the fluidity of the current situation in 2021.
Living through this Covid-19 pandemic and trying to make sense of the future, the buzz phrase we have been hearing is the ‘new normal’. We are confronted with the reality that what we had known or gotten used to of the Church over the past three to four decades, would never be the same again for our pastoral life of the future Church in this ‘new normal’. This pandemic has shown how Church leaders and the laity can be adversely psychologically affected by the mere physical separation from one another.
On the other hand, this pandemic has also helped others to use the time for spiritual development, and yet some others have had the opportunity to build on relationships, albeit virtually.
In short, the pandemic has caused us to muster the courage to try new pastoral methods or to take up new challenges so that we could bring about a certain form of closeness with others. However, we also realise that for us Christians, physical closeness and personally relating to others are what truly constitutes the basis of any Christian community – a gathering community which prays together, serves and loves each other modelled after Christ Jesus and His disciples. Through this pandemic, we have come to realise how such social interactions are at risk of being obliterated in a matter of days/weeks, and how pastoral initiatives have to take abrupt turns, to the dismay of many.
Resulting from this situation, we have more people asking questions like, “What then is the purpose of our existence?”, or “What is most essential in life?”, or about “What is the value of our human interactions?” etc.
To answer such questions, the Church would require her leaders, both lay and ordained, to have a pastoral outlook in desiring to help others encounter with the Divine.
Our Christian faith has constantly affirmed that God, who is Light (Jn 1:9) has always existed and prevailed in the midst of chaos and darkness (Gen 1:1-2). Our God prevails over the doom and gloom which is a situation very much like what we have been experiencing these past months of the pandemic.
But in order to help lead others to this Divine encounter, we want to have leaders who are willing to be “salt for the earth…and light for the world” (cf Mt 5:13-14). Such leaders have to be persons who are willing to journey and accompany those whom they are called to walk with, such that all can be edified to know that no one walks alone through life (cf Lk 24:13-35).
These journeys would then hopefully evolve into communion with other individuals and groups, thereby helping to cultivate and nurture Christ-centred relationships within the parish community. Only through this communion of persons and groups, can we then be a more vibrant, evangelising and missionary Church.
Once our leaders know that our primary mission is to serve and accompany others towards a deeper encounter with the Lord, we could all then be more aware of the need to be Christ-bearers to others as we help make sense of our rich faith in this already darkened world. Through this, can we then make Christianity truly relevant to our secularized world.
The Church, as a “field hospital”, as how Pope Francis wishes her to be, (versus not just being a museum for saints), can then help materialise her mission in caring for souls. We therefore need leaders who realise the importance of being sharers in this mission of the Church. These leaders must in turn want others to cultivate and deepen their relationship with the Lord and be ever willing to share Christ with others. However, for this vision to materialise, our leaders must first be discipled into the ways and values of Jesus Himself. Leaders ought to be close to the Lord at prayer, walking alongside His ways daily and being in tune with the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Having a deep personal encounter with the Risen Lord, can our leaders then exude the love of Christ to others.