Memorial of Saint Catherine of Siena, virgin and doctor of the Church
April 29, 2020 12:00 pm · Sergio Muñoz Fita
NEW PARISH MOTTO: FIAT VOLUNTAS TUA
Over these last two days I have explained before Holy Mass some of the reasons why we decided not to try to create a “mission statement” for Saint Anne and, instead, chose to embrace a motto that was brief and expresses the identity and the direction in which we want to move forward as a parish.
The group of people who worked on the pastoral plan commissioned me as pastor of this community to decide on the motto for Saint Anne. That same day the words that I want to share with everyone today came to mind, but I wanted to take time to pray on those words. I must say that I have not found a better idea: it is concise, they are the Lord's words, and they really express everything that can be said or achieved in this life. The three words are FIAT VOLUNTAS TUA. "Thy will be done."
Over the next few days, I will express some of the reasons why I chose these words that the Lord gave us in the Lord's Prayer, but today I want to say that in the context of parish life and the explanation of the pastoral plan for Saint Anne there is nothing better that can be found.
I heard several times, from different people, saying that the pastoral plan should include the vision of Father Sergio or the vision of the pastor. I personally disagree with that. No one at Saint Anne is here to do the pastor’s will, but we are all here to do the Will of God. It is not a matter of carrying out the projects of this or that priest, or of this or that group of people, but of discerning the Will of the Lord for Saint Anne and working to bring it to fruition.
In a pastoral plan, we say to God: "Lord, help us to know what you want from us in the short term so that we can fulfill your Will." If the discernment is good, if God shows us in His infinite goodness what He expects from Saint Anne, along with this revelation, He will give us the grace to be able to reach the goal. The pastoral plan is a crystallization of the Will of God and has value only in as much as we gather what the Lord wants for us.
The new motto for Saint Anne (new in the sense that we assume it as such this week and that it has its origin in Jesus Christ, who is the same yesterday, today and forever, Heb 13:8) gives direction to the whole pastoral plan and facilitates its righteousness of intention. It has to become an obsession, so to speak, for all the members of this community. Before doing anything, before any deliberation, before taking one path or the other, we must all ask ourselves, "Is this the Will of God?" And when we say the words of our motto (FIAT VOLUNTAS TUA, “Thy will be done”), we will be, at the same moment that we pronounce them, raising a prayer to heaven: “Father, we want to do your Will, teach us what your Will is; give us the grace to fulfill all in your Will ”
I hope we do not forget these three words. With very little effort we can learn them, and those who pray the Lord's Prayer from time to time in Latin already have them memorized since they are at the center of Jesus' prayer.
Symbolically, I end these words by placing the motto of our parish in the hands of our patroness, Saint Anne, so that she may deliver it to each one of you and engrave it with fire on your hearts.
May God bless you all.
