To all the Parish SCC Coordinators, Archdiocese of Bombay My dear Collaborators, We are in the Season of Lent - a grace-filled Season which invites us to focus our attention on Jesus who, through His Passion and Death, has set us free from sin and unjust systems and structures, and made us children of the Kingdom of God. Perhaps this may be difficult to understand, given all that is happening with and around us, but remember God’s Word is true, and as we, ourselves, live as His children, we will experience that freedom bought so dearly on the Cross. The year 2020 brought many challenges and threats in the form of COVID-19—death due to the pandemic, economic crisis, job losses, agriculture reform bills, farmers’ protests, threats of war, climate change, the destruction of the environment. Truly, the list is endless. With the present scenario of the coronavirus cases increasing, we must continue to be careful and take the necessary precautions (wearing of masks, maintaining social distancing and washing/sanitizing of hands). Because we believe that God will overcome the forces of evil and darkness, we are sustained by the courage of faith as we look forward to experiencing the Light of Christ. Over the past few days, I have been interacting with the Parish SCC Coordinators Deanery-wise. The experiences shared by the Coordinators have been awesome: the outreach activities organized at the Community level, including people of other faiths; the continuous communication with the Animators, cluster families, Senior Citizens, people living alone, those experiencing crises and so on; conducting virtual Prayer meetings, be they rosaries and/or the recitation of the Divine Mercy Chaplet, have given me the firm conviction that the Small Christian Communities in our Archdiocese have become instruments of service, and a beacon for all, through their outreach, thereby translating into reality the SCC vision statement - NO ONE IN WANT. A couple of weeks from now, we will be entering into the week of weeks: Holy Week - an intense time of prayer and reflection, so that we unite our suffering moments with those of Jesus, who will ultimately enable us to experience joy and happiness in our lives. Mr Adrian Rosario, one of the members of the ART (Archdiocesan Resource Team) for SCCs has prepared the attached Reflection Paper - 'Jesus, let us learn from you...' (click here to download) - which must be disseminated to the Community Coordinators, Animators and the cluster families. May I request you to motivate all the people to reflect on the Paper, so that together we may experience the death and resurrection of Jesus in our lives and give glory to God our Heavenly Father. May I also gently remind you that the Quarterly Reports for the months of January 2021 to March 2021 must reach the SCC Office via email by April 15, 2021. Thank you for your selfless services to the parish community. I assure you of my prayers and also for the members of your family. Keep well. Stay safe. Together, we continue doing the good work we can to build stronger and loving Small Christian Communities. With every good wish for a grace-filled Season of Lent Yours in Christ, ✠Barthol Barretto Auxiliary Bishop of Bombay & Bishop in-charge of SCCs, Archdiocese of Bombay March 3, 2021
- SCC Mumbai