The Elderly in a Flourishing Apostolic Church

A PASTORAL LETTER FROM THE BISHOP OF CLEVELAND

““It’s simply a letter about how we can draw closer to Christ, and there is no controversy in that,” Bishop Malesic said. “Let’s just pray 15 minutes a day; join a small group; invite your Catholic neighbors and friends together to have a cup of coffee and talk about ‘Why are you Catholic?’; ‘How can you become a disciple of Jesus?’ I think these are the basic things.”

-from a media interview of the bishop


I invite every Catholic in the Diocese of Cleveland to read this pastoral letter in its entirety, as I have written it with each of you in mind. Make notes and underline your copy of the letter; Consider reading it more than just once. then, meet with some other Catholics who have read this letter and discuss it in a small group. Over the next year I would like this letter to be at the forefront of conversations around the diocese. (page 2)

I read the letter and was amazed how relevant it was to everything that I have been doing in the last seven years. In the following post on the Cleveland Commonweal Local Community site are parts that I underlined and my notes on them. The bishop wants us to talk about this letter, so the simplest way to begin may be to read the post with my underlines and notes, then read the letter yourself underlining and making notes. The Cleveland CLC site post discusses the importance of the pastoral letter to the whole diocese, the remainer of this post deals with its application to the elderly population (persons over sixty) in Lake County. Reading the more general post will be very helpful in understanding this particular post. 


CREATING A UNIFIED FRAMEWORK FOR DIVISE PERSONS AND SITUATIONS

Bishop Malesic has asked each person in the diocese to do five simple things each in their own ways.  First study the letter, underline it, make notes. Then share with others. Second spent fifteen minutes of prayer each day in communion with God. The bishop is certain that each person is capable of choosing the best form of prayer. Third develop a spiritual support group. The bishop thinks the ones we develop from our own networks may be the best.  Four, be able to talk about our life long spiritual journey with others. Fifth articulate our own particular concrete mission at this place and time of our lives.

IMPLICATION FOR ELDERLY IN LAKE COUNTY