We are excited to share with you the transcript of Archbishop Marcel Damphousse’s launch of the new Archdiocesan vision at the May 15th Reception. Please note that this transcript has been edited for clarity.
Click here to view the transcript as a document.
Good evening, everyone.
This is a very different kind of gathering than we’re used to in the diocese. Your response tonight is awesome. Thank you. It is a true expression of people who care about their Church. That’s what I see.
When we launched the invitation, we had hesitations about whether the model we’re presenting would meet your expectations. What we have noticed tonight, in a very tangible way, the enthusiasm, the life, and the interest you bring for this new diocesan vision.
Who today does not want a Church that is fully alive? If you’re here tonight, it is because you believe that it is possible, if we can only learn how to discern the promptings of the Spirit who leads us, who helps us answer the realities of our times. Our Church today has something awesome to give, but in its message, it must be relevant to the people of our time. I think our Church can do that in a very powerful way. We just need to believe. And your response tonight is a sign.
You know, people have been telling me, “We’ve been waiting for this night a long time.” Well, I’ve been working two years on this [vision] and as a bishop, I’ve been working on this for twelve years. When I first started in Alexandria Cornwall, I had no clue what to do as a bishop, and I knew in my head that our Church was in a decline. We had to do something different. I heard about new evangelization, and I somewhat understood it was what we needed, but I had no clue how to get that done.
How do we transfer from the actual kind of church we have today to a missionary Church, [a Church] that finds great joy in sharing faith in Jesus Christ, [not merely presenting] to others some guy in a book or some ideology of Christianity. [We must] know how to present Jesus Christ to people from a very personal experience. That’s the Church we need today.
When we speak of a missionary Church that goes out, it is one that takes to heart becoming intentional disciples of Christ. Jesus told his apostles and us to go out and make disciples. Make disciples. Not just “become a disciple.”
Most of us have experienced [becoming a disciple] that follows Christ within our church, but that isn’t enough today. We need to learn how to make disciples and the only way to do so is by going out, because the people who are not yet disciples aren’t coming to church. And when we have only 5-7% of our Catholic population in our churches, we must learn to go out of our church walls and be Church in the world, where the people are.
I have a profound conviction that God is already doing an extraordinary work in our Archdiocese. We are truly blessed with people who are incredibly passionate for their faith. I think of all the work happening with the young people, in our Catholic schools, on the university campuses with Catholic Christian Outreach, with the NET Ministries retreats, the beautiful work happening with Esprit Jeunesse, and the work of evangelization with Encounter Ministries. All these realities live in our Archdiocese; there is therefore already a base upon which I can rely. We are able to advance with confidence in this new reality to which we, as missionaries, are called.
“Going out” is a key component of who we are called to be in this new vision. The “going out” must be our priority without putting aside “going deep” and “going together.” They all work together. But do not wait to know Christ perfectly [to be missionary.] Go out first.
Jesus didn’t wait for his apostles to be perfect apostles. He did not wait; He sent them out. It’s when you’re sent out that you realize what you must do to deepen your faith in Jesus Christ. That’s where you’re faced with yourself, with where you’re at and what kind of difference Christ makes in your life. What witness do you have to make about Christ?
The deepening of our faith is essential. I think the best way we’re going to bring a multitude back to Church is by reaching out to all who have broken hearts, to people who have experienced some kind of suffering or frustration with the Church. There are many out there. And so, in the going out, we need to help them experience the power of a Christ who knows how to heal hearts, a merciful God. We must experience it for ourselves: the power of Christ’s forgiveness. [We must know] what Christ can do for us sinners, for when he dies on the cross for us and lays down his life, he shows us how far God’s love will go. That’s the very love we are called to give to the people, our brothers and sisters, who are out there, who are waiting for such an encounter to happen. We, all of us, and I really mean all of us, are called to be part of this mission. Every baptized has a role to play in making those encounters happen.
St. John Paul II was very clear on this. He spoke in Redemptoris Missio of the call to all baptized to truly take to heart the mission of evangelization. I believe the malady from which our church suffers today is having forgotten the core of her being: to know how to be a missionary church, an evangelistic church. From the moment we retake this reality —which is, truly, the very identity, the very essence of the Church—the Church will reclaim life that surpasses our imaginations, that surpasses what we can conceive! We must believe there is extraordinary potential awaiting us.
I hope you are aware that this year, in this Archdiocese, we had more than double the number of catechumens baptized than last year. I’m not sure we can claim responsibility for it as Church. This is God’s work. I’m telling you, this is really God’s work. [Strangers] are showing up at the church and saying, “I’d like to be baptized.” These people are hungry for truth. They’re hungry for God. They’re hungry for a spiritual life, for purpose in life.
The “going out” is not going to very difficult. Don’t be afraid. People are longing encounter those whose lives have been changed because of Jesus Christ. Simply go out and share your faith and that will, I think, become contagious. We need a new epidemic here, one that allows our faith to come alive. Then, our Church will come alive. We have so much to offer as a Church.
The “going together” is going to be the toughest part, I think. The vision is one thing. We’ve laid out how beautiful and how lifegiving Church can be, but what will be difficult is how we apply this vision to the reality of our parish and personal lives. That’s where it’s going to be difficult. It requires change from us, letting go of certain ways of doing things, embracing Christ fully and fully in our liturgies. Our liturgies need to be beautiful and truly relate their sacredness so that sacramental grace can touch the lives of the people in the pews.
But the greatest challenge will be outside of our pews, outside of our Church walls. That is where we must learn to do [this mission.] We must learn so that mission will always be the focus of everything we do. This means you’re going to pray for the success of mission in your neighboring parishes. We can no longer be in competition with our neighboring parishes. We need to pray for them. We need to want success in all our churches.
[The mission] might also require revisiting how we are being church in our respective regions. This will be the hardest part, especially where there are too many church buildings sucking up our finances and human resources and leaving nothing left for the mission. Difficult decisions will need to be made down the road. We need to keep our focus on the mission that is before us and be carried in prayer at all times.
We are giving [our diocese] eight years to make this vision come alive. What happens eight years from now? It’s another jubilee year: 2033. In the year 33 AD was Christ’s death and resurrection, was Pentecost, was the Church coming alive. In 2033, we want to celebrate 2,000 years since [those events]. But how do we want to celebrate?
There’s a movement in our Church called Global 2033 which wants whole planet, the whole planet, to know about Jesus Christ. We’re far from that right now, but after 2,000 years, there’s no reason so many people still haven’t heard about Jesus Christ. We must do better. We have eight years to change our culture and change our mentalities so that we may truly embrace our missionary Church.
I hope you understand a little bit of this vision I have for this Archdiocese.
I’d like to finish with this before going into the commissioning prayer: How many of you are familiar with The Chosen?
The Chosen is a gold sponsor [of tonight’s reception]; this was, to me, a great and pleasant surprise. The Chosen is a TV series on the life of Jesus and his disciples. Right now, they have five seasons done. The fifth season just came out in the theaters and it’s not yet available on YouTube. But you know, I saw season five [in theatres]. Actually, I’ve been using scenes from [previous seasons] at pastoral days to help the clergy understand the vision Jesus has and how he calls his apostles to engage as a missionary church. It has had a profound impact on the clergy. At the diocesan office, the staff decided to spend our lunchtimes watching The Chosen. [The show] just makes Jesus come alive in a whole new way.
Tonight, I’m sharing with you a scene from season five. We’re truly blessed The Chosen have given us this clip to show to you tonight before it’s shared publicly outside theatres. They gave it to us with one condition: we are not to record what is shared on the screens tonight. Please respect that.
(Editorial Note: As part of this promise, we cannot provide a link to the original clip. We have instead transcribed the dialogue for you.)
Let me just set the context of what you’ll see:
It’s a meeting between Jesus and the apostle Thaddeus. Many of us don’t know Thaddeus. He’s barely mentioned in the Gospels, but [this scene] is the first meeting of Jesus and Thaddeus at a construction site. Jesus is a carpenter, we know that. Thaddeus is a stone cutter or mason, and at the break from their work, Jesus “goes out.” He meets with Thaddeus, and he shares the vision he has for building the kingdom of God. He’s asking Thaddeus to follow him, and Thaddeus resists the invitation. He has lots of questions. Jesus must work hard to convince Thaddeus of how this kingdom of God, this new adventure, is all worth living. I want you to hear this from Jesus himself as he explains it to this upcoming apostle.
Thaddeus: I’m getting back to work. I have wages to collect for my labour.
Jesus: Leave with me tonight. Final offer.
Thaddeus: You haven’t made an offer.
Jesus: A new kingdom. Eternal value.
Thaddeus (pausing): What’s the pay?
Jesus: The pay?
Thaddeus: Yes, the income, the daily rate, housing arrangements. What, you have that all worked out?
Jesus: There is no pay. At least, not in the earthly sense. I’m a rabbi and I’m asking you to follow me.
Thaddeus (frustrated and ready to leave): It was nice meeting you.
(As Jesus speaks next, a montage of clips from previous seasons shows the other apostles Thaddeus will meet, the experiences he will have, the joys, the miracles, and the losses.)
Jesus: You’d be part of changing the world. Become part of a family, not of relatives, but of blood bonds just the same. Spend your days with some of the most interesting, unfettered, funny, driven, brave, nurturing, smart, strong, passionate, fiery, loyal, loving, imperfect people to ever walk the earth.
You will see and do things you cannot imagine. You will be adored, hated, needed, lost and found. You will live everywhere and nowhere. You will lose friends. You will lose all your friends and your own life. You will go to the ends of the earth and yet be part of the beginning of the greatest movement on earth.
People will say you were a fool and that I was a fool and that it was all a lie. They’ll call us heretics and liars and frauds. Others will celebrate and venerate your memory and call you a saint.
But none of that’s the point. The point is that you will have said yes to the world’s no. That you hoped against hope and believed against belief, that you surrendered everything and held fast to the very end.
Thaddeus: (crying softly)
Jesus: Will you follow?
“Will you follow me?” This is the question Jesus himself is asking each of us tonight: Will you follow me? As Archbishop, I offer my yes to Christ tonight, before all of you, in faith and with complete trust in his loving care and his loving plans for our diocese, as he works through each of us to bring this vision to life. Before we begin the commissioning, I invite you to take a moment in silent prayer to reflect on Christ’s call and how he is asking you to respond. Will you give your yes?
(Period of silence)
I invite Bishop Yvan to join me on the stage for this prayer commissioning. I simply invite you to either bow your heads or just gently open your hands, in the posture to receive God’s grace, as I offer this prayer of commissioning over you.
Heavenly Father, we turn to you with confident hope and pray that you may bestow your blessing upon the faithful gathered here and on all the baptized of the Archdiocese of Ottawa-Cornwall.
Set our hearts on fire, so that united and inspired by this common Vision, we may have a passion for the building of your Kingdom. Empower us with your Spirit as you did on the day of Pentecost for your Apostles, so that, as missionary disciples we may witness to Christ and give new life to your Church. Help us to go out, go deep, go together.
As we go out, grant us courage, audacity and mercy as we witness to our faith in Christ.
As we go deep, bring healing to our hearts, greater conviction in our beliefs and a renewed sense of our respective vocations, the unique call the Lord has placed on each of our lives to use the gifts he has given us.
As we go together, keep us in communion of heart and spirit, guide our discernment and enable greater collaboration and unity among all.
As your Shepherd, I commission you to receive this vision with joyful hearts and to engage whole-heartedly in bringing the mission of the church into your families and faith communities.
Pray often for one another. Love God and your neighbour. Seek the Kingdom of God always. Come, Holy Spirit, give these disciples the graces needed to hear your voice. Embolden them to follow your lead. Let them dare to believe that the vision you have given us of becoming more of a missionary Church is not only possible but assured. For we know, Lord, that you are “able to do far more than we can ask or even conceive” (Eph 3:20).
And may almighty God bless all of you, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
