Apparently the name or title of the program which is forming parishes in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati into "parish-families" was taken from something Pope Benedict XVI said about parishes in December of 2006: He said,
“The parish is a beacon that radiates the light of faith above all in our largely secularized world. Thus it meets the most profound and authentic desires of the human heart, giving meaning and hope to the lives of individuals and families."
Pope Benedict's remark reminds me of something esteemed theologian Father Karl Rahner wrote in the 1950's. He said, the parish is "the highest degree of actuality of the total Church." If I understand Father Rahner's observation, he is pointing out that the Church is truly active and present in the real world in the presence, community, and sacraments which characterize what a parish and parish life are supposed to be.
Developing this idea Rahner concluded that the local church is a function of the already existing one Church of Christ which, by all means, attains its greatest event-fulness in the local community and especially in the local community's celebration of the Eucharist."
Rahner's theology of the parish may be difficult to follow but he clearly sees a parish as an essential actualization of the Church Jesus founded. Pope Benedict, in consecrating a new parish church in Rome, acknowledged that a parish serves the most profound and authentic desires of the human heart, that it gives meaning and hope to the lives of individuals and families.
The formation of "parish families" may threaten service to the profound desires of the human heart and obstruct the meaning and hope which parishioners cherish.
The importance of a parish in the lives of Catholics was underscored by Pope Benedict's closing remarks.
"I ask all faithful, and all citizens of good will to continue their generous commitment, so that neighborhoods that are still deprived may, as soon as possible, have a home for their parish,"
The parish may be a beacon of light but it is also a treasure to be preserved.
