Introduction
It is through a community of persons that we receive the gift of life. In this community, life is protected, nourished and brought to maturity.

It is also through a community we receive our inheritance of faith, and it is in community that we live it. This Christian community, our church, begins with our nearest and dearest, but we also belong in the wider circles of our local faith community, our parish and our diocese.

What do you know about the origins of your parish? Has anybody written about it? What do you know of significant milestones in the history of your parish? Are there any interesting features in the locality of the parish?

"He is risen."

To whom can you bring the joy of Easter today?

"Into your hands I commit my spirit." Responsorial Psalm

Enter into the pain of the planet, the pain of the world, the pain that is part of life for so many, near and far.

How does this pain speak to you? How does it call on you? What sacrifices are you willing to make to alleviate it? What can you give to communal efforts to feed the hungry?

"I give you a new commandment: love one another just as I have loved you." John 13:34

Notice the care and service given by many in the parish, in families, in community. How do you participate? Is there something more you can do?

On Carrying a Scandal Biblically by Ronald Rolheiser

"… We are the church, all of us … We stand within a tradition that stretches back in time for nearly 4000 years … We carry that tradition, but we need to carry all of it, not just the wonderful parts. Yes, we stand in the tradition of Jesus, Paul, the great martyrs, and all the grace that has entered history through the church. But we also stand in a tradition that carries murder, slavery, the inquisition … racism, sexism, infidelity of every sort, and paedophilia. We can’t claim the grace and then distance ourselves from the sin … We need to carry it all, as Jesus carried everything, grace and sin, good and bad, without protesting his innocence… We must begin to ‘ponder’ in the biblical sense.

… To ponder in the biblical sense means to hold, carry and transform tension so as not to give it back in kind … so that we can speak words of graciousness, forgiveness and healing.

To ponder is also to question why and how … it is to identify sin at its roots, in its institutional forms, in flawed constructions and interpretations of our tradition. It is to recognise our part in the distortions of truth and love, through our own liking for power and our refusal to listen to the cry of the poor."

"Let the one who is without sin cast the first stone."

Have there been any special occasions or events in your parish in recent years? Have these helped you to see beyond imperfections – those of others and your own – in your parish? What good aspects of the parish are expressed in do special occasions? What can you support and develop?

Is the dignity of all members expressed in your parish community life? Do women and men value each other as equals? Do you/will you raise this question?

The father welcomed his prodigal son.... "You are here with me always. Everything I have is yours."

Have there been any times when your parish community was a source of strength and consolation for you and your family? What did it express about parish? How might you be the welcoming face of parish for others?

Are there areas of life in your parish that are in need of reconciliation? Can you help to develop attitudes of reconciliation? Will you participate in the communal celebration of reconciliation this Lent?

Jesus uses the story of a barren tree to give us some indication of how God really relates to us. By contrasting the impatience of the owner with the patient care of the tender of the vine, Jesus paints a picture for us of a God who is prepared to wait for us and to do everything in that waiting to ensure that we bear fruit, that we fulfil our potential.

What would you consider barren about your parish? Could you help? Are you including or excluding yourself?

Is there a need that you see in your local parish, or in your local area? Could start talking about it with others? Who?

Christ has no body now but yours.
No hands, no feet on earth but yours.
Yours are the eyes through which he looks compassion on this earth,
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

What activities in your parish do you support? Are there some others you could get involved in?  How? Should you? Will you?

Introduction
Each week in this section, we take a quote from the Sunday homily, and offer a few discussion questions to help you begin working together in your local parish/community.

"Because you matter, your choices matter."
Everyone has impact on their local church by participating, or even by not participating. How would you describe, right now, your impact on your local faith community? What makes you think so?