DO not get bogged down by negativity and despair.
This was Archbishop Jason Gordon’s message to a congregation on December 30, 2024 as he officiated at a mass to commemorate the church’s jubilee year at the St Joseph RC Church, Scarborough, Tobago.
St Joseph RC is one of seven designated sacred sites celebrating the church’s jubilee. The celebrations, observed every 25 years, began at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Port of Spain, on December 29.
Gordon told the congregation that during this holy year, it was important that they “recalibrate,” by getting their priorities right and putting God first in their lives.
With all of the festivities during the Christmas, he said, it was easy to lose sight of the real meaning of the season.
>
Gordon urged them to become pilgrims of hope by getting rid of all the negativity in their lives.
“A pilgrim of hope is always a pilgrim of peace,” he said. “And this year, let’s wet ourselves with forgiveness, mercy and love.”
He said when one examined the turmoil taking place in parts of Europe, Africa, Haiti and even in Trinidad and Tobago with the state of emergency, it was easy to lose hope.
“Although things are looking bad, God can do what he has planned.”
Gordon said people must resolve to do better in their own lives.
“How much time do you spend in despair looking at WhatsApp, looking at the daily news of talking with your friend. The hour might be dark but we believe that God is in the midst of our lives, nation and the world. That is what it is to be a pilgrim of hope.”
He told listeners they must not be afraid to turn off their radios if there are talk shows peddling despair on air.
“Do not participate in the culture of negativity and despair that this country has sunk into right now. We are pilgrims of hope and hope does not disappoint. It is an important Christian virtue.”
Gordon advised the congregation to heal any rifts in their families during the jubilee year.
>
“If there is a family member you have not reconciled with, invite them to a pilgrimage to the other sacred sites and pray for forgiveness with each other.”
He said if the family member does not want to go to a sacred site, prayers can still be offered on their behalf.
Gordon also urged them to attend confession once a month.
Tobago RC church plans Easter pilgrimage to Trinidad
New parish priest Fr Peter St Hillaire, who celebrated the mass, said a pilgrimage is being planned to visit at least three sacred sites in Trinidad. The pilgrimages will likely begin after Easter.
St Hillaire urged parishioners to fill certain roles in the church.
“When there is a need, we need to rise to the occasion. There are areas we need volunteers, so be a pilgrim of hope so we can uplift one another,” he said.
St Hillaire, who replaced Fr Leslie Tang Kai, was ordained in 2021 and was first assigned to Our Lady of Assumption in Toco. He was later assigned to St Francis of Assissi parish, Sangre Grande, in August 2023.
He told Newsday he was excited to be in Tobago.
>
“I have been coming to Tobago celebrating mass since I was ordained and most of my assignments were up in the Delaford area. So now being assigned here (St Joseph RC) as the new priest in the cluster, I am excited about it.”
St Hillaire said he wants to get a deeper feel for the island and its people.
“Before I was just a visiting priest in Delaford celebrating mass and go home. But this time I have to look at it from a different point of view because I am living here, to get a sense of the people, the culture and to get myself immersed in it.”
He said several parishioners have told him he has big shoes to fill in replacing Tang Kai.
But he joked, “I have told them Leslie have his own shoes, I have my shoes. I am going to walk in my shoes. So I am open and ready just to see what God has in store for me in this assignment here in the cluster of Tobago.”
Reflecting on the jubilee celebration, St Hillaire said, “Every 25 years there is a jubilee celebration and there are a lot of graces that will be flowing and people have to open themselves to receive those graces, not that God’s grace doesn’t flow right through.
“But if you are going through something and you make a pilgrimage to a church and you sit there and talk to God and say this is what I am going through, you are expecting to get something from God, for him to answer your prayer.
“So this jubilee year, we are allowing for grace to flow, that people open themselves to the grace of Almighty God. I am excited about it.”
