SCC - A WAY FOR RENEWAL OF FAMILIES FOUNDED ON THE WORD.

Fr. Dominic Gomes

SCC Evangelises Family was the theme and main learning component of the workshop held for  SCC members (coordinators and animators) from parish units at the Archbishop’s House on  Sunday 27th February 2022 from 9 am to 4 pm. This workshop, attended by 39 participants, was  primarily meant for parishes in Zone IV of Kolkata Deanery – Christ The King, Our Lady of  Vailankanni and Queen of Peace, was also attended by SCC members from St. Francis Xavier  Church, Bowbazar and St. Teresa Church, Entally. The workshop was conducted by the SCC  Diocesan Service Team (DST) led by Fr. Dominic Gomes, SCC Coordinator for Calcutta  Archdiocese. 

As always the program started with a solemn Bible procession and enthronement. The three  lessons of focus for this workshop were - God’s plan for marriage and family; Forgiveness and  handling conflict with love in the family; and SCCs Evangelize family. The methodology followed was fully participatory as the participants worked in four groups first  reading aloud the inputs, accompanying Bible readings, and Church Teachings from the three  lessons material in English, Bengali and Hindi, and then after reflection and discussions based  on the questions provided with the lessons the groups prepared and presented their reports. Different members of the DST facilitated each step of the process, and provided supplementary  learning inputs at the end of the reporting sessions for the three lessons. 

The primary learning message in the three lessons may be summed up as follows: 

1. God’s plan for marriage and family

Marriage is a covenant willed by the Creator that Christ raised to the dignity of Sacrament of  Marriage. Consequently the Church looks to married couples as the heart of the entire family  which in turn looks to Jesus to live in affection with harmony of mind and work to help each  other to live exemplary Christian lives.

2. Forgiveness and handling conflict with love in the family

Reconciliation and unconditional forgiveness are central to the teachings of Jesus that can be  possible only with love marked by humility and tolerance. We should pray for God’s grace to  accept our own limitations and forgive our failures so that we can do the same towards others.

3. SCCs Evangelize families

Listening to and sharing the Word together is essential for spiritual growth. Every family in SCC  will grow in the love for God’s Word to transform their lives and make them living witnesses to  the Gospel in order to evangelize.

Holy Mass was celebrated by Rev Fr. Dominic Gomes and concelebrated by Rev Fr. Ambrose the  Parish Priest of St. Francis Xavier Church Bowbazar who was participating in the workshop with  his parishioners. During the homily, reiterating the message of Holy Father Pope Francis and  reflecting the day’s readings, he emphasised the dangers of gossiping that traps us in being 

judgemental about others while being blind to our own faults and forgetting that we are known  to others by our own words and behaviour. After a fellowship meal the participants re-gathered  for the concluding sessions which included a round of general planning to regularize Gospel  Sharing, Bible reading in the family, to encourage children for Sunday Catechism, and share the  learning of the workshop with their Parish Priests. 

However, to facilitate the growth of SCC in the parish it was evident that a more concerted  effort and strategy should be followed by each parish. Since each parish has a chosen SCC  Coordinator, a parish team of SCC animators should be formed with the Parish Priest and this  team should meet at least once a month on a regular basis. The SCC Deanery Coordinator and  other DST members could be invited to attend some of these meetings to facilitate the planning  of strategies and programs for raising awareness in the parish about the work SCC does and the  fellowship and support it provides so that people are motivated to make the SCC into a  Diocesan movement.  

It is during these SCC team meetings that concrete plans should be made for identifying needy  families and eligible beneficiaries to link them with the various pensions, welfare, educational  support schemes available from the Government, Minority Development Commission and  financial institutions. The workshop concluded with all singing “O give thanks to the Lord...”, 

and the Bible was closed after receiving final blessings.