Bridging the Gap: The N.A.C.

By Bishop David Zubik

	Bishop David Zubik

It would be virtually impossible for me to recount the number of times over the course of the last two years that I have prayed over the Pentecost story as St. Luke tells it in the New Testament book known as The Acts of the Apostles.

As you will remember the account of the Pentecost event, the Apostles were gathered in an "upper room" together with Mary, the mother of Jesus. While the story begins with St. Luke telling his readers that the Apostles were filled with fear - a fear grounded in the experience of what the opponents of Jesus had done to Him - the story concludes with a far different strength of the Apostles energized by the gifts of the Holy Spirit which Jesus had earlier promised at the Last Supper.

The Spirit's Presence

Since becoming Bishop of our Diocese, there have been a number of times I have felt the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit - helping me, helping us as a Church, through fearsome experiences to experiences of new life. Among those "events" have been the realignment of our diocesan operations; the creation of some new and challenging initiatives in the diocese; the merger of some parishes and schools in our Church.

This past week, it was my privilege to begin my service as a member of the National Advisory Council. The Council, better knows as NAC has 55 members: 18 laywomen and 16 laymen; four Religious Sisters; four Deacons including Dcn. Everett Doxtator of our own diocese; eight Priests and four Bishops.

As you can see from the membership composition, the majority are laity. The NAC was formed by the Bishops of our country in 1968, just three years after the close of Vatican II. The Council is advisory to the Bishops, a structure that reflects the total Church in the United States, helping the Bishops meet their responsibilities to the Church in the United States.

Cross section

The membership of the Council, in fact, is a slice of the Church in the United States, a cross section of representatives far and near - from Alaska and Hawaii; from the East Coast and the West Coast; from the Midwest and the Deep South. A number of different cultures are represented - Native Americans and Asians; Hispanics and African Americans; traditional Catholics and not so traditional Catholics.

The agenda of my first meeting was jam-packed; it began on Thursday evening and concluded Sunday afternoon, starting with Mass at 7:30 in the morning and concluding with night prayer by 9:30 p.m. with deliberations that occupied all of our time in between.

The topics that we addressed together ranged form the fifth edition of the Program for Priestly Formation to the ongoing development of the new Roman Missal to be used at Mass; from issues related to The Protection of Children and Young People to the Annual Collection for Retired Religious. These topics and a number of others were part of a reactive agenda, giving members the opportunity to let the Bishops know the mind of NAC on issues initiated by the Bishops themselves.

A proactive agenda

But there were also items on a proactive agenda - items initiated by the NAC members. Among these issues were: a proposal about translations of liturgical texts; a statement to defend the rights and dignity of immigrants; and a proposal to protect and preserve Native American gravesites. There were also statements on: (1) supporting Vocation Programs for future priests; (2) Stewardship and Teenagers; (3) Marriage and Family Life; (4) Evangelization; (5) Youth and Young Adults; and (6) Globalization and the Human Person, addressing the dignity of the human person damaged through genocide, slavery, trafficking, forced migration, persecution, racism and economic inequality.

Spirit works through us

As I was privileged to be a part of these discussions as a member of the National Advisory Council, I couldn't help but think of Pentecost and you - the Church of Green Bay. I couldn't help but think of how the Holy Spirit works through us as Church as we tackle important issues of the day. I couldn't help but think of the kind of respect Jesus expects us to have for each other, especially as we find ourselves on the opposite side of painful issues such as the merging of parishes and schools or consoling issues such as working as one people to reach out to victims of natural disasters or victims of bad fortune.

Yes, St. Luke was right on target when he penned the account of Pentecost, the fulfillment of Jesus' promised gift of the Holy Spirit, not only for the first Apostles and the early Church, but all of us, followers of Jesus in the Church of Green Bay today.

What the Apostles did then is what we are called to do as Church today - listen to the Spirit with obedience and to each other with respect.