COREnotes
Q U A R T E R LY J O U R N A L O F T H E O F F I C E F O R C A T E C H E S I S The Feast of Saint Rose of Lima I S S U E 11 - A U G U S T 2 0 1 2
Mission We believe that through our ministry we continue the mission of Jesus Christ by enabling the people of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois to develop the gifts given them by the Spirit. In carrying out this mission, we strive to provide resources, service and leadership to all who are part of the educational mission of the Church: religious education, early childhood, elementary and secondary schools, and adult education. We do this in the spirit of Jesus Christ.
Staff Jonathan F. Sullivan Director of Catechetical Services jsullivan@dio.org Chris Malmevik Associate Director for Catechesis cmalmevik@dio.org Cynthia Callan Executive Secretary ccallan@dio.org Jean Johnson Superintendent of Catholic Schools jjohnson@dio.org Marilyn Missel Associate Superintendent of Catholic Schools mmissel@dio.org Barbara Burris Associate Director of School Planning bburris@dio.org Kyle Holtgrave Associate Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries kholtgrave@dio.org Beth Schmidt Secretary for School Personnel, Youth and Young Adult Ministries bschmidt@dio.org
On October 11 the Church will begin a Year of Faith proclaimed by Pope Benedict XVI. In his letter announcing the Year of Faith the Holy Father expressed these wishes: We want this Year to arouse in every believer the aspiration to profess the faith in fullness and with renewed conviction, with confidence and hope. It will also be a good opportunity to intensify the celebration of the faith in the liturgy, especially in the Eucharist, which is “the summit towards which the activity of the Church is directed; ... and also the source from which all its power flows.” At the same time, we make it our prayer that believers’ witness of life may grow in credibility. To rediscover the content of the faith that is professed, celebrated, lived and prayed, and to reflect on the act of faith, is a task that every believer must make his own, especially in the course of this Year. These three tasks – to profess, to celebrate, and to witness – are essential elements of Christian discipleship. By practicing them in our lives we are drawn closer into relationship to Jesus Christ and invite others to meet the source of our faith. As we prepare to celebrate the Year of Faith, ask yourself how your catechetical program is helping people to profess their faith proudly, celebrate the faith in the sacraments, and witness to their faith through the works of mercy. Find ways to highlight your program’s success in these areas and name them proudly in meetings, in newsletters, and to your communities. Our office will have additional materials to assist you in celebrating the Year of Faith available in September. In the meantime, may God abundantly bless you and your ministry!
In this issue . . . Keys to Welcoming Catholics Back . . . 2 Best Evangelization Resources . . . 6 Free Webinars: Grant Writing . . . 9 Catechetical Sunday . . . 9 Book Review . . . 10 Calendar of Events . . . back cover
Keys for Welcoming Catholics Back to the Lord’s Table by John and Therese Boucher
John is Associate Director for Evangelization, Ministry of Catechesis and Evangelization, Diocese of Trenton. Therese is an author, adult faith formation speaker, and catechist trainer.
Ever wonder why the path from religious education sessions to Sunday liturgies is too complicated or uninteresting for many parents? Ever wonder what we can do to help? We are not alone. The 2008 Sacraments Today: Belief and Practice among U.S. Catholics study reports that only 23 percent of American Catholics regularly attend Sunday Mass (cara.georgetown.edu/sacraments.html). This means that 77 percent are missing and are in need of invitations to come back and see themselves as invaluable members of our local parishes. We propose seven doors that lead to the Lord’s Table and that we can help unlock for those who do not regularly attend church. Together we hold many keys to faith, if we choose to use them in the name of Jesus, the Christ. The Universal Church encourages us to reach out to all the baptized. “The time has also come for a new evangelization in the West, where many of those baptized lead totally unChristian lives and more and more persons maintain some links to the faith but have little or a poor knowledge of it . . . ‘This particularly concerns countries and nations of the so-called First World, in which [conditions promote] a life lived ‘as if God did not exist’” (Synod of Bishops, XIII Ordinary General Assembly, The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith, Lineamenta, no. 9, www.vatican. va/roman_curia/synod/documents/rc_synod_doc_20110202_lineamenta-xiii-assembly_en.html). Seven Doors into Parish Life Simply put, evangelizing means consciously opening doors that can lead to new faith for inactive Catholics. It means identifying, strengthening, and successfully using seven doors into parish life, or seven complimentary stages in the parish evangelization process. These stages are not new, and they are rooted in the New Testament and in the teaching of the Church: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
Befriend people. Share faith stories . Retell the Christ story. Invite to conversion. Bring into community. Call to discipleship. Call to stewardship.
On the Church’s Missionary Activity, a decree in the documents of Vatican Council II, describes these steps as part of a dynamic process of evangelizing that includes Christian witness, dialogue, a charitable presence to others, the proclamation of the Gospel, a call to conversion, the catechumenate, and formation of community through reception of the sacraments (see Second Vatican Council, Ad Gentes, nos. 10-18, in Vatican Council II:Volume 1:The Conciliar and Post Conciliar Documents, ed. Austin Flannery [Northport, NY: Costello Publishing, 1996]). Pope Paul VI also referred to these stages when he wrote in an apostolic exhortation,“Evangelization, as we have said, is a
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complex process made up of varied elements: the renewal of humanity, witness, explicit proclamation, inner adherence, entry into the community, acceptance of signs, apostolic initiative. . . . [We must] relate these elements rather than place them in opposition, one to the other, in order to reach a full understanding of the Church’s evangelizing activity” (Evangelization in the Modern World [Evangelii Nuntiandi], no. 24, www. vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_p-vi_exh_19751208_evangelii-nuntiandi_ en.html). And finally, the Catechism of the Catholic Church assumes an appreciation of this entire process when it states, “‘The sacred liturgy does not exhaust the entire activity of the Church’: it must be preceded by evangelization, faith, and conversion. It can then produce its fruits in the lives of the faithful: new life in the Spirit, involvement in the mission of the Church, and service to her unity” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd ed. [Washington, DC: Libreria Editrice Vaticana–United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2000], no. 1072). 1. Befriend People Welcoming and befriending inactive Catholics is at the heart of reaching out. It happens at the doors of the church, through parish programming, at picnics, through an Internet presence. The list is endless. Befriending means building quality relationships in families, in parishes, and when we serve others through works of charity and social justice. 2. Share Faith Stories We encourage faith sharing when we listen in a caring way to life stories and ask, “What does this mean for you?” or “What roles does faith play in your life?” We also encourage faith when we share similar experiences and the ways that God has been present in our own lives. And we affirm faith when we acknowledge new steps toward God or toward the Church. 3. Retell the Christ Story We can help open the door to Jesus. The Good News of the Gospel is that we are not alone. When the time is right, we can share our understanding of Jesus, who is Shepherd, Lord, Brother, and Redeemer. By sharing this news, we put flesh on the tenets of the Apostle’s Creed, our baptismal vows, and even the Sign of the Cross. Our confidence in God’s love becomes contagious. 4. Invite to Conversion When someone’s lifelong journey of faith gets sidetracked or halted, we can offer inactive Catholics an awareness of Christ’s loving presence. We can facilitate new encounters with Jesus Christ. We can invite someone into reflective silence or into praying aloud with us, asking the Holy Spirit’s help to rediscover Jesus and to welcome the embrace of the Church. 5. Bring into Community Jesus is already present to all the baptized. But we can affirm the actionsof the Holy Spirit who draws us all together. When the time is right, we can invite someone to a small or large gathering of our faith community or to an evangelizing parish event. If our invitation is rejected, we refocus on God’s unconditional love for those we invite.
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We may also invite inactive Catholics to return to the Eucharist, as we seek God’s guidance about engaging them in the fuller, deeper life of discipleship within the parish. For example, we might seek meaningful ways to include inactive Catholics whose marriages are not recognized by the Church and cannot receive the Eucharist. 6. Call to Discipleship We can open the door to more meaningful Catholic discipleship by extending ongoing, open-ended invitations to let Jesus transform every part of our personalities, actions, relationships, and choices. We can call them to a life of love and faithfulness through the vocations of marriage, single life, religious life, or the priesthood. We can help them explore faith in daily life as the key to transforming the world. We can assist them in exploring ways to apply Gospel values at home, in the community, and in society at large. 7. Call to Stewardship We can invite others to service in God’s name, to consecrate gifts and resources by laying them at the apostles’feet just as the early Christians did (see Acts 4:35). We can encourage stewardship as a normal flowering of discipleship. Stewardship is not the same as philanthropy. One hundred percent is given to God. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’document Stewardship: A Disciple’s Response speaks of stewardship as the fruit of intentional discipleship to Jesus Christ, lived out in the Church and the world (www.usccb.org/beliefs-andteachings/what-webelieve/stewardship/). Promote the Evangelization Process Engaging inactive Catholics in this process can help eliminate the revolving door experience they have with the Church. The evangelization process is a dynamic spiral and an ongoing journey toward the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It gradually draws inactive Catholics deeper into the larger parish community, echoing the RCIA/catechumenate process. So we need to examine each stage as it happens in our parish, realizing that stages might happen simultaneously and in no particular order. Then we might ask these questions: How can a particular stage be more deeply rooted in the Gospel and reflect life in Jesus Christ? How can each stage become a more successful doorway to fuller participation in our parish? Which stage needs the most attention? Which stage gives a particular person the best opportunities to use his or her gifts, according to the prompting of the Holy Spirit? And finally, this process is most fruitful when we use our gifts alongside all the members of the Body of Christ. Evangelizing is not just the ministry of a few individuals. It is everyone’s call! Jesus addresses everyone when he says,“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age” (Mt 28:19-20). Bear Witness to Jesus, the Word of God Pope Paul VI explains this challenge further. “Here lies the test of truth, the touchstone of evangelization: it is unthinkable that a person should accept the Word and give himself to the kingdom without becoming a person who bears witness to it and proclaims it in his turn” (Evangelii Nuntiandi, no. 24). So let us encourage each other to proclaim Jesus, evangelize, and seek training in everyday faith-sharing skills, so we might open doors to faith and to the Lord’s Table. Let us open all the doors for reaching inactive Catholics. And let us imitate St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, who prayed, “This will be my main interest, the purpose of all my steps, my comings and goings; . . . to love Jesus, to seek Jesus, to speak of Jesus and to make Jesus known” (Mary Louise Sullivan, MSC, Mother Cabrini, “Italian Immigrant of the Century” [New York: Center for Migration Studies of New York, 1992], 164).
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Copyright © 2012, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, D.C. All rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted to duplicate this work without adaptation for non-commercial use. Synod of Bishops, XIII Ordinary General Assembly, The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith, Lineamenta. Excerpts from Pope Paul VI, Evangelization in the Modern World (Evangelii Nuntiandi), copyright © 1976, Libreria Editrice Vaticana (LEV), Vatican City. Excerpts from Vatican Council II:The Conciliar and Post Conciliar Documents edited by Austin Flannery, OP, copyright © 1975, Costello Publishing Company, Inc., Northport, NY, are used with permission of the publisher, all rights reserved. No part of these excerpts may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without express written permission of Costello Publishing Company. Excerpts from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, second edition, copyright © 2000, Libreria Editrice Vaticana—United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, D.C. Used with permission. All rights reserved. Scriptures texts used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, copyright © 1991, 1986, and 1970 by the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, DC 20017 and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All rights reserved.
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A Review of the Best Evangelization Methods and Resources Available for Parish Outreach Efforts by Fr. Anthony F. Krisak, STD
D
etermining the “best” outreach efforts for parish evangelization requires a context for understanding what is “best.” Social communications media and Internet technology have given us vast opportunities to proclaim the Good News to the most distant of places and to a vastly diverse audience. Many parishes and dioceses have made admirable use of these opportunities for spreading the Gospel.Yet, as admirable as these efforts are, they lack an important ingredient, as Pope Benedict XVI suggested strongly in his message for the forty-fifth World Communications Day on June 5, 2011. Reminding us that virtual contact cannot take the place of direct human contact, he asserted, “The Gospel demands to be incarnated in the real world and linked to the real faces of our brothers and sisters, those with whom we share our daily lives. Direct human relations always remain fundamental for the transmission of the faith!” (www.vatican.va/ holy_father/benedict_xvi/messages/communications/documents/hf_ben-xvi_mes_20110124_45th-worldcommunications-day_en.html). This context of making face-to-face contact with seekers and inactive Catholics provides the criteria for reviewing the best evangelization methods and resources that are available for parish outreach efforts. The “best” resources must include at least one of two components. First, resources for outreach must help Catholic parishioners learn to invite others to consider the Catholic faith in a personal way. Having some form of printed invitation is helpful, but Catholics need to learn how to use them. Many communities have found helpful the use of public media, like billboards and radio ads, for making an outreach appeal in the name of the Catholic Church. We want to encourage these efforts, while affirming that personal contact provides the “best” way of reaching others who are not aware of the treasure of the Catholic faith. Second, the best programs for outreach also need to provide a way for those who respond to an invitation to connect with the Catholic faith in a way that helps them address the questions and issues they have regarding the meaning of faith in their lives. If we are going to invite others to consider the Catholic faith, we need to create an environment where they can connect with real-life people whose faith has made a difference in their lives. By engaging others in conversation, we open up a way for them to connect with the Church and start to identify the role that faith can have in their lives. Particularly when reaching out to inactive Catholics, we need to be aware of the many kinds of inactive Catholics we are trying to reach. For those who were connected for a time to the Catholic Church, programs that welcome people “home” are helpful.Yet a large segment of this population, especially the young, never experienced the Catholic Church as home, either because they did not grow up in the kind of Catholic culture that was strong in the twentieth century, or because they simply had little association with the Church. Programs need to provide an opportunity for people to make a connection or to reawaken a faith that has been dormant. Paulist Evangelization Ministries (www.pemdc.org) provides two resources for helping Catholic parishioners invite others. Invite! Ask Someone to Explore the Catholic Faith provides an invitation (Come and See) that Catholics can give to seekers or to those who are not affiliated with any religious tradition. Invite! also includes a parishioner guide (in a six-panel brochure format) for learning to identify and invite others to explore the Catholic faith and a parish manual so that evangelization teams and parish leaders can help
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parishioners learn how to invite others in an effective way. In addition, the parish manual offers tips on how to respond to inquirers and what options might be followed when inquirers discover they would like to move forward in becoming connected with the Church. The second resource, Catholics Reaching Out, parallels Invite! by providing the same three components (invitation, parishioner guide, and parish manual) in seeking to reach inactive Catholics. For connecting with seekers who are unaffiliated with a religious tradition, most parishes make use of catechesis and rituals associated with the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults or some adaptation of that if the seekers have been baptized in another Christian denomination. Where parishes do not have a year-round process for Initiation, Seeking Christ from Paulist Evangelization Ministries provides a way to make that connection at any time of the year through structured conversation and video reflections on central issues of faith. For reaching inactive Catholics, Sally L. Mews offers a method based on her pastoral experience entitled Inviting Catholics Home (www.catholicsreturninghome. org). The book, along with the website, provides an understanding of why people leave the Church and why they return, an overview of the Returning Home program, and a checklist for starting the program in parishes. This is basically a six-week program that starts with an anonymous questionnaire that serves to make evident the issues that people are facing. The book is very practical and detailed, offers a variety of forms for inviting, and addresses the hurt many returnees have experienced. Landings International, an apostolic arm of the Paulist Fathers, offers Landings, with six to eight small group sessions where inactive and active Catholics interact
to provide support and an environment for discussion and dealing with questions. The small groups give inactive Catholics a way to be with ordinary Catholics who are trying to live their faith in a real way. The safe and confidential environment allows a focus on the faith journey of each person. This resource includes both participant and coordinator guides that help participants move through each session with time for welcome, prayer, sharing, and reflecting on topics about faith. Training for group facilitators is available in person or online (www.paulist. org/landings). Paulist Evangelization Ministries developed Awakening Faith: Reconnecting with Your Catholic Faith (www.awakeningfaith.org) with a focus on inactive Catholics who tend to be younger and who grew up without a strong Catholic identity, yet who do not think of themselves as being “away.” This outreach program aims to reawaken faith in those individuals or help them connect on the level of human experience. With six to ten sessions, meetings are based on structured conversations about faith and what it means to appropriate faith. The resource includes a parish manual for setting up the program, helping others extend invitations, and making provisions for the meetings. A CD provides sample ads, bulletin announcements, invitation letters, and more. The group facilitator’s guide provides the material for leading the groups, and participants also have a booklet for their use. Full participation by everyone in the group strengthens group identifications and paves the way for moving into the “larger” group, the Church, with a greater degree of commitment. Alpha for Catholics (www.alphausa.org) provides ten basic sessions to introduce the faith to people who do not attend church and to inactive Catholics who are loosely connected. The meeting environment is designed to be friendly and nonthreatening so that
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participants can explore the faith in a manner that relates to the questions they have. The leaders of Alpha have discovered that the sessions also reinvigorate active Catholics. A simple meal helps to gather people together. In addition to the ten sessions, the program includes a one- or two-day retreat conducted away from the parish. The Alpha Essential Kit consists of an array of resources (books, videos, and posters) for inviting people to join, conducting the sessions, and training facilitators. Renew International offers Why Catholic? (www.whycatholic.org) with the aim of helping Catholics discover the richness of their faith in a way that increases their enthusiasm for sharing the faith with others. Based on the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the forty-eight sessions cover four basic themes: Catholic beliefs, morality, sacraments, and prayer. While it is not a direct outreach program, inasmuch as it targets active Catholics, the program can serve as an inspiration for parishioners to become more mission-oriented in the way they share their faith. With a parallel aim, Paulist Evangelization Ministries developed Living the Eucharist in both English and Spanish (www.livingtheeucharist.org) with the conviction that deepened participation in the Mass will motivate Catholics to be more committed in their outreach to others. This three-year renewal program, conducted primarily during Lent, includes resources for adult and teen small groups, ministers of liturgy, families, and all parishioners. In establishing the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization, Pope Benedict recalled words from his encyclical Deus Caritas Est: “Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction” (no. 1, www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/encyclicals/documents/ hf_benxvi_enc_20051225_deus-caritasest_en.html). The best methods for evangelization outreach will create that atmosphere in which all people have an opportunity to encounter that person, Jesus Christ in whom we live. Copyright © 2012, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, D.C. All rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted to duplicate this work without adaptation for non-commercial use. Excerpts from Pope Benedict XVI, Comminications Day, copyright © 2011, Librería Editrice Vaticana (LEV),Vatican City; Deus Caritas Est, copyright © 2005. LEV. Used with permission. All rights reserved Excerpts from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, second edition, copyright © 2000, Librería Editrice Vaticana—United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, D.C. Used with permission. All rights reserved.
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Grant Writing The Office for Catechesis will host two free grant writing webinars this October. These webinars are designed to help Catholic schools and parishes identify and secure grant money to support their ministries. The webinars will be facilitated by Kristin Olson of www.GrantsGalore.net. Follow the URLs to register for each webinar. First Things First: Program Planning for Grant Proposals October 1, 2012; 9a-10a; https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/806726434 Resist the temptation to chase grant money. Stay true to your organization’s mission and goals by developing a plan for how you would like to use grant funds before you apply for them. Thinking through the what, who, why, how many, how much, when, and to what extent of each program or initiative your organization needs grant funding for takes time. But the time you spend now will position you to submit competitive grant proposals as the opportunities arise. Workshop participants will discuss the components of effective program planning and be inspired to take the first steps toward proactive grant seeking. Distinct & Unique: Setting Your Organization Apart from Other Grant Applicants October 15, 2012; 9a-10a; https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/884243778 Imagine a grant officer sitting in front of the stack of proposals she received today. How do you ensure that she forwards your proposal on for review? Imagine a grant reader who has two days to review a dozen grant proposals. How do you increase your chances that he will read past your executive summary? Imagine several organizations similar to yours submitting proposals similar to yours. How do you make your proposal stand out from the rest? Although there are no guarantees to securing grants, there are many strategies you can use to distinguish yourself from other applicants.
Catechetical Sunday Commissioning Service Every year the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops publishes a Commissioning Service for catechists to be used in conjunction with Catechetical Sunday. Ideally the commissioning will take place following the homily on Catechetical Sunday; you can also use it outside of Mass during a gathering with your teachers or catechists. This year’s service is available as a printable PDF document from the USCCB web site at:
www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/how-we-teach/catechesis/catechetical-sunday/new-evangelization/upload/Commissioning-Service.pdf
Book Review:
Forming Intentional Disciples Reviewed by Jonathan F. Sullivan
Forming Intentional Disciples:The Path to Knowing and Following Jesus by Sherry Weddell is the most important book I’ve read this year. That is not exaggeration or hyperbole, but a testament to the research, experience, and insight Weddell brings to the question of evangelization and catechesis in the Church today. Weddell’s book is a synthesis of every deep conversation about catechesis and evangelization I’ve had with my local and national colleagues for the past four years. Weddell begins with a review of the data that should be familiar to all of us: decreasing Mass attendance, Catholics leaving the Church for Protestant communities, and a general “disengagement” from the life of the parish by many of the faithful. But she doesn’t just leave us with cold, hard facts. Thanks to her work with parishes across the country Weddell is also able to weave compelling anecdotes that put a human face on the crisis. Most surprising to me were the number of people who have left the Catholic Church not because they were failing to moving closer to Christ but because, as they more fully embraced their call to discipleship, they had no one in their parishes to support them or who understood the sudden fire that had been lit in them. That the Church is losing both unengaged and highly motivated members — leaking from both ends, as it were — should alarm all of us. Weddell’s overarching question in reviewing the data and stories is this: How many of our parishioners are truly disciples of Jesus Christ? How many are committed to living a life of faith in an intentional way? Her answer, based on conversations with pastors and parish staff across the country, is that about 5% of Catholics can be described as “intentional disciples.” This is shockingly low. And unfortunately many of the leaders in our parishes are not included in that figure. Some of the most heartbreaking stories in the book are the anonymous parish leaders — presumably DREs, youth ministers, and pastoral council members — who describe themselves as having no active relationship with God. Thankfully Weddell doesn’t tread old arguments by trying to place the blame for this crisis on any particular group within the Church. Rather, she identifies as a major contributing factor the lack of a “normal” understanding of what it means to be a disciple: As we listened to the spiritual experiences of tens of thousands of Catholics, we began to grasp that many, if not a majority of, Catholics don’t know what “normal” Christianity looks like. I believe that one reason for this is the selective silence about the call to discipleship that pervades many parishes. Catholics have come to regard it as normal and deeply Catholic to not talk about the first journey – their relationship with God – except in confession or spiritual direction.This attitude is so pervasive in Catholic communities that we have started to call it the culture of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
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Weddell also decries the poor sacramental preparation received by both children and candidates in the RCIA. Weddell delves into the Church’s theology of grace to demonstrate that we are not preparing people to fruitfully receive the sacraments. A tendency to focus on the validity of the sacraments has blinded us to the need for the recipients to receive the grace imparted by the sacraments and allow it to flourish in their lives. Quoting St. Thomas Aquinas and the Catechism of the Catholic Church Weddell skillfully indicts catechists who operate with a “the sacrament will take care of it” attitude towards the spiritual lives of those in their care. Weddell goes on to offer a framework for understanding the process by which a person becomes an authentic disciple of Jesus Christ. This was, for me, the most important part of the book, since it is the pivot on which evangelization and catechesis turn. Through her work with the Catherine of Siena Institute Weddell has identified five “thresholds” on the path to discipleship: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Trust Curiosity Openness Seeking Intentional Discipleship
Each describes the foundational attitude the individual must have before they are able to progress through the stage. Of course, this framework would be of little use without suggestions for how to guide individuals through this journey of faith. Fortunately, Weddell gives us some very concrete ways that we can walk with people at these different stages. For instance, Weddell challenges Church leaders to break the silence in our parishes concerning discipleship: Until discipleship and conversion become a normative part of parish life, many [people] will walk in and out of our parishes untouched, and many Catholics who are disciples will continue to feel that they need to hide or minimize their newly awakened personal faith in front of other Catholics.The first thing that must be done is to deliberately and persistently break the code of silence if it is in place.The Catholic norm of silence about a relationship with God, about Jesus Christ and his story, about our own stories of following Christ, and about the need for everyone to decide whether or not he or she will follow as a disciple is stifling the emergence of a culture of discipleship and all that flows from it. One of the most powerful ways to challenge the silence is by making a safe place for others to talk about their own lived relationship with God.
Weddell offers similar advice for each of the thresholds of discipleship; parish staffs would do well to read these chapters carefully and discuss how the suggestions might be implemented in their local communities. Forming Intentional Disciples is a book that has appeared at preciously the moment it is needed in the life of the Church. I am indebted to Sherry Weddell for her work in writing it, and I believe every bishop, pastor, evangelist, and catechetical leader should have a copy and study it carefully. I know I will be.
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CALENDAR OF EVENTS · September 16 – Catechetical Sunday: “Catechists and Teachers as Agents of the New Evangelization” · September 20 – Community of Religious Educators (CORE); 10a - 2p, Catholic Pastoral Center (Springfield) · One-Man Play - Maximilian: Saint of Auschwitz • September 24 – St. Charles Borromeo (Charleston); 7p • September 25 – Christ the King (Springfield); 7p • September 26 – Blessed Sacrament (Quincy); 7p • September 27 – St. Francis Xavier (Jerseyville); 7p · October 11 – Opening of the Year of Faith · November 3 – DAEC Pre-Conference; Decatur Conference Center and Hotel (Decatur) · November 4-5 – Diocesan Adult Enrichment Conference; Decatur Conference Center and Hotel (Decatur) · October 26-27 – North American Forum on the Catechumenate Workshop: “Focus on Initiation: Concerning the Baptized”; St. Clare (O’Fallon) · January 17 (24 - snow date) – Community of Religious Educators (CORE); 10a - 2p, Catholic Pastoral Center (Springfield) · March 5-6 – CORE Retreat, Villa Maria Catholic Life Center (Springfield) · May 16 – Community of Religious Educators (CORE); 10a - 2p, Knights of Columbus Council 4179 (Chatham)
You have seen the bumper sticker, “If you can read this, thank your teacher.” If there are cars in heaven, the bumper sticker will read, “If you are reading this, thank your catechist.” Bad news from the studies is that people are less than excited about “religion.” Good news is that they are eager for meaning, purpose, “spirituality” and belief. Our catechists connect the dots: meaning, purpose, spirituality and belief are found in Jesus and His Church. — Timothy Cardinal Dolan This work is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
COREnotes August 2012 - Issue 11 The Feast of St. Rose of Lima
Office for Catechesis 1615 W. Washington • Springfield, IL 62702 - 4757 217.698.8500 ph • 217.698.8620 fax • dio.org/catechesis