BOOK REVIEW - Bored Again Catholic: Journey to the Center of the Mass

Timothy O'Malley and I come from two very different generations. I'm a baby boomer grandma with a pastoral studies degree and 30 years practical experience in liturgy and catechesis, working in diocesan ministry. He's a millennial with a young family, a doctorate, and an academic directorship in addition to a teaching career at Notre Dame. However, he can certainly speak wisdom to someone my age... actually to people of any age.  

When I started reading his latest book, Bored Again Catholic: How the Mass Could Save Your Life, a little voice in my head kept telling me that Tim lives in a different reality than I do. Although he has much to say to young adults, especially to students in college (and campus ministers), who are his intended main audience, he acknowledges in his introduction that this book might  offer the rest of us, who struggle to convince young people to go to Mass "something that will revive your weary souls." OK, I thought. We'll see. 

For the first few chapters, I read through my teaching lens, thinking about the catechetical potential of the book and what I could recommend in it for others who minister in parish life with teens and young adults. Since I work primarily with directors of children's religious education, I was mentally including young adult parents of children in faith formation programs. I pretty much distanced myself from the book and honestly underestimated its effect on me personally. 

I will admit that from the first I was aware that going back and really exploring the questions and suggested practices at the end of each chapter could take me much deeper and that this book had great potential that would not yield itself up to a first quick reading, but I shelved those thoughts for later exploration.

Today, at the first Mass I participated in since reading the book, God had other ideas about how to upset my carefully cultivated distance from this book. It started at the "Gloria." Yes, I was the cantor - and of course it's Easter Time and I usually can lead this with joy, but today, the comparison from Chapter 6 of the "Gloria" to a "fight song" such as we sing for our favorite team at an athletic event hit me. I felt a burst of great energy and delight as I led the people in the singing. In fact, I felt renewed and refreshed.  

At the Gospel, which was today about the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, I immediately recalled the reference to this same Gospel reading in Chapter 12 "The Homily", where Jesus' interchange with the two disciples is referred to as "the Gospel of Luke's most famous homily."  The goal of the homily, O'Malley says, "is not to report on the most recent findings in historical-critical scholarship. It is instead to show us the coherence of God's narrative of love."  That's a theme in this book: the love of God shown through the sacrifice of Jesus is at the heart of the Mass. I felt it as the Mass continued, and I as able to offer myself unreservedly, to join in the sacrifice more wholeheartedly than I had been of late. In short, this book affected me more than I initially thought it would. 

Bored Again Catholic is much more than an explanation of why one should not succumb to boredom at Mass. Instead, it is an extended meditation on the connection between liturgy and life, a virtual journey to the center of the Mass. It is at one and the same time revelation, information and an engaging tale of how one man has found ways to enter into "full, conscious and active participation" in the Mass and how to truly offer himself in sacrificial love (the theme of his previous book, Liturgy and the New Evangelization: Practicing the Art of Self-Giving Love. Tim may not be everyone, but he offers himself, exposed in his humanity, as a model, showing us how his inner journey with elements of the Mass can serve as an example. 

A significant treasure in this book is the author's personal witness to his own struggles and how he has let the graces of word and sacrament shape his interior life. He shows us how engaging faithfully in the repetition of listening, praying, responding, and offering one's life as part of the sacrifice of the Mass can bear fruit. Tim is not shy about sharing his and his wife's battle with infertility - or his joy in adoption, which, as he tells it, became possible because of the work he engaged in during the liturgy. Again, he models a faithful response to Christ's sacrifice of love and our work in re-echoing that in our own lives as we continue to grow spiritually through faithful openness to God's work in us.

And no, it's not all about struggle. Tim shares with us charming moments of family joy, silliness and triumph. The antics of his toddler son at home and at Mass are a welcome dose of little things from real life that echo the imperfections of human life and the mission of love on which the Mass sends us. 

His explanations of the meaning and structure of the Eucharistic Prayers and the Lord's Prayer are joyful catechesis at its best. It is clear he loves these words and wants others to do the same. Indeed, it is clear throughout the book that what O'Malley really offers is an invitation to a life in which the Mass has a primary role. This is the invitation we want young adults to receive and take to heart: that the Mass has the power to uplift and change them, to send them forth to be people of sacrificial love.  

There is plenty of additional treasure to be discovered in the questions and suggested practices at the ends of each chapter.  I would urge you to take  time with them, I plan to. In fact, this is a book to be savored and studied, marked up and revisited - by adults of any age. 

Hindsight is Always 20/20: The Tyranny of Low Expectations

Over the past week since the Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage, there have been many opinions posted by Catholic bloggers, some of the more-challenging ones are about why our own people are not convinced of the Church's teaching on marriage.  (Just look at the number of Catholics who have changed their Facebook profile pictures this week to include a rainbow in support of the Supreme Court ruling.)

I have been particularly in agreement with two writers who focus directly on the general failure of catechesis and evangelization in the U.S. - and on what must, from now forward, change. These echo my own column in Ministry and Liturgy magazine's January, 2015 issue, where I opined on the state of catechesis in the US today (available by subscription.) It also echoes much of what Sherry Weddell has said in her best-selling book, Forming Intentional Disciples. Far from being mere hand-wringing, this is necessary self-reflection on what needs to change and why.

Jonathan Sullivan, director of the catechetical office of the Diocese of Springfield, IL, wrote this scathing nugget of truth:

If I'm going to be angry with anyone it is with a Church that for too long allowed the ambient culture to shoulder the burden of forming its members. We were all too happy to outsource the work of building up culture and people when the culture agreed with us. Now that the culture has turned against us we are reaping the rewards of that transaction. 

What we have discovered it that, for too long, the Church allowed its evangelization muscles to go unexercised, seemingly content that, even if the culture wasn’t forming disciples of Jesus Christ, it at least passed on a cultural Christianity that kept butts in our pews.  [bold is original]

Anger is an entirely appropriate response. The Church has only itself to blame. We are experiencing the fruits (or lack thereof) of what I like to call "the tyranny of low expectations" in catechesis.

In a similar vein, Patheos blogger Jennifer Fitz writes of  the necessity of discipling people one at a time to form mature Catholics - and how parishes have, instead, become virtual assembly lines:

What we have instead is cafeteria-model Catholicism.  The soul-food service line consists of weekly Mass and a series of classes for designated life moments, intended to prepare us for the sacraments.  If you’ll just start where it says “enter” and followed the roped-off course, you’ll end up with something like the Catholic faith on your tray by the time you get to check-out.

...The assembly-line mentality is so deeply engrained [sic] in Catholic thinking that whenever an evangelization or discipleship problem is discussed among parish professionals, it’s guaranteed that at least one person will propose a better assembly line.  Parents presenting their children for baptism don’t know the faith?  Make them go to more classes! Longer classes! Start them sooner!  Have them fill out attendance forms!

I'm not going to pull punches here. The "blame," if any, belongs to the bishops - and the clergy in general. When a new liturgical rite is promulgated, dioceses form their clergy with workshops. They did it for the revised Rite of Christian Funerals, and for the revised Roman Missal.

In contrast, when a catechetical document is released, there is no universal expectation that the clergy even read it, much less study it or take it to heart. The General Directory for Catechesis, the National Directory for Catechesis, both of which devote much space to new understandings of evangelization and the centrality of Jesus Christ in catechesis, had virtually no study days, and few clergy resources. The USCCB document on the primacy of adult faith formation, "Our Hearts Were Burning," was ignored by most clergy and parishes, who continue to pour resources into children's programming instead of refocusing on adults who would then be better equipped to form young people.

Compounding the situation, as enrollment numbers and Mass attendance (and consequently parish collections) have declined, many parishes are responding by hiring part-time, non-degreed parish leaders to run catechetical programs  - not just in my own diocese, but, from what I hear from other diocesan leaders, across the country. The practice is more and more to hire internally, to elevate an experienced catechist or even worse, to assign a parish secretary, to the task of organizing and running children's catechesis. When they meet with our office at the beginning of their first year and we talk about the needs to refocus catechesis and sacrament preparation, evangelize parents and form catechists to be disciples and witnesses, we often hear "But, Father never said anything about all of that!"

At a time when we most need qualified, well-supported leaders to redesign parish catechesis to include the entire community, to evangelize whole families and to build teams to spread a culture of discipleship to permeate all of parish life, many parishes are instead settling for the minimum. If the status quo continues and the pastor receives few complaints, the situation is deemed acceptable. Meanwhile, well-meaning and sincere, but under-qualified leaders are over-worked, underpaid and often have little support. In short, parishes often give the least amount of attention to the area that is sorely in need of the most.

Back in January, I wrote (in Ministry and Liturgy) of this situation:

This is deep Paschal Mystery for the Church. Change will only come through God’s power to bring new life from the worst of situations. But first, we need trust, courage and to let go.  

What needs to go? Clinging to old catechetical methods. Using books and blackboards to teach children who learn everything else using technology. Catechesis on doctrine with little relation to liturgy, community, or to real life. Sending kids home to families who neither pray nor attend Mass. Failure to foster conversion and to help people rely on the sacramental life of the Church for their well-being. Failure to invite people of all ages to personal encounter with Christ.

Our own people discount our teaching because they do not know and love the Lord. They have no relationship with the Father that would motivate them to obey God's laws out of love. We only have ourselves to blame for spending decades teaching about the institution's teachings, at the cost of bringing people to discipleship in Jesus Christ. Nowhere to go from here, really, except up. 

Parish as Learning Community: Providing Learning Spaces for Adults

Going through my blog feeds this morning, under technology, I just saw this: Optimizing Informal Learning Spaces: Ten Tips for Universities - it occurred to me that just as universities are places for learning, our parishes should be as well. A parish is, according to the catechetical documents, a learning community. This should be true for all ages, not just for the children and youth. So, the idea of both formal and informal learning spaces for adult learning is one that we might consider borrowing from universities.

Certainly there are rooms where formal learning sessions for adults take place in every parish. However, what about people who do not come to "sessions?" What is available for browsing on Sunday morning, for example?  Where can people go to learn about good Catholic resources? To share and discuss faith informally?

Let's start with formal space. Some parishes do have libraries - and those are a great idea. These usually consist of a collection of books and videos, with perhaps the ability to use a DVD player. But why not add tablets populated with Catholic apps that people can sample? These could be prayer apps or news apps. The Missio app, for example, provides a daily feed of news videos from around the Catholic world, provided by the Vatican.  There are ways to attach tablets to a surface or the space could be monitored by a volunteer librarian.

Less-formal space is even better - it could involve an adult learning lounge. Why not provide a monitored open space with audio CD's, CD players and headphones, with comfortable chairs? There are many good audio learning resources. Tablets, as mentioned above, would also be a great idea. A literature rack could include a list of great Catholic apps for phones and tablets.  Magazines, a few pamphlets that can be taken home, even some of those inexpensive CD's that people could purchase might be a great idea.  Wi-fi so that people can use their own devices would be a must. Put a seating group off to the side for people to gather for informal discussion - or even consider a separate space behind a divider or in an adjoining room so that those who wish to study privately can do so without disturbance.

A great idea for the discussion area is to have a member of the parish staff present for informal Q&/A - on a rotating basis, perhaps. Or, provide table tents with the "Question of the Week" based on the Sunday gospel reading. These are available online both in English and Spanish from Sadlier and RCL/Benziger.

In the case of both adult spaces - do make them hospitable! Pleasant furnishings, perhaps some coffee and doughnuts, and a friendly volunteer monitor who knows about the collection would be a great addition.  Promote the space - put something on the website and in the bulletin regularly about the "learning lounge" and encourage adults to continue their lifelong journey of learning and growing in their faith.

Christian Unity: The Work of ALL Catholics

I was minding my own business last January when I received a phone call from a gentleman who identified himself as Brother Jeffrey Gros, FSC, scholar-in-residence at Lewis University (next door to our pastoral center), requesting a meeting. He told me he had come to the university to teach, but because of low demand for a new degree program, he had time available and wanted to offer his services to the diocese. Interested, but not realizing what I was getting into, I agreed to meet.

That's how my journey into the subject of what Catholics don't know, but should know about ecumenism began. Brother Jeff has a message for all Catholics and he has worked tirelessly for years to get the word out:  All Christians are ONE.  Despite our differences, essentially, we are still, and always have been, one church through baptism in Jesus Christ.  The work we have to do is about finding our essential unity amid the diversity - and sorting out what we do and do not share.  The work that parish and diocesan religious educators need to do is to raise awareness, to educate Catholics for unity, as well as for what makes us specifically Catholic.  We need both. In reality we are mostly only doing one of these, and for many Catholics, that has resulted in some degree of triumphalism about the Catholic Church and an obscuring of the true nature of our relationship to other Christians.

Pope John Paul II's Ut unum sint ("That All May Be One", 1995)  puts it simply and unequivocally:

The unity of all divided humanity is the will of God. For this reason he sent his Son, so that by dying and rising for us he might bestow on us the Spirit of love. On the eve of his sacrifice on the Cross, Jesus himself prayed to the Father for his disciples and for all those who believe in him, that they might be one, a living communion. This is the basis not only of the duty, but also of the responsibility before God and his plan, which falls to those who through Baptism become members of the Body of Christ, a Body in which the fullness of reconciliation and communion must be made present. How is it possible to remain divided, if we have been "buried" through Baptism in the Lord's death, in the very act by which God, through the death of his Son, has broken down the walls of division? Division "openly contradicts the will of Christ, provides a stumbling block to the world, and inflicts damage on the most holy cause of proclaiming the Good News to every creature". The way of ecumenism: the way of the Church   (UUS, 6)

He goes even further:  "To believe in Christ means to desire unity; to desire unity means to desire the Church; to desire the Church means to desire the communion of grace which corresponds to the Father's plan from all eternity." (UUS, 9)  He further explains that even though we have real differences with other Christians, there already exists a basis for our unity:  "Indeed, the elements of sanctification and truth present in the other Christian Communities, in a degree which varies from one to the other, constitute the objective basis of the communion, albeit imperfect, which exists between them and the Catholic Church." (UUS, 11)

The pope then quotes the Decree on Ecumenism (3):  "All those justified by faith through Baptism are incorporated into Christ. They therefore have a right to be honoured by the title of Christian, and are properly regarded as brothers and sisters in the Lord by the sons and daughters of the Catholic Church".  

Notice the verb "ARE properly regarded".  Other Christians are already part of the family of the Church.  And yet, most Catholics chortle with glee when someone "swims the Tiber" or "comes home" to the Catholic Church.  A careful reading of Ut unum sint and other documents on ecumenism reveals how wrong this point of view is.  According to John Paul II, we need to recover our recognition of the essential unity and, through continual study and dialog, discern how we can become closer.  The Church, thankfully, has been working hard to do that.  A quick perusal of the ecumenical page on the USCCB website shows just how hard. We have agreements and standing dialogues with a number of  other Christian denominations. In fact, we have drawn closer, especially to our Lutheran and Anglican brother and sisters.

The biggest issue is that most ordinary Catholics know little or nothing about these ongoing activities. That is the heart of Brother Jeff's mission.  He has authored books for directors of religious education and school principals, and he continues to give workshops and presentations - some in our diocese.

He and I recently collaborated on a re-working of the 5-week University of Dayton online course for the Virtual Learning Community for Faith Formation,  re-titling it "Ecumenism in Parish Life".  Its first offering will begin on October 14.  If you think you want to know more about why ecumenical awareness is necessary in Catholic parish ministry, sign up today.  Here is the course description.  Join us for a mind-expanding journey into the significance of unity and the practical implications for religious education of children, youth and adults, RCIA and celebration of the sacraments.

Opening the "Door of Faith": US Bishops Announce Plans for Year of Faith

Although in my area any professional parish catechetical leaders worth their salt have already planned and announced their line-up of adult faith formation activities for the upcoming catechetical year, and DRE's have already published calendars for child/family activities, the USCCB yesterday finally unveiled its campaign.  Our diocese, like most, has a committee, but as yet no guidelines or suggestions for parishes (probably because they were waiting for the USCCB), so up until now, savvy leaders have had to rely on the original Vatican guidelines.

Yesterday's resources announced by the USCCB are

• An online searchable edition of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (find it HERE)
• An announcement of plans and a theme, based on the "door of faith" (find it HERE)
• A new resource page on the USCCB site (find it HERE)

Here is what they had to say about "the door of faith" (which comes from the title of Pope Benedict's October 2011 motu proprio entitled Porta fidei  in which he declared the Year of Faith :

“The central image of the Year of Faith is the ‘door of faith’ based on Acts of the Apostles,” said Bishop David Ricken of Green Bay, Wisconsin, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis, in his presentation to the bishops. “The ‘door of faith’ is opened at one’s baptism, but during this year we are called to open it again, walk though it and rediscover and renew our relationship with Christ and his Church.”

OK, we have their wisdom. Now, parish leaders need to re-focus their plans for next year or find ways to tie already-scheduled events in to this theme.

Trinity Sunday: the Great Commission - "Go" (And ROI)

Today's Gospel for the Most Holy Trinity includes the famous words with which Jesus leaves his disciples:

All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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.  (Matthew 28:18-20)

Besides the importance of Jesus himself naming the three persons of the Trinity, this passage, because of the command "go, therefore..." has become known as "The Great Commission."  Jesus is mandating this simple job description for his followers - to make disciples, baptize, and teach them - for all time, until the end. Pretty simple - and ostensibly this has been the mission of the Church since its beginning.

Notice the order here: first, we are called to "make disciples", then baptize, then teach. In the early Church, of course, converts called to the faith were primarily adults, so first they felt the urge to discipleship - they heard the Gospel proclaimed by believers and were attracted to the faith. Then they spent time in apprenticeship to the  local bishop to learn how to be disciples, also learning how to live as believers. Then they were baptized.  The order is often a bit different today.

Making Disciples. Disciples are called by hearing the Gospel. Certainly hearing the proclamation of the Gospel happens whenever it is read in church, and if the preacher is doing his job in the homily - of inspired instruction on what that proclamation means. But back up a minute. Because first we need to get people to church to hear that preaching, the calling of disciples is not primarily the job of preachers, but of the laity - the "faithful witnesses  who evangelize others  by testifying to their faith in Jesus Christ through their words and their lives, in the world. (In a previous post, I noted that this is a key theme of the Year of Faith.)

Calling and making disciples is the job of ALL Christians. The entire community of faith is called to proclaim the Gospel in its very life - and to call forth the gifts of its members so that they can become truly engaged deeply in the life of the community - so that the parish itself calls and makes disciples. Some churches do this very well. Others fail, for whatever reason. The Catholic Strengths and Engagement Community is a great resource on church engagement - providing resources and strategies for how to get people to be active, involved and contributing members of the parish. (Sign up for their June 15th webinar with Albert Winseman of the Gallup organization and Fr. Bill Hanson, pastor of the first church to use the Gallup ME 25 instrument to become an "engaged church."). 

An engaged church, by its very presence in the community, evangelizes, encouraging not only its members, but others, to become disciples.

Baptizing.  Of course today, since most Christians are baptized as infants at the desire of their parents, they have to spend a lifetime learning what it meant. That is why calling and evangelizing children and adults who are already members of the Church through inspired proclamation of the Gospel is so important.  If people really hear and see what is proclaimed, they remain in the Church.  But for that to happen well, we need to be part of a community of mystagogy - engaged in constant reflection on the essential and personal meaning of baptism. This begins, not with the entrance of a child into formal catechesis, but with engaging the parents of baptized infants and children in the life of the parish. Then, we need to provide lifelong learning and opportunities for participation in the life of the Church for all its members. (See the Engaged Church resources above.) In this reversed reality, baptizing does not stop after the water dries - each of us remains an apprentice in faith, learning daily how to be a better disciple and to "observe all" that Jesus has commanded. Parishes need to provide frequent opportunities for ongoing mystagogy on baptism for all ages, because it should be part of the lifelong learning of every Christian.

Teaching.  We know about that, and we attend to it - at least for children and youth. For the adults, not so much. In the 11 years since the USCCB document on adult faith formation, "Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us"  was published, only minimal progress has been made in most parishes toward making adult formation the centerpiece instead of the periphery of parish life. We can and must do better - even in this stressed economy, when so many parishes are finding ways to make do with volunteer leaders instead of paid staff for adult faith formation.

But what about that first word of the mandate: "Go"?

Recently, I heard Neil Parent, former executive director of the National Conference for Catechetical Leadership and former representative for adult education for the USCCB, say:

"Jesus said 'go and teach.' We say 'come and learn.' We need to go where people are." 

That is increasingly the challenge for the Church today - especially since so many of our people do not physically show up at the parish on a regular basis. It is why so many, including the Pope, are advocating for an increased use of social networking to spread the gospel, which is literally going out where people today are. Although many parish leaders have heard this, they still falter when it comes to doing this well. As many other good people have put tremendous effort into raising awareness and assisting Catholics to use technology to spread the Gospel, I will not do that here. However, here are just a few of my favorite resources from people at the forefront of Catholic exploration of technology:

Catholic Tech Talk

The Church and New Media

Digital Catechesis

Faith Formation 2020

Open Source Catholic

Tech Tips for Catholics

So, how are you and your parish living up the "The Great Commission" these days? Do you give adequate resources (time, energy, money and personnel) to "going","making", "baptizing", and "teaching?" Or, do you need to step back and rethink your parish plan for outreach, evangelization, engagement and catechesis?  Remember, the more you put in, the bigger the ROI (Return on Investment.)  After all, we don't do it alone.  Jesus promised to be with us in this endeavor until the end of the age.

The Year of Faith: Deepening Encounter, Understanding, Celebration and Witness

As most of you know, Pope Benedict has called for the universal church to celebrate a "Year of Faith" to begin October 11, 2012 (50th anniversary of the opening of Vatican II) and end November 24, 2013 (Solemnity of Christ the King).  My friend Joe Paprocki recently wrote this great explanation and summary in his blog. 

The bottom line is that the goals of the Year of Faith are basically two: evangelization and catechesis.

The Pope is calling upon all levels of the Church to foster an encounter with Christ through faithful witnesses and to promote a deeper understanding of the faith. So how should diocesan and parish leaders prepare for this celebration? Read the pastoral recommendations from the Vatican, to start.

However, busy parish and diocesan ministers might benefit from the "Cliff's Notes version."   Here is a quick summary of the major themes on all levels of the Church:

• encounter with faithful witnesses (Saints as witnesses)
• understanding and renewing use of the Catechism of the Catholic Church 
• understanding and celebrating Vatican II
• renewal of the Sacrament of Penance
• intensification of celebration of the Eucharist 
• general renewal of and commitment to Catholic faith
• ecumenical dialog
• renewal of personal efforts to communicate faith (evangelization)

FAITHFUL WITNESSES: I have mentioned the concept of "faithful witnesses" before in this space (most recently in my post on how to choose new catechists).  I cannot emphasize this enough. My own journey to faith in Jesus Christ and full engagement in the Catholic Church has been nurtured in the RCIA process and ever since by a number of faithful witnesses - and the memory of those people, living and deceased, is always with me every time I reflect on my faith journey. Their effect on me then and now has been to ground me in the beauty of a living relationship with Christ. Parishes might do well, in preparing for the YOF, to start discerning who the faithful witnesses are in their community - and scheduling opportunities for them to speak to the parish about how faith has impacted their lives.  Catechesis about the Saints is also a great way to help people connect with examples of those whose very lives are remembered because they were all about witness to their faith in Christ.

CATCHISM: Making the CCC,  the Adult Catechism, YouCat or the Compendium more available to parishioners by selling them at parish events or in the back of church to kick off the YOF might be a strategy. Other ways to do this would be to have speakers or sessions on the CCC, or engaging in group studies, such as Why Catholic?.  Parish websites, blogs and social media pages should reflect on and post quotations and links to where to purchase these resources. Remind catechists that it is there for them to use in faith formation sessions... and show them how to use it. The point is to bring the CCC out of the shadows and remind - and teach - people to use it.

VATICAN II: Focusing on the history and some of the outcomes of the Council through presentations, study groups, preaching, websites, blogs and social media, and general discussion is also a good strategy.  Twenty-Third Publications has a great group of inexpensive resources to do this in parishes.

PENANCE:  The revised Rite of Penance suggests a renewal of catechesis on the sacrament - always the elephant in the room for Catholics.  Parishes would do well to plan to provide catechesis through presentations, preaching, and ample resources on blogs, websites and social media... and ample opportunities for celebration. Busted Halo has a great video that would be good to embed on a parish website and/or direct people to from a social media page, for example.

INTENSIFICATION OF CELEBRATION OF EUCHARIST: OK, it's the dead horse we all love to beat:  parish liturgy is the best thing we can offer people - and if it stinks, many people go away. Any energy a parish puts into improving celebration of the Mass is never wasted. Better training for ministers, better preaching, better music, more intentional liturgical planning... you all know the drill. We can never slack off on this.  Liturgical catechesis through homilies. presentations and the bulletin on the Mass - many of us did this for the new Missal implementation. We really should never stop - this is a full-time initiative.

RENEWAL OF FAITH:  Plan those parish missions now!  Get the best, most inspirational speakers - and make this not just an opportunity for people to show up and listen.. but to engage actively in further discussion, small faith-sharing groups, and more.  Be more intentional about adult faith formation - and more active in promoting it.

ECUMENICAL DIALOG: While this is the ongoing responsibility of the Vatican on a universal level, raising awareness of the ongoing dialogs and initiatives - and helping people claim a spirit of ecumenism is an agenda item for all in the Church.  The very least thing parishes should do is to pray for unity among Christians on a regular basis. Catechists and leaders need to be formed about the ecumenical teachings of the Church. (More on that in subsequent posts in this space.)

COMMUNICATING FAITH:  Encourage this by example through parish blogs and social media and public events and service in the community that invite others to experience the love of Christ.  Teach those who take communion to the sick to spend time talking about Christ.  Teach your parish food pantry minsters to give people a blessing and express to them that Jesus loves them, even though (especially because) they are poor. Talk about faith and the workplace in homilies, bulletin articles and presentations...  the possibilities are endless.

Every diocese and local parish can all come up with ways to make the Year of Faith a good and effective experience of renewal of the Church.  Don't waste the opportunity. Start planning now.

Mother Dolores Hart's Love Story Teaches the Power of Vocation

When I heard that a short film about a cloistered nun had been nominated for an Academy Award earlier this year, I was fascinated, as were many people, that such a thing could be true.  Now that I have finally had the opportunity to see it, I can tell you it was well-deserved.

God is the Bigger Elvis is a poignant look at what it means to be totally swept up in relationship with God. Not only is it a great human-interest story, it is a powerful explication of the concept of vocation - and can certainly serve as a way to catechize about what it means to hear  - and have the courage to obey, in spite of the temptation of other attractive options - God's voice in the circumstances of life.

Watch it. You will be moved. Share it and use it. The film is a gift to all.

Rick Santorum: Why We Need Adult Catechesis on Social Justice and Stewardship

Rick Santorum, Catholic Republican candidate gets the pro-life part (well, at least the anti-abortion part).  That is undeniable - and why many Catholics lionize him. Well and good.   What he does not seem to understand, however,  is the social justice teachings of the Church, or the teachings on stewardship of the earth. His recent remarks on the latter lead me to think that either he was the victim of inadequate catechesis (very probable, given his age and what was going on with catechesis) or he was simply asleep when his catechists talked about these things. This is a good summary of what he said - and his explanation afterward.

In effect, he sees the earth as something here for humans to dominate for their own needs... and thinking about what that might do in terms of damage to animals or to future generations is something he does not consider important. By calling this "theology" he implies this is somehow biblical. Since he touts his Catholicism, it rubs off on the Church when he is wrong, because people hear him and think that's what it means to be Catholic.

I'm going to ignore the "phony theology" line, since that has already been much discussed.  But the explanation of  why he thinks President Obama is wrong about the environment is telling.  Santorum, frankly, needs to re-read the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which not only talks about "dominion" over the earth, but about "respect for the integrity of Creation:"

2415 The seventh commandment enjoins respect for the integrity of creation. Animals, like plants and inanimate beings, are by nature destined for the common good of past, present, and future humanity. Use of the mineral, vegetable, and animal resources of the universe cannot be divorced from respect for moral imperatives. Man's dominion over inanimate and other living beings granted by the Creator is not absolute; it is limited by concern for the quality of life of his neighbor, including generations to come; it requires a religious respect for the integrity of creation.

Please, Mister Santorum. Read your Catechism before representing Catholic teaching. Go ask your pastor or your local director of religious education for a good summary of  Catholic teaching if you don't have time for the whole Catechism.  You are frankly an embarrassment to the Church when you mis-state theology to promote your agenda.

Sacramentalizing the "Casual Catholic" Family - or Evangelizing Them?

Most parish directors of religious education are actually pretty creative people. They are continually devising new strategies to try to get barely-connected families to be serious about their involvement in their children's faith formation. (Often against their will.) Many in our diocese make use of annual pre-sacrament  parent meetings to urge parents to get involved by bringing their children to Mass on a regular basis, praying and reading Scripture at home and talking about their faith with their children. They give inspiring talks, show videos, facilitate group process, and send home family projects. Some use various formats of intergenerational gatherings to involve the entire family on site at the parish.  They spend a huge amount of time and energy trying to get parents to step up to their responsibility for their children's faith formation.

While these are certainly good practices, and certainly they have some effect, how difficult it is to reach these folks meaningfully with the good news of Jesus Christ becomes painfully apparent when most of them disappear from the parish after the last child receives that all-important Confirmation certificate. They pretty much have what they came for. Now they can move on. They will come back to church for weddings, baptisms, and funerals, and perhaps on Christmas and Easter... or not. Some even blithely tell parish leaders that they promised their teen that after Confirmation they no longer have to come to Mass.  These are the "casual Catholic" families. They really only want to know how much the sacrament will "cost" them in terms of money and time. They will mostly give as little of both as possible.  A few may have enough good will to volunteer for ministries while their children are in formation, but even many of these do not remain after the Oil of Chrism is dry on their child's forehead.

What's missing and why don't these strategies work very well.? Simple. Many parents quite often don't have much faith themselves to share with their children. They may have a conventional sense that faith is important, but they really don't have a strong relationship with Jesus Christ.  While intergenerational programs offer more opportunity for engagement, they are missing something very important: opportunities for the parents to experience real and meaningful  conversion of their own. 

Enter Father James Mallon. Father Mallon, the Canadian priest behind Catholicism 201 (the follow up to Alpha for Catholics) and Dogmatic Theology. He is a man with a plan. When he spoke in our diocese on December 8, he described his method... and proposed some models.  (The full presentation can be heard HERE .)

What Father James proposes is that we stop spending the bulk of our energy on those who are not serious about their faith. Not that we abandon those barely-connected families, but that we no longer tolerate the status quo by enabling them to get those sacraments they want from us for a minimal temporary commitment.  He is convinced that people make lots of promises in the course of sacrament preparation they never intend to keep. He spoke of it as "ritualized lying".  We set people up for this when we allow them to celebrate sacraments and make promises within that celebration, knowing full well they are not really ready and have no sense of commitment to those promises.

Father Mallon explained, as an example, how when a couple comes to him seeking a church marriage, before he sets up the preparation and the wedding date, he first asks them to start coming to Mass on a regular basis to get to know him and the community, and to go through the Alpha Course for Catholics, a small-group evangelization process.  Some will balk at this, a few will go away, but many decide to go through this.  So do many parents who bring children for baptism, or children for other sacraments. Those who do engage in this process, apparently, stay and become a part of  St. Benedict in Halifax, Nova Scotia, a very growing and lively parish, which has been described as the "Willow Creek" of Canada.  Everyone in the parish is considered to be on an active faith journey... they are truly a parish that has become a "learning community." Everyone in the parish is asked in some way to participate in the stewardship of time and talent -  and time is not just time spent in service, it is also time spent in prayer and developing one's spiritual life.

What about the families who are already engaged and active and lifelong members of the parish?  Father Mallon says you need to stop lumping them in with the inactive people and treating them all the same. That might mean you offer something deeper for those who are ready - a separate track, as it were... small groups, perhaps, but using resources that acknowledge they are further along on their journey of faith.

So, what difference would it make in your parish if everyone were asked to become part of a small-group evangelizing process before they or their children receive sacraments? If they were helped to see why God and faith and the Church really matter (in a program such as Alpha for Catholics) If they were all expected to be and assisted to be on a faith journey? If they were all tapped for time and talent? 

Do you think parents might stop telling their kids that after Confirmation they never have to go to Mass again?  Do you think they would be more engaged and active in the parish?  What would YOU do if you could, to evangelize and engage the disconnected folks who only seek us out when they want sacraments?  Can you start thinking differently about the focus of your efforts with parents - to change from making it about their children's faith to making it about their own faith?

Some Clues from the Business World About Designing and Marketing Adult Faith Formation

This week in my diocese, we will have our fall gathering of adult faith formation leadership for discussion and sharing. One issue that is sure to come up is the perennial one: how do we get people to participate in what we offer?  Although in our June event with John Roberto of Lifelong Faith Associates, he suggested that parish leaders need to move toward ways to individualize people's experiences through technology and a well-curated website that speaks to their needs, I suspect most of our people aren't ready to begin that.

Most parish leaders will remain in our current mode: typically in the Church we come up with a presentation we think will be what people need to hear, we make bulletin and pulpit announcements, maybe posters, and we wait for people to come to us.  Afterwards, we bemoan the lack of attendance, but then start over and do the next event in pretty much the same way.  As a friend of mine used to say: "If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you always got."

The problem is, however, that we make a lot of assumptions when we offer programs.  The simple fact that a minority of Catholic adults participate in adult faith formation offerings seems to be due to our inability to convince them of the value of those programs. Lacking the technology expertise, time and motivation to move into an individualized offering, web-curation stage, the very least we can do is look at how we choose or design programs, and, after that, how we market them effectively.  One place to look for assistance with this is to experts in product design creativity, promotion and motivation.

In the book Subject to Change: Creating Great Products and Services for an Uncertain World,  David Verba, of Adaptive Path, suggests that
"When a person engages with your products, services and environments, a set of distinctly human qualities comes into play. A person's experience emerges from these qualities:

I don't have the answers, but I suggest it might be use for parish leaders look at their programming in light of how well they are fulfilling the motivations, expectations, perceptions people have - and in looking at how the programming meshes with these six things.  Knowing more about that can help us design offerings and publicize them in ways that honor who the target audience is.  It isn't good enough to say, in effect - "Hello, we are the Church, we know what's good for you,  please come to our event."

A Story of Unexpected Love

Last night, after the featured presentation of "Sherlock" on my local PBS station, I almost changed the channel.  I am glad I didn't.  They showed a short Oscar-nominated film in Dutch, with subtitles. I normally have little patience for subtitled films, since I am an avid multi-tasker, and when I have to focus on reading rather than hearing the dialog... well, you know how that is! About a minute and a half into this, however, I stopped having the urge to reach for the remote.  This film, about an aging office clerk with romantic inclinations ends up being a story of great love, in a most unexpected way.  I am thinking this might be a great conversation-starter for parish faith formation. Watch and see if you agree if "there is no greater love than..."

Laying the Blame Where it Belongs

A Facebook friend posted this video today from RealCatholicTV.com on what the Pope has to say about the state of Catholic faith in the world today.  While the Pope makes some really good points about the need for re-evangelization of our own people, the RCTV commentator chooses to interpret the fault as lying with bishops and priests who allow abuses in the Novus Ordo liturgy... a typical attack stance among those who see the Latin Mass as the cure for everything that ails the Church.  Take a look. The Pope's comments, sifted out from his Holy Week homilies, are worth hearing:

 

Now, taking the Pope's comments at face value, we hear that his fear is that many Catholics are lukewarm in their faith and either unable to discern evil when they encounter it, or simply able to dismiss evil.  That sounds like the malaise of a post-modern, self-centered, consumeristic culture, not just a failure to celebrate the Mass well. Certainly good celebration of the liturgy is a factor that helps transform people and the Eucharist of itself has the power to convert. But, if Catholic adults are poorly catechized and do not participate in opportunities to be formed in faith other than the Mass, the majority are not going to experience conversion through the Mass alone.

A chicken and egg issue, you say?  Sort of.  Does deep conversion happen because you celebrate Mass well, or do you celebrate Mass well because you are deeply converted? Both. (Lex orandi, lex credendi and all that!)  But just as necessary is good faith formation and re-evangelization of people who already think they are Catholic, but who in reality never learned what faith has to do with real life. We need to reach them with a sense that Catholic faith is not just a one hour on Sunday factor in their lives, but an entire lifestyle.

One answer is not simply eliminating "liturgical abuse", in the sense that it is usually thought of. Better, more inspired liturgical celebrations that lead people to a sense of the sacred is certainly called for.  If "lukewarm" liturgy is an abuse, however, it is not just endemic to the Novus Ordo.   Better liturgical formation of both clergy and of the laity is one possible and needed solution. The General Directory for Catechesis listed liturgical catechesis as one of the "doctrinal lacunae" in the content of catechesis.  If people do not truly understand the Mass in all its depth, how can they be open to conversion by celebrating it? The current implementation period for the new Roman Missal is certainly a ready-made opportunity to renew our understanding of the Mass and its potential.

However, even beyond renovating our celebrations, we need to focus attention on providing good overall catechesis and opportunities for conversion of Catholic adults.  Too many remain in a child-like understanding of faith because they have had little or no formation since they were children. Jonathan Sullivan of the Diocese of Springfield, IL explores that dynamic very well in this recent post on where adults really are in their faith development.  Another underpinning for the converted life is good experiences of scripture study and prayer (thanks to Marc Cardonella.)  

If parish communities were to provide good adult faith formation that speaks to where people actually are, leading them to a lived understanding of what Catholics believe (Creed) good liturgical understanding  (Sacraments), a knowledge of how Catholics should make decisions and treat others (Life in Christ), deep experiences of prayer methods and practices  (Prayer), underpinned by experiences that enable them to develop appreciation and love of Scripture, it could change Catholic adults into functioning passionate disciples of Jesus Christ....  Well, doesn't that sound familiar?  This is, of course, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, supported by Bible study - the basic content of all catechesis.  Adults with a full understanding of how the content of faith relates to their lived experiences turn around and celebrate that well by fully and deeply participating in the Mass... which can lead them to deeper conversion through the Eucharist.

So, yes, the Pope is right to be concerned. However, the answer is not as simple as going back to the old Latin Mass or eliminating "liturgical abuse" by clergy and laity in the Novus Ordo parishes. What we have, my friends, is a failure to catechize.  We have, as I have often said, failed to help people discover why faith matters.

The Catechetical Problem of Being "Too American"

This morning is NOT a happy catechetical moment for me. In fact, I have to admit I am feeling downright crabby.  In the wake of yet another heated discussion on Facebook with other Catholics where I encountered refusal to accept the teachings of the American bishops based on dislike of the USCCB,  I have to admit I am becoming increasingly tired of those who stubbornly do not accept the fullness of Church teaching - who reject or discount the statements and teachings of bishops duly appointed by Rome to lead us in America because they disagree with the "politics" or the make-up of the USCCB. That body may not be "perfect" but these are bishops the Holy Spirit has chosen for us.  In a hierarchical church, the reality is that these are our shepherds, like it or not. For a significant portion of the Catholic population, however, these leaders are not only discounted, they are downright disrespected.

Consequently, I am going to step out on a limb here and make a statement of faith.  This is important - because as I see it, this is one of the issues that sometimes becomes a significant stumbling stone to adult catechesis.

As an educated, thinking human being in a democracy, I admit I don't always immediately agree with every teaching of the Church either, but I never close the door to what is taught.  I especially do not close the door because I don't like the "messenger." I continue to study the issue and to pray on it - with a view to finding out why my spiritual leaders have asked this of me - to discovering why God is asking this of me.  As a disciple in the Catholic Church, I know my teachers and leaders have been sent by the Spirit, even when I find it difficult to agree with them. Yes, they are human, but they are the ones sent in the name of the Church. I have a duty to listen to them in humility, even when I disagree.

Call me idealistic, but I find it sad that I have been mistaken in assuming that Pope John Paul II's accusation that Americans were "Cafeteria Catholics" was insulting and incorrect. Apparently, it is still very much in vogue, even among those who say they have a great attachment to all things Roman, including the Pope and the Latin Mass, to pick and choose what teachings and which shepherds of the Church to follow.  Sadly, these Catholics often accuse others of the same thing, depending on the issue. Maybe I am not "normal", but I thought that being Catholic calls us to rise above petty, personal and political beliefs to assume an attitude of humility and obedience to those assigned to our spiritual care and guidance - and to work together to make this a better world.

To be Catholic means to accept even Church teachings we find difficult - or to be open to finding our way to acceptance. These discussions have shown me just how closed the minds of some Catholic adults are. As a catechetical minister of the Church, I tell new catechists that no matter what their personal opinion, they must always teach from the "center" of Church teaching or when speaking publicly. Last time I checked, the USCCB was part of the Magisterium - the engine within the Church that interprets the teachings of Rome for those of us who live in America. We may indeed hold private opinions, but in discussion in public - even on Facebook among "friends", it is not wise to air them - that, frankly, is damaging to the unity of the Body of Christ. It is also hurtful.

Sadly, what divides Americans along political lines (liberal and conservative, Democrat and Republican, Coffee Party and Tea Party) often divides us spiritually as well.To be an adult Catholic in America is not just to be "anti-abortion" in our political beliefs. It is also to follow the teachings of the Church - from the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the statements made by the Pope and by bishops around the world, most particularly those assigned to our spiritual care here in this country.  American bishops have issued  teaching statements about the right to health care, fair treatment for immigrants, preferential treatment for the poor, the definition of marriage, and consistently urge our nation's legislators to adopt public policies that promote preservation of families and justice for all - not just for those who are like us.

To be Catholic is is not just to think spiritual thoughts when we are at Mass and to spend hours in Adoration of  Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament working out our own salvation. It is also to rise above self-interest and cooperate as the Body of Christ with the grace of God to build a better world - one in which the vision of Mary's Magnificat approaches reality: when the poor will be fed and the rich sent away empty. In that world, there will be no room for politics, no tolerance for bigotry or lack of charity.  I find that this agenda  is too disturbing for some Catholics. The idea that we are called to a life in the world consistent with the teachings of the Gospel seems to them to be a radical "liberal" agenda.  If so, then Jesus and  Mary were among the most radical liberals of their time. It's no wonder the authorities felt it necessary to crucify him. In their name this morning, I pray that my brothers and sisters in Christ may be guided to find their way not just to personal piety, but will be outwardly directed to charity and love for all people, including immigrants, the poor, and those much-despised bishops of the USCCB.

And no, in the interest of the unity of the Church I will not engage in verbal fisticuffs in the comments. Go ahead - disagree... but in the memorable words of Darth Vader: "Search your heart. You know it to be true." Un-friend me if you must, but you know I have a point.