Franciscan at Home

Without a doubt, Pope Francis can draw a crowd. He catches people’s attention. He continues to intrigue and interest people. He moves them to think and share—people of all backgrounds and persuasions, young and old alike, inside and outside the Church. However, he remains in some ways an enigmatic pope whose words and gestures, priorities and preferences can cause a bit of a stir and some confusion—regularly and from day one. To some degree, his appeal is simply due to the fact that he is the pope. Interest in the pope has been on the upswing for decades from John Paul II to Francis, drawing large crowds to papal events inside and outside the Vatican. Whether the world admits it or not, the Vicar of Christ is a leader, is looked at and listened to—even by mockers. The fact that this pope draws the daily attention of so many outsiders, including non-believers, is undeniable. Why? What is his pope appeal that is likewise creating so many waves? For one, Pope Francis tweets regularly. We also see and hear Pope Francis more often than we did his predecessors thanks to his daily homilies. He preaches every morning at a Mass that resembles a weekday Mass at a neighborhood parish. The preacher pope almost always delves into the scripture readings of the day, connecting them to everyday life. Much like Jesus, when preaching in his day, Pope Francis addresses both the haughty and the humble—with harsh and kind words, respectively. His preaching style is shocking to some and refreshing to others. He weighs in on a variety of current issues in newsworthy ways, not unlike many of his predecessors. He speaks openly with reporters and even grants unusual interviews—to liberals and conservatives, atheists and Catholics, Protestants and secular media outlets. He stimulates thought and discussion, even debate and headache. He is continuously novel, speaking of old things in new ways and of new things in stimulating ways. Without a doubt, his words and gestures can barely go unnoticed, and his Franciscan communication style is unique. This is by design. He is a man on a mission, a purpose-driven padre. He arrived on the Catholic and world scene as a new communicator for a new evangelization.

For us catechists, St. John Paul II's "theology of the body" should strike a single, resounding chord in our hearts and minds: "good news!" It is, in essence, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. While St. John Paul II's 133 Wednesday catecheses include a profound application to sexual and marital morality, the application occurs primarily at the end of this series of discourses. As a consummate catechist, St. John Paul II knew that grace perfects nature.[1] It doesn't replace nature nor jump ahead of it. Thus, to truly understand how we should act, we have to first understand who we are and what our purpose is. In other words, the foundation of faith is a correct view of the human person, a correct metaphysics. Before you hurriedly skip to another article because you fear I'm about to launch into the philosophical stratosphere, let me reassure you I am not. Like you, I am a catechist in every pore of my being. I live to communicate the faith to others in a concrete and systematic way. However, I am increasingly convinced that our efforts to pass on the faith often fail to be transformative because we assume others have already adequately answered the key human questions of "Who am I?" and "What is my purpose?" Or, perhaps without realizing it, we have relegated those questions to the realm of psychology and philosophy, as if they are irrelevant to theology and catechetics. In truth, these two questions constitute the core of Christianity. The cataclysmic shock Christianity introduced into history was not its moral teachings; other cultures and religions embraced and taught similar moral norms. Rather, the novelty of Christianity is its illumination of personal identity. Confessions of faith in Jesus' divinity are the highpoints of the Gospels: Peter professes, "You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God" (Mt. 16:16); the centurion at the foot of the cross concludes, "Truly, this man was the Son of God" (Mk. 15:39); St. John declares the purpose of his gospel to be "that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God" (Jn. 20:31).

People involved in the mission of handing on the faith will discover a reliable reference point for content and pedagogy in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. This series examines how to make use of this gift of the Church for the task of evangelization and catechesis. A moment at the end of the feeding of the five thousand vividly captures the task of the new evangelization. After all had eaten from the miraculous multiplication of the loaves and fish, there was one further task to be undertaken: “And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish” (Mk. 6:43). The image of broken pieces left after a feeding that prefigures the Eucharist—the sum and summary of the faith—is a compelling image. The ecclesial culture that Pope St. John Paul II asked us to mend, as the priority for the new evangelization (a priority on which the mending of a Christian society depends) is a fragmented one: "Without doubt a mending of the Christian fabric of society is urgently needed in all parts of the world. But for this to come about what is needed is to first remake the Christian fabric of the ecclesial community itself present in these countries and nations."[1]

A SURVEY FOR CATECHISTS U.S. Marines have a code of honor: no one gets left behind—not even the fallen on the battlefield. They are bound together in brotherhood. Their commitment to this code enables Marines to act with courage and valor. Similarly, as baptized Catholics we form a bond as God’s family and pledge to accompany any child of God through conversion. In a culture hostile to the faith, we must exercise Marine-strength courage to remain vigilant for those who fall away. How well are we keeping that pledge? Admittedly, too many baptized and confirmed Catholics fall away from the faith without taking hold of the treasure of our faith and its promise of eternal life. They are dying on the battlefield, spiritually speaking. Statistics in this regard are nothing short of alarming, with Catholics experiencing the greatest net loss due to changes in affiliation.[1] An estimated 70% of young Catholics no longer practice their faith by the time they reach adulthood.[2] Do we strategically think about the way in which our “baptismal training” equips people to survive spiritually in a toxic secular culture? Are we praying vigilantly for their return and going in search of them? One of the reasons that many of our baptized people do not survive with their faith intact is that “basic training” for becoming a disciple—personal conversion to Jesus Christ, personal relationship with him—is a neglected dimension of Catholic formation. Children baptized in infancy come to the parish for catechesis, and we work hard to communicate the content of the faith; but we often fail to put them in touch with—in intimacy with—the person of Jesus Christ, which Pope St John Paul II said is the “definitive aim of catechesis.”[3] In our concern to communicate Christian doctrine effectively, we sometimes overlook the fact that baptized people may not yet know Jesus Christ enough to care about what he taught. In this article, I will set forth a small offering of some principles and practices by which we can create conditions that favor personal conversion amidst the secular culture. This is less about developing new programs (though this can be helpful) than about applying these principles and practices in ministries that already exist. First, I will set forth a number of principles drawn from the teaching of recent popes, who are the architects of the New Evangelization. These will be followed by four kinds of practice.

The New Evangelization is a call to each person to deepen his or her own faith, have confidence in the Gospel, and possess a willingness to share the Gospel. It is a personal encounter with the person of Jesus, which brings peace and joy. (Disciples Called to Witness, 3)

Does the New Evangelization make you a little bit uncomfortable? Does it feel as if you are moving out into unchartered water? Does it feel as if some of the tools you are comfortable using aren’t adequate anymore? If so, you may be just where God wants you.

The stated focus of The Catechetical Review is: Communicating Christ for a New Evangelization. For its inaugural issue, I thought it fitting to give a clear answer to a question often asked by many, even in cathechetical circles, “What exactly is the new evangelization?”
Some Background

The Council Fathers of Vatican II placed significant emphasis on evangelization, as is evident in the published documents that followed. In fact, when the post-conciliar popes describe the fundamental purpose of Vatican II, they often describe it as renewal for the sake of evangelization. At its heart, this renewal is actualized through understanding and living the universal call to holiness. As Gaudium et Spes puts it:

Although by the power of the Holy Spirit the Church will remain the faithful spouse of her Lord and will never cease to be the sign of salvation on earth, still she is very well aware that among her members, both clerical and lay, some have been unfaithful to the Spirit of God during the course of many centuries…led by the Holy Spirit, Mother Church unceasingly exhorts her sons to purify and renew themselves so that the sign of Christ can shine more brightly on the face of the Church (43).

Following a period of radical decline in the traditional missionary work of the Church, Pope Paul VI tried to refocus our attention on the centrality of evangelization in his 1975 apostolic exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi. In 1990, John Paul II published his encyclical, Redemptoris Missio, to reinvigorate the Church’s work of evangelization both in its traditional missionary settings and in something he referred to as “new evangelization” or “re-evangelization” (33).

Pope Benedict XVI institutionalized the Church’s focus on the new evangelization by establishing a new curial office, the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization. This office has also been charged with the promulgation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, showing the strong link between evangelization and catechesis. He also dedicated the 2012 Synod of Bishops to the theme of New Evangelization. Pope Francis continues this theme in Evangelii Gaudium, passionately calling the whole Church to move out and share the Good News. He asks, “What are we waiting for?” (120)

Welcome to Franciscan University’s new catechetical journal! As we commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the founding of our academic Catechetics program, we offer this quarterly journal to the wider catechetical community. It is this generous community and those they serve who are particularly integral to the Church’s hope for carrying out Christ’s missionary mandate:

Many years ago, after a particularly challenging day of ministry, I blurted out (in jest), “Ministry would be easy if it wasn’t for people.” Since then, I occasionally utter this phrase when the complicated nature of people’s lives messes with my nice, ordered ministry schedule—which is most of the time. The point is that the Church, and our ministry as an extension of the Church, exists to make disciples. Disciples are people. People are messy. If your ministry is not messy, you might not be making disciples but simply moving people through a program.

When it comes to messy, nothing compares to couples, marriage and the RCIA.

One year I had members of a blended family desiring to come into full communion with the Catholic Church. The husband and his son were Catholic; the wife and her two children were becoming Catholic. Both had been married before and the couple really wanted God in their life. Even though the husband was Catholic, I invited him to RCIA as well, and he accepted. As the year went on, the kids and husband were doing great, but the wife was having difficulty overcoming her Protestant understanding of certain teachings. Finally, the wife emailed me saying that she was dropping RCIA because the pressure to become Catholic was too much. She felt like she was only doing this for her husband.

Knowing that conversion is a process and that I never know when people will respond to the Holy Spirit, I recommended that she continue with RCIA so that she will at least be aware of what her children and husband are learning. I told her not to worry about Easter and that I’ll assume she is not becoming Catholic. She agreed. The pressure of Easter was off and she enjoyed the classes and kept coming with her husband and children.

Two weeks later I gave a talk on sin, grace and sacraments and how grace breaks the chains of sin. When we transitioned to small group discussions, she told her group leader, “That’s what I need! I need to be free from sin! I’ve tried for years and I can’t do it on my own. I want to become Catholic!” She and her children were received into the Church at the Easter Vigil and the entire family was blessed.

I want to briefly talk about two important areas that must be considered, when ministering to couples in RCIA: sponsors and evangelizing both spouses. I will mainly refer to spouses, but the following principles apply to dating or engaged couples as well.

With his recent Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel), Pope Francis has extended to the universal Church a formal invitation to joy. At the heart of this invitation to joy stands a Person, the crucified and risen Lord Jesus. Evident throughout the exhortation is Pope Francis’ consistent understanding that Christian joy is indelibly characterized by the active marriage of the two greatest commandments: “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind…” and “you shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Mt. 22:37, 39).[1] For Pope Francis, the fulfillment of these commandments—and therefore, the source of Christian joy—begins with a personal encounter with Jesus Christ and the discovery that He has loved us first (cf.1 Jn. 4:19). Through an initial response of faith, gradual conversion, and the reception of divine mercy in and through the sacraments, the joy of salvation comes to life and fruition in the heart and life of the disciple; and it is this divine joy that creates missionaries.

The evangelical joy Pope Francis desires to see radiating from the Bride of Christ requires more, however, than just personal conversion. The very fabric of Church structures, institutions, and processes must also be permeated and constantly renewed with the active presence of the Holy Spirit and the missionary impulse that will make them truly evangelical. To this end, Pope Francis has called the entire Church to an “ecclesial conversion” and to a “pastoral and missionary conversion,”[2] which means “openness to a constant self-renewal born of fidelity to Jesus Christ.”[3]

In this twentieth anniversary year of the English edition of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Janet Benestad responds to concerns that the Catechism is not sufficiently related to human experience. Drawing on the insights of the late Avery Cardinal Dulles, she explains why this most important of catechetical texts is essential to parish evangelization.

The Archdiocese of Boston has undertaken a major pastoral planning effort. Called Disciples in Mission, it involves the realignment of parishes for administrative and financial success, and the training of diocesan and parish leaders. The goal is to create parishes that are vibrant centers of evangelization. The training of parish leaders includes best practices in the new evangelization.

At one meeting regarding adult formation, a long-serving parish pastoral associate questioned using the Catechism to evangelize adults. “Why use the Catechism,” she asked. “It’s 30 years old,” as if a re-writing were expected any day. At another meeting, a parish director of liturgy reacted to instruction on using parish websites and bulletins as tools for catechizing adults: “I prefer to let people rely on their own experiences,” he said.

Such comments by Church leaders beg the question: After 20 years of the Catechism, why the continued resistance to it among many professional Catholic Church leaders? Why the preference for experience, rather than doctrine, as a surer norm for spreading the faith? These questions sent me back to an article written by Avery Cardinal Dulles in 1994 entitled, “The Challenge of the Catechism.” In it, Dulles describes the confusion that results when experience becomes the preferred norm for faith formation.

“All statements about revelation,” says Dulles, “. . . are said to be so culturally conditioned that they cannot be transferred from one age or one cultural region to another. Every theological affirmation that comes to us from the past must be examined with suspicion because it was formulated in a situation differing markedly from our own. Each constituency must experience the revelation of God anew and find language and other symbolic forms appropriate to itself.”[i]

Dulles is describing the heresy of modern practical relativism—the position that each age or culture only knows what is true on the basis of its own experiences. This position denies the existence of any ultimate source of truth. When relativism informs the thinking of theologians and, as a result, catechetical leaders, it undermines faith in God, who is the source of all Truth. Unfortunately, relativism informs the thinking of a good many catechetical leaders, to wit, the examples above. For that reason, it is worth taking a look at what Dulles has to say about the ways in which the Catechism provides an “antidote” to tension between faith and experience.