"Do I hafto?"

That's the lament I used to wail at my mother when she'd tell my brothers and me it was time to get up and go to church. It's sure to be heard this coming Christmas weekend when the Fourth Sunday of Advent falls on Christmas Eve. Here is a helpful bulletin announcement to encourage your parishioners to make the extra effort.

• Do I need to go to Mass twice on Christmas weekend? [via Work of the People]

What makes a parish Catholic?

In the November 3 issue of the National Catholic Reporter, William C. Graham lists seven approaches that make a college Catholic. Much of what he says could also apply to a parish or parish school. (You need a subscription to view the article online.) His list includes:

1. Teach people that life is messy. No black and white answers.
2. Teach people that, while tolerance is good, not all cultural voices are equal.
3. Teach people to read the Bible in a responsible, intellectually respectable way.
4. Teach people the importance of the sacraments.
5. Teach church history.
6. Teach the church’s constitutional preference for the materially poor.
7. Be the person of Christ for all those whom we teach and minister to.

Glorification of clericalism?

Paul Dion sent in this reaction to the November/December issue of Today's Parish Minister. You can follow the thread of our discussion in the comments below—and add your own.

I am writing to tell you that I am deeply disturbed, not to say angered by the article "DEFINING PARISH MINISTRY" by Mark F. Fischer in the November/December issue of " Today's Parish Minister.

I quote, "Professionalism can intimidate ordinary parishioners. It can lead to the wrong conclusion that real ministry pertains to the professionals only." Stercus Taurorum and a pox upon your house! The conclusion about ministry in the Church is already in. It is conducted by people who are chosen by the priests because they know the mysteries of the rosary by heart. The lack of professionalism in the Church is the root cause of many of the problems. I could name some of them, but I would take too much of your precious time. Look around. You'll have to admit that professionalism in ministry is non-existent...OK, maybe about 20%, to be generous. This guy Mark Fischer teaches in a seminary. I can just see now what he is teaching. "Remember, you're the one with the education. You're the leader; you're the ordained one; you're the one with the magic Moses wand; don't too many professionals into your inner circle, the "little people" won't relate to them and you won't be able to control them." It's a great day for the glorification of centralized clericalism.

How to write a homily — or a bulletin announcement

Time magazine lauds Alice Munro’s newest collection of short stories, The View from Castle Rock (Knopf) as a master class in the craft. In the review of the book, Pico Iyer draws out ten writing principles, many of which can be adapted to writing homilies, letters to parents, parish policies, and bulletin announcements. My favorite is:

2) Don't eschew the plain. In one typical exchange here, 38 spoken words out of 39 are just one syllable long (the exception is "cannot"). In a later story, 37 straight words last one syllable each.

Read more here.

Age of Confirmation

At what age should children be confirmed? Diocesan policies differ, but most require a delay beyond the norm set in canon law (age of reason) until pre-teen or teen years. However, a norm is a norm. According to Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum university, if parents of a child who has reached the age of reason, or even the child herself, asks to celebrate confirmation before reaching the designated diocesan age, the bishop is bound to grant permission.

McNamara quotes the Congregation of Divine Worship:

Consequently, when a member of the faithful wishes to receive this Sacrament, even though not satisfying one or more elements of the local legislation (for example, being younger than the designated age), these elements must give way to the fundamental right of the faithful to receive the Sacraments. Indeed, the longer the conferral of the Sacrament is delayed after the age of reason, the greater the number of candidates who are prepared for its reception but are deprived of its grace for a considerable period of time.

Read more here.

Good communications

Every parish should have a pastoral plan for public relations, according to Archbishop John Foley, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications. Here is an excpert from an address he gave at a meeting of new bishops Sept. 23.

By the way, even local parishes can engage in effective public relations. For example, when there is a first Communion or a confirmation or a graduation, the local parish can send a press release to the local or community newspaper indicating the five "w's" -- the who, what, when, where and why of the event, including the names of all those involved in the event, because very local newspapers love to print names, because those whose names are mentioned or their families will buy and keep that issue of the paper.

Also, at the end of the five "w's" there can be an explanation of what first Communion or confirmation is -- in that way, providing a type of evangelization or religious instruction regarding the sacraments. The newspaper will not always publish the explanation, but they will sometimes -- and that means we have obtained free access to a means of religious instruction and evangelization.

Read the entire address here.

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