What does the parish of the future look like?

Overall, Mr. Wagner is optimistic about the state of the Catholic parish in coming years.

"Generally, it's going to be an exciting time in the near future as these changes come into place," he said. "I'm a person who enjoys newness and change, and I think that challenge is ultimately what the Catholic faith is about: seeing the face of Jesus Christ in that challenge. It's going to be a lot of fun."

Click here to read the rest of Karen Dietlein Osborne's interview of me regarding the parish of the future.

7 things you need to tell young Catholics

Twenty-Third Publications author Michael Carotta was in San José for a workshop on young adolecent Catholics. (The event was hosted by Harcourt Religion Publishers). He spoke on some of the recent data regarding middle school aged children and how that data relates to catechesis. He said that 6th, 7th, and 8th graders have more in common with college students than college students have with their parents. This is primarily because of the postmodern outlook that folks in their 20s and younger share. This age group, from middle school to college age, is commonly referred to as Gen Y. For them, everything has to be immediate. They do not understand delayed gratification. Mike identified five myths about this generation:

1. They have low self esteem
2. There is a large parent-teen gap
3. They are generally troubled
4. They are all the same
5. They have little faith

None of these are true. However, two things that are true: they have diminishing levels of hope and their ability to make moral decisions is not based on traditional, authoritative voices.

Mike said we have to do two things catechetically. We have to turn up the volume on hope. And we have to start conversations on morality from the perspective of who gets hurt. Gen Y places a high value on not hurting anyone and not allowing anyone to be hurt.

He said this generation has two basic questions about Catholic identity: how are we different and why do you (the adults in their lives) remain Catholic.

He said he would spend the short time we have with them on these issues:

1. Spirituality
2. Hope
3. Providing a powerful experience of God
4. Emphasizing the multicolored richness of Catholicism
5. Engaging their moral imagination
   
6. Attending to stories
7. Teaching discipleship. What is the difference between a believer and a disciple?

He had lots of data, most of which he culled from the National Study on Youth and Religion, pulling out the specifically Catholic data. He emphasized over and over again that this group has a high level of faith. He urged catechists not to spend precious catechetical time trying to evangelize this group. "The already believe," he said.

A couple of the statistics he cited struck me as especially interesting. 8 out of 10 believe in God, and yet only one third of them have had a powerful religious experience. I wonder if they have not had a powerful experience of God, what or who is the God they believe in.

Another interesting thing is the majority of them talk with their parents about religion at least five times a month. And the majority of them are interested in learning more about their faith. This seems like a huge opportunity to provide catechetical resources for the domestic church so they will know how to talk with their kids.

Finally, half of them find liturgy to be boring. I'm amazed it's only half. Still, there is a lot of work to do to keep this group engaged liturgically.

What did you give up for Lent?

(CNN) -- For some, it's chocolate. For others, it's coffee or cigarettes. But as this Easter approaches, some young and devout Christians are anxious to return to what they gave up for Lent: Internet sites Facebook and MySpace.

Read the rest of the story here.

How Veiled Statues Might Blind the Catechumens

On her Work of the People blog, Diana Macalintal does an excellent job of clarifying the various understandings of the rubrics regarding the veiling of crosses and statues during Lent. Regardless of the permissions allowed however, one has to wonder about the retention of this medieval practice in the post-Vatican II church.

The veiling of images in the Western church has its origins in shrouding of all the liturgical elements (including the chalice!) in unbleached linen or silk during the middle ages. This shrouding took place at the beginning of Lent, and everything remained covered until the Gloria of the Easter Vigil. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the symbolism of the shrouding was to remind us that this is a time when Christ remains hidden and does not walk openly among the people.

With the reform of the Second Vatican Council, we no longer think of Lent as a time in the desert, absent of Christ’s constant presence. Indeed, the reverse is the case. With the Elect among us every Sunday of Lent, Christ is perhaps more intensely recognized than at other times of the year. The intensity of Christ among us is clearly symbolized in the “recognition” stories of the Woman at the Well, the Man Born Blind, and the Raising of Lazarus, which are proclaimed during the Scrutinies.

While the theme of repentance is not forgotten during Lent, it is contextualized as a “special season for the ascent to the holy mountain of Easter…[that] disposes both the catechumens and the faithful to celebrate the paschal mystery… (Ceremonial of Bishops, 249). The Ceremonial goes on to say that “the bishop should be deeply concerned to promote the formation of catechumens” (250).

What formation will the veiling of statues provide for the catechumens? That Christ is not in the font, but in the tomb? That Christ is not now welling up in their hearts as with the Woman at the Well, but will be delayed in arriving until the Gloria of the Easter Vigil?

There seems to be little value in the veiling of statues beyond nostalgia, and the practice has the potential of providing a counter-catechesis for the Elect and the faithful. When it comes to shrouding the images in Lent, it is best we paraphrase the words of Jesus to Lazarus’ startled loved ones: “Unbind them, and let them go.”

The Upper Room

Did you ever have one of those “strong driving wind” experiences in which the Spirit rushed upon you, and all of a sudden anything seemed possible? That happened to me recently. I met the new director of our local Catholic Charities office a couple of months ago. I was making small talk and asked him what his plans were for his new position. “To cut poverty in half in this county,” he answered. Well, yeah. I meant in this lifetime. But he meant within this lifetime. Actually, he meant within 15 years. I was startled. The trends are in the opposite direction. Child poverty is actually getting worse, up 12 percent since 2000. But he has a plan. And I believe it’s possible. That’s what the Spirit can do.

But it’s not just the Spirit that does these kinds of impossible things. It is the gifts of the Spirit. If you turn to page 20 [of the April / May 2007 issue of RTJ], you’ll see a listing of the gifts the Holy Spirit gives us. Now I know there are a lot of gifts, and I can even name most of them. I’ve taught classes about them. Nevertheless, something about seeing the gifts all lined up on the page that way—well, I was startled again. It’s like your favorite Christmas as a kid when you not only got all the stuff you asked for, but also the stuff you never dreamed your parents would ever get you.

So here’s a challenge for all of us who love kids. Let’s put some of those gifts to use. Let’s cut poverty in half in 15 years. Or choose your own impossible goal. But start working on something. All we need is a plan. Not sure where to start? Marian Wright Edelman, the founder of the Children’s Defense Fund, has some suggestions that can help us start putting our gifts to use:

1. Don’t feel entitled. Don’t assume a door is closed; push on it. Don’t assume if it was closed yesterday that it is closed today.
   
   
2. Assign yourself. If no one has given you a task or a job to do, assign yourself one. Take initiative. Be persistent.
   
   
3. Be honest and demand that those who represent you be honest. And don’t ever confuse morality with legality. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. told us, “Everything Hitler did in Nazi Germany was legal, but it was not moral.” Don’t give anybody the proxy for your conscience.
   
   
4. Don’t be afraid of taking risks or of being criticized. An anonymous saying is, “If you don’t want to be criticized, don’t do anything, don’t say anything and don’t be anything.” Don’t be afraid of failing; it is the way you learn to do things right.
   
   
5. Listen to the sound of the genuine in yourself. If you cannot hear it in yourself, you will spend all of your life on the end of strings that somebody else pulls. Today, there are just so many noises and so many competing pulls on us. Find ways and times and spaces to be silent to listen to yourselves and to listen for other people.
   
   
6. Never think life is not worth living or that you can’t make a difference. Never give up.

Why I would get fired in the parish of the future

I don’t think I’d last long as a leader in the parish of the future. Here’s why.

I’d give the pastor more time off. Not exactly vacation days, but days away. At least two contiguous days (in addition to his day off) to work on his homily, the question of the week, and the pastor’s letter in the bulletin.

I’d ask the director of religious education and the school principal to work a lot more. Catechesis would happen year-round in the parish and school community. Instead of a week or two of “down time,” Christmas and Easter would be the busiest times of the year for catechetical ministers.

I’d change the receptionist’s schedule. Sunday would be a work day, and she’d be available to answer the phone, welcome new parishioner sign-ups, and direct people to the activities taking place on the parish campus. She would also be on hand for major liturgies in the parish, even if they happen at night or on the weekend. I’d also move her office. At least during the liturgies, the “front desk” would be right inside the main doors of the church.

I’d make the ushers networkers instead of seat-finders. Going to church on Sunday would be less like going to a play and more like a huge family reunion. No one seats you at a family reunion. Everyone greets you and introduces you to folks you haven’t met yet.

I’d stop charging for sacraments. I understand the budget implications. I understand many folks “use” the parish services without contributing on Sunday. But I don’t understand how we can say sacraments are a free gift of grace, and it will cost you $60 to have your baby baptized or $200 to get married.

I would make the director of the catechumenate the highest paid member of the staff. I’d do a national search and find the very best leader available. She would hire and manage the director of religious education, the school principal, and the director of liturgy. All catechetical and liturgical ministries of the parish would be oriented toward evangelization and catechesis.

I would end second collections, including those for the annual contribution to the diocesan structures. I would work with the parish council to devise a stewardship plan that includes all the charitable contributions to needs outside the parish.

I would ask everyone—pastor, staff, volunteer ministers, catechumens, the parish as a whole—to each have a set of goals for their ministry. I would ask them to devise a method for reaching their goals and a method for talking to each other about their progress on their goals.

I told you I’d get fired. Or maybe never hired in the first place. This vision of parish is, perhaps, too idealistic. Maybe it’s too threatening to some of the parish “pillars.” It could be too edgy for some communities.

It probably wouldn’t work in your parish because of your unique circumstances. It might not work in the neighboring parish either. The pastor probably would never go for it, not to mention the bishop. And who is going to fund all these grand ideas?

I guess that’s all true. But before I’m shown the door, I have to tell you the first thing I would implement in any given parish. I would declare a permanent, parish-wide ban on the sentence, “We’ve never done it that way before.” I would replace it with this sentence, which would be memorized by every child, confirmation candidate, and catechumen in the parish: “For human beings it is impossible, but not for god. All things are possible for God” (Mk 10:27).

[To read a spirited(!) reply to this post, click here.]

The Final DaVigil Code Entry

In the April/May 2007 issue of Today’s Parish Minister, this clue appeared.


The key to the clue is “The answer faces the question” and “emboldened looks.” On the page facing the clue (page 7), several words have a single letter printed in bold face.

Put all the bold faced letters together and you get:

The Easter Vigil