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Sharing a few personal thoughts…

We must not fool ourselves. The challenges we face are tremendous. Too long have we allowed the parameters of religious debates or the understanding of the Church, herself, to be defined by those who either hate the Church or who have a greater love for the world. Our voyeuristic society is enamored with  the shocking, scandalous and inordinate pleasure. Look at all the nonsense and analysis that was given to the Pope’s resignation. It did not matter that the Pope had a bad heart, was blind in one eye and was having mobility issues common to 85 year old men. The news anchors gave long discourses on the pedophile scandals that devastated the Church. They pointed fingers to the document leaks in the Vatican and problems with finances. Others closed their eyes to his many incredible accomplishments and argued that his was a failed papacy because he refused to bend on married priests or women priests or same-sex marriage, or divorce and remarriage, or on contraception and abortion, or because millions of Muslims still want holy war, or on what have you. They droned on and on. They are the blind who say they see but are really blind. Indeed, they are the blind leading the blind. We cannot surrender the formation of our people’s faith and values to these fools! We are surrounded by all sorts of voices. Many of these voices are shouting. Most of them are lying or have mixed truth and falsehood to the point that they cannot be unraveled. We have to do all we can to open the ears of our people to the whispering of Christ, the real Christ, not the popular false portrait of a passive and tolerant “wimp Jesus” who makes no demands and has no power to save. We have to help our people to see beyond the false presentations and rationalizations to the perennial faith and values which emerge from the sacred deposit. This is the challenge we face in every element of faith formation through proclamation, catechesis, evangelization and witness. We must fight to reclaim the reins of faith— defining for ourselves by the light of God’s grace and the apostolic legacy— the faith and the real issues that confront us.

We need more than a catechetical policy that would give prudential and organizational guidance. Rather, the proposed policy and much else during this Year of Faith should reach beyond a failed “business as usual” mentality to make something old ever new again, the message of mercy, life and unity in Christ. We need a manifesto for faith formation that will reach beyond rules and administration in becoming a clarion call for the New Evangelization?

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Sharing a few personal thoughts…

When media products on faith topics first started appearing, there were often the questions of distribution and cost. There are very few Catholic bookstores and gift shops. Unless the catalogue came in the mail or something was offered in the back of church, people had little access to sacramental and Catholic reading materials. When I was a boy, the parish kept good Catholic books near the entryway that you could acquire with a small donation and take home. We need to make every church a place where bibles, prayer books, personal missals, catechisms, and sacramental like rosaries, religious medals, scapulars, holy cards and crucifixes are available. Plaques with the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary should adorn every Catholic home, preferably as part of a house blessing.

Audio cassettes and videotapes have given way to CDs and DVDs and these in turn are being slowly replaced by downloaded digital videos and mp3s. When Catholic media products first came into the market, it was somewhat staggering what they cost. A tape with a 15 minute video might cost thirty to forty dollars. Things are somewhat cheaper today but Protestant resources are often less expensive as our own. While real costs must be paid by someone, I think we need to give more emphasis upon the free nature of the faith. If the legal rights for certain programs and talks might be surrendered, cheap cd-r and dvd-r discs can be stocked in churches for parishioners to watch at home or listen in the car while driving the road. Mp3s can be burned to CDs or placed on flash memory for easy playback. There are already companies like Lighthouse Catholic Media (http://www.lighthousecatholicmedia.org/) which are trying to make a difference with cheaper CDs on the faith, available in bundles of 20 or 50 or 100. The Archdiocese has so many teaching avenues that we could probably end up giving CDs away. At 20 cents a CD, we could give an hour talk by the Cardinal for every parishioner to take home with the request to pass it on afterwards. Many people take an hour or more driving to or from work. Such an program would quickly bring the Church’s message to people who would otherwise be listening to questionable music or angry politicized talk-radio.

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Sharing a few personal thoughts…

The revised policies should address a plan for religious formation that would entail a correlation of the various areas of Church life focusing both on the content of Christian faith and morals as well as the various means for its promulgation or transmission. Every parish committee should be grounded in the Christian kerygma. We educate children on many subjects, but religious education is the reason we have parish programs and schools. We want to help the poor, protect human life, promote justice and defend human rights. But we are not social workers, philosophers or secular humanists. The faith is the axis around which everything else rotates. Looking to the Archdiocese, the faith and its formation should permeate our various departments and operations: Communications (online communications, computers, television, radio, phone and fax, newspapers, flyers, books, booklets, flyers, lectures, etc.), Catechesis (adult and child), Evangelization and Mission (bringing back the prodigals and looking outward), Worship (allowing ourselves to be formed by the Word and the Eucharist), Sacramental Preparation (emphasizing the meaning of Christian Baptism, Confession, Eucharist, Confirmation, Marriage, etc.), Social Services and Outreach (extending the healing ministry of Jesus), Youth Ministry (preparing young people who are NOT simply the Church of tomorrow but PART OF the Church of TODAY!) and Parochial Schools (a necessary alternative to public schools which no longer teach many of our values).

There are many people who “think they know” what the Church teaches and yet such knowledge is often juvenile, inexact, tainted with errors and stereo-types, and judged by the prism of a hedonistic and relativistic society. We have the truth. We have the great mystery. We know the meaning of life. But how do we connect the Greatest Story Ever Told to the lived stories of our people and the legacy of the saints? The Bible is God’s Word given to humanity, but only if it is opened and PROCLAIMED. How do we get the Good News to our people and their neighbors? What manner of presentation can we offer so that it will not get lost with all the half-truths and selfish pursuits of the environment where we find ourselves? Can we get our people to place a higher price and joy in going to Mass than to a sports game or a musical concert? Can we get our people to open their bibles on a daily basis in preference to the latest bestselling erotic novel like Fifty Shades of Grey? A buried treasure remains just something that is buried or lost. We do not want to bury the Good News of Christ and of his Church. The policies should speak to the various media we can use as well as traditional outreach. Years ago we had a project in various parishes where volunteers went door-to-door. We left neighbors a little bag with a parish bulletin, a pencil stamped with a faith message, and a brochure or booklet about the Catholic faith. We did not seek to steal the congregants of other churches. If someone was a good Baptist or Lutheran, we prayed with them as a fellow Christian and let them know that we shared a love for Jesus. Of course, we leave our doors open to all. We focused principally on fallen-away Catholics and the large number of unchurched. Of course, if we are going to have such outreach or missionary activity, we had better make sure we have something to which to keep them once they come home to the Catholic house that Christ built.

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Sharing a few personal thoughts…

Another idea that holds promise for adult religious formation is in the liturgy itself. We have revised and corrected Mass prayers which restore the fullness of our patrimony in faith. There is an incredible depth and subtle richness to our more strictly translated Latin that can bear fruit if there is sufficient reflection and instruction. We need to move away from cheap missalettes and return to the use of personal Missal books. Why? It is because this will allow our people to more easily following the readings and to study the prayers, themselves. They need such a tool because the hour on Sunday or the twenty minutes for a daily Mass moves too quickly for proper study. Missals will allow our people to properly prepare for Mass, become familiar with the readings before hearing them proclaimed, and allow them to examine the orations which constitute the Eucharistic mystery. Connected to this, we have to do something that certain liturgists do not like but about which they are in error. The homily or instruction may reference the readings but they can never do full justice to everything in the Word of God. Priests and deacons need the liberty to also offer catechetical homilies, maybe even stringing the weeks together so as to give a comprehensive analysis of our faith. The late Msgr. William J. Awalt and Bishop Thomas J. Welsh were involved with a project many years ago to break the three year lectionary into an ordered catechesis of the Catholic faith. It was published either in the late 1970’s or early 1980’s in Homiletic and Pastoral Review. Back when the alarm about defection and ignorance was being sounded by such priests, many closed their ears and pretended that we did not have a problem. WE CAN NO LONGER PRETEND. We are facing a dire situation and the former pope knew as much. It is for this reason he called for a New Evangelization and for the Year of Faith. Homilists should also feel free to preach on any part of the liturgy, including the prayers like the Confiteor, Gloria, Collects, Antiphons, Creeds, Prefaces, Prayer over the Gifts, Post-Communion Prayers, etc. This should go far beyond giving a definition for terms like “prevenient grace” or “consubstantial.” For instance, the revised prayers correct the semi-pelagianism that used to embarrass so many knowledgeable priests in regard to the previous translation. Saints now clearly intercede, we cooperate, God saves and grace prevails.

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Sharing a few personal thoughts…

Many if not most parishioners of the Archdiocese have cable, satellite and/or Verizon access to EWTN and their Catholic programming. There is also some availability with the low power Guadalupe Catholic AM Radio station (however, I have had more success listening online than over the radio). Raymond Arroyo produces the EWTN television news program, The World Over from the Pope John Paul II Center (now owned by the Knights of Columbus) in Washington, DC. While I am appreciative that there was a certain past tension in the relationship between Mother Angelica and certain U.S. bishops, it is time to heal wounds and to repair bridges. Along with the local radio effort, Eternal Word Television Network offers many good programs which we can advertise and make use. Study guides can be prepared for some of the programming and we can help advertise shows of particular value in Catholic formation. Discussion groups might even be formed to watch and talk about useful faith content. When I met Mother Angelica back in 1989, she said that priests always had her okay to tape and use her programming back in the parishes. The USCCB and the Archdiocese should closely collaborate with those media partners who share our mission in building up the Church. Mother Angelica was a courageous wonder-worker in making her network a success when even the bishops with far more money and resources could not make their early initiative work out. However, it must be admitted that her somewhat cantankerous manner and independence sometimes complicated the situation. The war of words with Cardinal Mahoney and his document on the liturgy was a conflict that should have been settled behind closed doors and not on the air. When the saintly Archbishop Philip Hannan sought to create a Catholic television network, expanding his own local efforts, she interpreted the initiative as a personal betrayal and removed his news program FOCUS from her scheduled lineup. It was a great loss because it was one of the best Catholic programs available. She was also quick to remove programs when priests or bishops displeased her on certain issues, as with the closure of non-viable parishes in certain dioceses. This was rumored as one of the reasons why The Teaching of Christ disappeared from her station’s offerings some years back. It was another loss that many of us keenly felt, (especially since it was a habit of mine to tape programs for catechetical use with adults). Her station has also been plagued by giving celebrity status to certain priests and laity who later had to be removed for causing scandal or for deviation to the traditionalist camp. Only a few years ago there was an issue of prudence with the EWTN coverage of the U.S. bishops and their national meeting. Throughout, a closer collaboration with the Church’s shepherds might have prevented embarrassments to the Church and pain to Catholic viewers. We all love the Church and should work together in the Holy Spirit for the promotion of the kingdom.

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Sharing a few personal thoughts…

Another matter worth mentioning is that of stage of life formation. Any catechetical policy must address programs like those that are sometimes attempted for groups like YOUNG ADULTS. While there are programs like Theology on Tap in Washington, DC, there is very little directed to them specifically in the counties of the Archdiocese. Further, some churches in the United States attempt to be more inclusive by also having MIDDLE ADULT and MATURE ADULT programs, focusing on the faith needs of different generations. Parishes might also make distinctions between SINGLES and MARRIED or FAMILY groups.  This is about more than fellowship.  Church programs should always include an element of catechesis, prayer and worship.  At every stage of life we are called to grow in the faith.  The message that brings consolation may also change with time.  As our days grow short in this world, we might especially need the hope and consolation that is offered by our Resurrected Lord.  Given that no one parish might have the resources for all this, could such programs be attempted in the various deaneries? Further, I would not exclude faith formation from the various DIVORCED and WIDOWED CATHOLIC groups. Indeed, it might be quite necessary in that we sometimes inadvertently encourage dating or courtship between persons who are not yet free to marry again.

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Sharing a few personal thoughts…

There is a need for greater uniformity and accountability in MARRIAGE (Pre-Cana) and BAPTISMAL PREPARATION. It is often difficult or impossible to insure a class for godparents. Some parishes require one meeting for parents and others, two. Classes can be cursory with no more content than filling out the appropriate forms. Some pastors refuse to baptize children who are born to parents not married in the Church. Others will do so with the admonition that they have to try and make matters right by God and his Church. Some Pre-Cana programs are as many as four weekends; others are two meetings or even one. The elements covered are often different as well. Some offer the FOCUS or PMI questionnaires of compatibility; others do not. Given that we are dealing with sacraments, pastors need more assistance and guidance in these areas. We would not want to miss out on what can become wonderful occasions for calling prodigals back to Catholic unity and practice. 

“In our ecclesiastical region there are priests who don’t baptize the children of single mothers because they weren’t conceived in the sanctity of marriage,” Bergoglio told his priests. “These are today’s hypocrites. Those who clericalize the Church. Those who separate the people of God from salvation. And this poor girl who, rather than returning the child to sender, had the courage to carry it into the world, must wander from parish to parish so that it’s baptized!”–Jorge Mario Bergoglio (Pope Francis I)

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Sharing a few personal thoughts…

We need to facilitate the use of faith outlines and written documents that are available. When there are important archdiocesan initiatives or fundraisers, we receive talking points for homilies. Many years ago the Newman clubs on college campuses offered sample lectures or CATECHESIS SUMMARIES that volunteer catechists could follow. Such notes could be coordinated with the universal catechism and the USCCB catechism. An example of an attempt to do this is offered by Fr. Eamon Tobin (Ascension Church, Melbourne, Florida). He makes his outlines available online. This would help insure both uniformity and that proper content is given to adults. A library of pdf files could be offered to believers. Important links are already available, as to the New American Bible at the USCCB site and the universal catechism at the Vatican site. The Knights of Columbus offer online versions of their Catholic Information Service booklets. There are a number of independent sites that have taken the initiative in posting links and materials of interest to Catholics; many of which are good and orthodox. Church leaders must stop feeling challenged by these efforts from the laity and lower ranked clergy. Indeed, the national and archdiocesan level should seek a voice and partnership with them to insure fidelity. We all love the Church. Would it not be wonderful if every Catholic became a well-informed and articulate evangelizer for the faith? Here are a few representative sites that can assist in continuing religious formation:

• 1917 CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA

• CATHOLIC ANSWERS

• CATHOLIC DICTIONARY (Fr. John Hardon)

• CATHOLIC DISTANCE UNIVERSITY

• CATHOLIC EDUCATION RESOURCE CENTER

• CATHOLICS UNITED FOR THE FAITH

 • CATHOLIC MEDICAL ASSOCIATION

• CATHOLIC LEAGUE

• BALTIMORE CATECHISM

• BIBLIA CLERUS

 • INSTITUTE OF CATHOLIC CULTURE

• K OF C CATHOLIC INFORMATION SERVICE

• USCCB NEW AMERICAN BIBLE

• VATICAN RESOURCES (also Catechism)

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Sharing a few personal thoughts…

The archdiocesan webpage could become more varied and interactive. The day has long passed from when stagnant or passive pages were enough. Videos and audio talks could be stored as files for people to download. With appropriate permission, local talks or lectures could be archived. Important Masses, religious devotions and other celebrations could be covered and presented as video files. Some of this could become the media extension of The Catholic Standard as we shift away from the “paper” format. Youth pages with games and animation for children could be added. We might also include a QUESTION BOX section to the archdiocesan site where both Catholics and non-Catholics could ask questions. This dialogue could be archived for others with similar concerns. Queries could be separated under various headings, for instance just as Msgr. Peter J. Vaghi delineated in his four books:

(1) The Faith We Profess;

(2) The Sacraments We Celebrate;

(3) The Commandments We Keep; and

(4) The Prayer We Offer.

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Sharing a few personal thoughts…

We have yet to offer safe and interactive webpages for teens and children. Our Protestant brothers and sisters are also very versatile in using contemporary music styles to bring a Christian message to teens. We need to be more proactive about this and less imitative or clichéd in our attempts. Young people are physically active and emotional. Unless we can translate the faith to such terms, we run the danger of being dismissed as boring and irrelevant. I lament that our archdiocesan CYO program no longer offers a calendar of activities like dances, concerts, competition and collaboration between parish youth groups, camping and skiing weekends, monthly retreats, and so much more. The annual manual became less a catalogue of activities and more a list of legalistic things we could not do. (Some might say that I have moved here beyond education to another area of parish and archdiocesan activity; however, I would contend that they are inextricably connected.) Where is the guidance about Youth Group Meetings? Years ago when I ran a Youth Group, I prepared themes for discussion and brought in guest speakers, as from the local Pregnancy Crisis Center and the Genesis II Drug-Rehabilitation Program.

After formal catechesis in eighth grade, we must place a new emphasis upon High School level religious formation and Youth Groups. An important hurdle we face is the dilemma of a majority Catholic population trying to practice their faith with only a grade-school level understanding of their religion. Today, there is the dark joke that Confirmation is the sacrament one receives before leaving the Church. Too many are never seen again.

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