The Month of May

In the parish year, May and September vie with each other for top place in the list of busiest months. Whereas September is full of parents’ meetings, catechist training, and heaps of enrolment forms, May is full of church seating plans, rehearsals, and threats to teenage girls involving oversize cardigans if they rock up at church not dressed appropriately. Both months have their own stressful charms. In the last couple of weekends, our First Communion and Confirmation Masses have gone almost flawlessly: the pashminas stuffed in my bag in case of under-dressed teenagers have gone unused and First Communion children almost mastered the arts of genuflecting without toppling over and processing in a straight line. This weekend we celebrated a wonderful barbecue with our newly-confirmed teenagers in which they signed each other’s Transitions books (these are excellent end of Confirmation gifts – you can get them here!). Next weekend, we celebrate another adult Baptism, and our Pentecost Vigil – which is both a celebration of our parish’s patronal feast, and the end of our catechetical year.

“Full Sweep” Youth Catechesis

It was refreshing to read Archbishop Vincent Nichols’ words about catechesis for young people. He said we need to transmit to them the “full sweep” of the Catholic Faith. Thank you Archbishop I couldn’t agree more.

When are young people supposed to receive this “full sweep” of catechesis? In the past, it’s been left to schools, and this is clearly not enough. In reality, catechesis is only received by our young people when they are preparing to receive a sacrament. This culture and mentality within parishes and families (catechesis-is-for-sacraments) is part of the reason why young people do not receive a “full sweep”, that is, the full Deposit of the Faith.

This is a real deficiency. In our own parish, although we do have catechesis for all age groups, because this is not taken up by many families, it means that we snatch the opportunity at First Communion preparation and Confirmation preparation to hand over (traditio – this is what catechesis does) the full Deposit of Faith.

It would not be a Confirmation parents’ evening without someone piping up and asking, “Why do we have a full year’s preparation when such-and-such a parish has only six weeks?” Sorry, but such-and-such a parish is not fulfilling its canonical obligations to give a full catechesis. Unless I am missing something and all those teenagers are receiving formation elsewhere? No, didn’t think so.

I recognise, though, that our situation is not ideal. If these teenagers were receiving weekly catechesis as a matter of course through their lives, preparation for Confirmation would focus purely on the sacrament – teaching to the rite, explaining the meaning of the prayer the Bishop prays over them, the anointing.

I agree 100% with Archbishop Nichols. For it to become a reality, a culture change within parishes and families needs to gradually take place. I don’t want to say this is impossible. I wonder to myself what would happen if we announced one day that all families would have to commit to regular catechesis for their children from 7 until their teens, if they want them to prepare for sacraments. I know, I know, there would be an exodus from our parish of biblical proportions and we would be left with a tiny remnant of around three children to catechise. Hmm… so how do we do this?

Widening the Tent Pegs of your Heart

It is funny what life throws at you sometimes. The last week or so has seen a situation thrown at me, pretty unexpectedly, which has forced me to deepen my trust in God the Father.

Without going into the details (this isn’t my diary, people, and I am British…) trusting when it is painful causes our hearts to open, that little bit wider. You know when God is asking you, “Love Me just a little bit more; Trust and let go just a little bit more” and it is difficult because the circumstances on the outside seem impossible, unrelenting, or even like a twisted game. When faced with difficulties or impossible situations, of course, we don’t have to open wider – our Original-Sin-state naturally wants us to turn in, self-pitying and bitter. But the Holy Spirit calls us to the impossible – to surrender and love even more. Only in Him is it possible for us to do this. I experienced that this week, and I am infinitely grateful to the Holy Spirit (OK, that’s the self-exposure bit over…)

Today I am preparing three days’ worth of teaching I will be doing at a seminary soon on catechesis. I came back to the wonderful quotation from Catechesi Tradendae 30:

“In order that the sacrificial offering of his or her faith should be perfect, the person who becomes the disciple of Christ has the right to receive “the word of faith” not in mutilated, falsified or diminished form but whole and entire, in all its rigour and vigour”

We are often used to focussing on the last part: “mutilated, falsified or diminished”. But have you noticed the first part? “That the sacrificial offering of his or her faith should be perfect…” This is the goal of formation of adults – that they may offer the full, sacrificial offering of their lives, in their daily life, and in the Mass. This week has been a small, personal experience of this “sacrificial offering”, and it makes me wonder: How can our catechesis truly make this a reality in the lives of adults in our parishes? How can we help each one know the joy of surrendering their lives in the Holy Spirit, of widening the tent pegs of their hearts?

Another 5 Quick Takes

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One of the highlights last week was our session on relationships and chastity with our Confirmation group. We were really blessed to have two wonderful youth evangelists with us who are very gifted at inspiring young people in these issues. For most of the session, we split into separate girls’ and boys’ groups and were able to have some honest and open conversations and teaching. It was deeply encouraging to see the thoughtful and engaged maturity of our young people, especially encouraging as they will be confirmed next Sunday. One change I would make? We need to address these topics earlier. One session is not really enough. I think next year we may introduce the topic more generally earlier in the year (around the earlier session on human dignity) in order to lay groundwork for a more specific focus later on.

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On the topic of Confirmation preparation, how impressed was I to read this heart-warming account of another Confirmation programme, in Kansas City. I especially love the time at the end where the candidates shared why they are excited about receiving this sacrament. It got me thinking: Oooh, I wonder what our candidates would say? I tentatively raised the question with a group of girls before the session started last Tuesday: “So, girls, who’s excited?” “Oooh, I am!” came one reply as I nodded expectantly. “I have the nicest dress!” “Well, that’s lovely,” I murmured, moving on swiftly. OK, so Kansas City has the holier Confirmation candidates, and I am excited about being there this summer But, I did like the idea of asking the young people to share their excitement for the sacrament in a more structured session.

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Speaking of the summer, a good friend of mine is involved in promoting this theology summer school in Knockadoon, Ireland, this summer. It runs in the last week of August and looks GREAT: and I would be there in a flash if it weren’t for a minor youth festival at Walsingham on at the same time Designed for students of theology, this is a week of in-depth study of St Thomas’ Summa, particularly Questions 1-13 (existence of God, how we can speak about God, etc). Check it out!

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After feeling like I know him like an old friend from watching the DVD series again and again, it was super-exciting to see Fr Robert Barron in real life on Friday evening at St Patrick’s, Soho. He is an extremely engaging speaker, I could have listened to him all night. Sadly all our plans to ambush him for a lunch meeting failed (he had far more important people to see like Nicky Gumbel) but still, I felt very inspired afterwards. His passion for evangelising the culture is infectious, and I wonder what more we can do in this country to evangelise our culture. Unless we seize hold of the moment, our society is slipping further and further away from Christian values, and therefore from human values, every single day. And unless we do something more, who will?

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And finally, speaking of evangelisation, we had the lovely students from St Patrick’s Evangelisation School with us all day on Friday in the parish. We spent the morning looking at the topic of vocation (I focussed on the lay vocation, in particular Christifidelis Laici, while Fr James focussed on the priestly vocation, and how as lay people we can encourage priestly vocations), and after lunch we enjoyed the countryside (Wandsworth Common is pretty rural when you live in Soho) and suitably finished up having a drink in a pub called The Hope! An excellent group of young people who are coming close to the end of their year of formation… To find out more about them, see here.

Parish Reflection

The US bishops recently published a document on the New Evangelisation: Disciples Called to Witness: The New Evangelisation. Towards the end of the document are some very helpful ‘parish reflection questions’. These questions would be an excellent springboard for parish reflection and discussion on how to improve our formation within parishes. How would you parish respond to these questions? How can we “re-propose” Christ to people this year?

How can our parishes become more and more places of community and prayer?

Diocesan and parish leadership are encouraged to reflect on the following questions as they prepare pastoral plans aimed at “re-proposing” Christ to the faithful and inviting our brothers and sisters to the Lord’s Table:

• How does the parish community provide people with opportunities for a personal encounter with Jesus Christ?

• In addition to offering sound catechetical instruction in the teachings of the Church, to what extent do faith formation programs have as an objective fostering a personal relationship with Christ?

• What does the parish do to help people deepen their prayer life?

• How has the parish recruited, formed, and supported individuals to be evangelizers through the witness of their lives?

• How are pastors fostering the consciousness of the laity to be evangelizers in the modern world?

• How do pastors engage people during “teachable moments,” such as Baptisms, weddings, and funerals?

• Are there faith formation programs on how to pass down the faith for parents, grandparents, and godparents?

• Are there faith formation programs for adolescents and young adults on how to share their faith with others in college and in the workplace?

• How are pastors supported in their vocation to evangelize?

• Are there ongoing faith formation programs for pastors on homiletics?

• Is there instruction for pastors and parish leaders on how to use social media to reach people?

• What parish-based pastoral programs support people in their everyday lives? Are there programs for the newly married, new parents, divorced, grieving, and unemployed?

• How has the diocese and parish promoted the New Evangelization?

5 Quick Takes!

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I was in Kent this weekend filming for a new course that will be produced especially for the Year of Faith… watch this space! It is geared towards someone who’s just walked in off the street – basic apologetics. Which is different from catechesis, so I had to put my apologetics head on… “Hmm, why do I believe in God?” I asked myself on the train on the way down. It’s good (and challenging) to get back to basics.

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Quick aside about… fashion. It has been raining SOLIDLY in London all week. It really is a drag. A good gentlemanly friend of mine walked me home last night as our umbrellas distorted wildly in the storm. I thought London was a civilised place to live. Fashion is a massive problem in weather like this. I remember reading the fashion editor in The Times deplore women who, otherwise dressing well, throw on a completely inelegant array of kagools and waterproofs as soon as it pours. I am one of these women. I don’t own an elegant Marc Jacobs raincoat, so I have looked like a fashion disaster when out and about, all week. Please, dear Spring, come to London!

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Christian Holden from St Anthony Communications asked me to watch and review one of their latest catechetical DVDs, The Last Things. I aim to do it this week so watch this space! I am looking forward to watching it, as we found in a recent ‘adult formation survey’ that one of the main topics of catechetical interest for Catholic adults is precisely these areas of death, judgement, heaven, and hell.

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Today is Good Shepherd Sunday, and I am trying to pray especially for the Holy Father. Ubi Petrus, ibi Ecclesia - where Peter is, there is the Church. St John Chrysostom spoke of the early Christians: “Look at how the faithful feel for their pastors. They don’t resort to protest or rebellion, but to prayer as an unfailing remedy. They did not say: as we are powerless men, it is useless to pray for him. They never reasoned in this way, but prayed with love.” Let us have the same love for priests, and especially our Holy Father. Maybe we can offer an hour of work or study for them.

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Finally… If Starbucks insist on overfamiliarity by writing our first names on our take-out cups, they might at least get our names right. Yesterday, I was given coffee with “Ana” written on the side. I might try “Miss Vaughan-Spruce” next time and see how they get on with that…

Priestly Ordination

It’s not often that a parish experiences the ‘before’ and ‘after’ of a priestly ordination. What I mean is, it’s not common for a deacon to be in a parish, to be ordained to the priesthood, and then to return to the same parish. Over the last week, we have shared in such an experience, and a joyful few days it has been. Fr James Bradley was ordained to the sacred priesthood on Saturday at St Patrick’s in Soho, and celebrated his First Mass back in the parish on Sunday. The whole weekend was a great joy, and it has received a lot of attention here and here: these are the first ordinations of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham where the priests were not Anglican vicars beforehand.

What it has shown us is the great miracle that is the priesthood: last Friday, Fr James was a deacon preparing for the Ordination Mass, and on Monday morning when parishioners arrived for the early Mass, it was Fr James who celebrated it. When you see the before and after of an ordination, you realise it is nothing short of a miracle that God can take any ordinary man, and transform him so that he can offer Christ’s Sacrifice… mindblowing.

The grace of an ordination can really touch minds and hearts. After the beautiful Liturgies of the weekend, and the sense of youthfulness and vibrancy in the congregations, conversations with people afterwards revealed the power of Liturgy to stir hearts. I think many graces will flow from this ordination.

In itself, it is a wonderful grace to have a new priest in the parish. While the requests for First Blessings keep coming, and while we still get used to calling him “Father” (it’s like learning And with your spirit all over again), there is nothing like this experience to make us, as a parish, more grateful for the gift of priests.

You can read more from Fr James on his new blog: Thine Own Service.

Catechesis and… Mojitos, anyone?

Call me a bore, but I’m becoming more and more convinced of the great need for adult catechesis. Two conversations this week sparked this new concern in me.

The first was with a parishioner at the weekend. She had been present at a diocesan study day on Church unity, together with parish representatives from around the diocese. Among the questions that arose during the day was confusion over why Catholics can’t go to an Anglican service in place of Mass. From the sounds of things, this wasn’t somebody with a misconceived agenda, but rather a genuine question. I would like to say that I was surprised, but in all truth, I wasn’t, really.

The second was at supper with a friend during the week. She is a mum who has been on a big conversion over the last few years, and she knows the ins and outs of being a parent “at the school gate”. A lot of people comment on the wide range of catechesis we offer in the parish. It is true, but I am aware that we barely reach the tip of the iceberg. Beneath the surface are hundreds of adults ‘on the edge’ – coming to Mass each Sunday, certainly believing in God, but never quite managing to make the assent of faith that means actually committing your life. They would be unlikely to miss Sunday Mass, but they would be just as unlikely to commit to anything more: formation, spiritual direction or daily prayer.

I was talking about this problem with my friend. A friend of hers (at the school gate) had commented about formation: “It’s just not fun“. I was actually shocked. Here am I, a twentysomething (OK, OK, going on fifty…) being amazed that women in their forties need to be tempted like a teenager by something Fun. OK, so we need an MTV approach to adult formation – cocktails, a dancefloor, maybe some designer labels to peruse? A C-list celebrity kicking things off? Our teenagers are happy with Krispy Kreme donuts and a game of Jenga. But their parents?!

It has got me thinking though. How can we best use the Year of Faith to reach those in our parishes who are happy not being reached? Who will bake cakes for the PTA but don’t need any more God-stuff, thank you very much.

What I have noticed over the past few months during the Catholicism course is that young adults in their twenties and thirties who came on the course, for the large part, lapped everything up. It was clear from the outset that many of them with little previous formation suddenly realised that the scraps of understanding they had about the Faith were not enough, and they committed eagerly to the course, and were soon to be found at any formation opportunity in the parish. With these people, it is like working with a completely blank slate, so poor has their Catholic formation been. I thank God for this, because it’s much easier to work with a clean slate than with a slate with lots of dubious writing in crooked lines…

It is the next generation up (forties and fifties), with some exceptions, who are far less eager. We’re talking about people with a lot more life experience and therefore with set views on life, whose formation in faith has not developed at the same rate as their life has. Throw a few complications into the mix (living with their partner and not seeing the point of getting married; divorce; contraceptive approach to their family planning; etc) as well as wealth and an expectation of a certain lifestyle (an added complication in our area) and things get messy, difficult, complicated. Suddenly formation in the faith becomes a lot harder. On top of this, older generations tend to have more hang-ups about the Church which the younger generations do not – problems with authority, especially where they see it threatening their lifestyle.

So, what is the best approach? Stick with the younger generations and leave the older ones to themselves? Of course not (however tempting it may be)… But we need a new, different and creative approach.

Easter Catechesis

This is my first night at home since getting back from holidays. You would think that the post-Easter parish would be somewhat calmer, but you know what? It’s not really the way it works out…

Over the last two to three years, we have developed our RCIA process in a way that is closer to the mind of the Church. We gradually moved away from the September to Easter model (hands up those still on that model!) and into a year-round model. If we really understand that Baptism calls to holiness, then we need to give good formation from the first precatechumenate session a person attends, right through to their first year as a new Catholic, and beyond.

I admit it: it’s exhausting and a bit messy and you need a small army of catechists and sponsors, but it’s totally worth it. We have definitely seen the difference in the ‘quality’ of the conversions. What does it mean right now? Right now, we have three different RCIA strands: the neophytes and newly received who are in their period of Mystagogy; those still in the Catechumenate who were not yet ready to be baptised or received at Easter; those who are coming to the end of the Precatechumenate and ready to begin their year-long Catechumenate. Sound like a lot of juggling? It is. Thankfully, we have a lot of catechists to call on to take on various sessions.

I have a great love of the period of Mystagogy. This feels like the ‘easiest’ period of the RCIA because it is as though the catechesis is an overflow of the joy from the Easter Vigil. It is like we’re riding a big wave from the mysteries of the Triduum. Last night, we had a lovely supper for all the neophytes: it was full of joy and laughter as we remembered together all the events – joyful, difficult, moving, humorous and otherwise – of the Easter mysteries. What an undeserved privilege to journey with these wonderful women.

Holy Triduum

Here are a few photos of the Sacred Triduum here in the parish: