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.

Sacrificial Effort

Some days, I get a teeny-weeny glimpse of the efforts God makes in seeking us out and drawing us to himself. Some days, you feel like you’re chasing after people all day long. “Sorry you couldn’t make it!” “We missed you last week – such a shame you couldn’t be there!” when inside you’re thinking, “Where were you?!” Now amidst everything, I need to squeeze in an extra hour somewhere to catch up. To be honest, this often works out for the best: it usually means a good chance for a one-on-one which is often very fruitful.

One of the tricky things about initiation catechesis is people’s lives. We can prepare everything beautifully, but the most important thing that needs preparation is people’s hearts – to receive the catechesis. And it helps if they’re actually there in the first place.

This means that, almost as important as our catechetical work with people, is our pastoral support. The one-on-one time. Ensuring that people are neither overburdened, or need more input to spur them on. I try to keep good contact with each adult in our initiation process (believe me, we’re talking a wide range of stages… from very early enquirer to very-nearly-almost-there). Some of them long to become Catholic like they have never longed for anything before, while others are resistant, slightly cynical, unsure. Some need more help than you can give them, and that’s why it’s helpful to know some good Catholic counsellors.

The sponsors, too, are engaged in this mission of “sacrificial effort”. The best effort that we make for others are the prayers and sacrifice we offer for them without them knowing. I know some incredible sponsors and others in our parish who I am certain – simply by seeing the fruitfulness of their lives – pray and offer sacrifice for those they sponsor or befriend, for their conversion. And who knows who has done this for us?

I wanted to write this post following the previous one on “Fruitfulness”, simply because God wants to see our desire for others’ conversions, he wants to see our passion and zeal for souls, and we show him our desire through our prayer and sacrifice. This is essential to being a lay apostle, a co-redeemer with Christ. How much do we want it?

Fruitfulness…

One of the most amazing things to experience as a catechist is fruitfulness. It reminds me I am a co-redeemer with God, that I am a co-worker with none other than the Holy Spirit.

Sometimes the reminders of God’s fruitfulness come out of the blue, like the lady who showed up on the doorstep over a year ago, who said the only way she could explain how she got there was that God guided her. She did not know who Jesus was but she felt she wanted to become a Catholic. This Easter, she will be baptised. This is definitely an extraordinary instance of God’s fruitfulness. Mostly, though, God uses ‘ordinary’ ways of drawing people to himself, ways which usually involve other people.

The Catholicism course has been an example of one of these ‘ordinary’, but yet extraordinary, ways of God drawing people to himself. There has been a wonderful grace about this course, an infectious joy and enthusiasm which mean people do not want it to end, and people discovering – some for the first time – the joys of being a Catholic. We have one person who will be received into the Church and another who will be confirmed as a result of this course. We have other cradle Catholics who are more determined to live seriously their Catholic faith. And this kind of joy and enthusiasm does spread. The people who have received a lot are among the first to be signed up to the School of Prayer we have starting after Easter. They are becoming more involved in Church life and telling their friends. Fruitfulness means ever increasing circles of people, more and more connections, and friends of friends drawn into the communion of the Church. It is beautiful to witness it.

It is true to say that working for the Church is often hard, for a variety of different reasons. But this fruitfulness is the main thing that makes it beyond worthwhile. This makes it the job I would do for free if it was practical. What other reason can there be to do a job like this?

New Year Retreat

This is the enormous pile of over 250 personal invitations which were sent out to all the lucky 16 to 25 year olds in our parish! Every year between Christmas and the New Year in the parish we host a youth retreat which is held in the church and the primary school. Over the four days and especially on New Year’s Eve around 300 young people turn up for these days of prayer in front of the Blessed Sacrament, teaching, Mass, Confession and joyful celebration. These are always a very blessed few days, with many conversions, young people returning to the sacrament of Confession, being affirmed in their faith through friendship with other young Catholics, and time to reflect on and speak with others about their vocation. As someone who discovered the beauty of Christ and the Church through Youth 2000, I have a great love of serving at these retreats and pray that many young people will hear the voice of Christ, longing to speak to their heart, longing to give them his joy and peace. This year will be extra special since my sisters, brother and brother-in-law-to-be will all be coming too so we get to continue celebrating Christmas together May the Holy Spirit open the hearts of those young people who attend this year to prepare them for the grace of encounter with Christ.

If you know a young person who would like to participate in this retreat, please see www.youth2000.org for more details or call 020 8675 2743.

Catechising or Publicising?

The role of catechetical coordinator can involve anything from mastering spreadsheets to catering for big catechetical groups. I find that one of the jobs I need to become super-good at is: publicising. Who knew that to be a catechist you also need the skills of a publicist? This is what I seem to spend most of my day doing – how to best reach out to publicise our next formation event. Mailouts are important, but being my parish priest’s PA I know that most of what comes through the post goes straight in the bin. Sorry Cafod. More and more I am realising that we cannot simply put on events – however excellent – and expect people to come to them. We need to reach out to where they are – but how? I am frequently mildly irritated by people bombarding me with their latest event on Facebook. Perhaps sometimes bombardment seems the only way to get your message out into the already saturated reality of people’s lives.

This is the million-dollar question: How can Christ’s voice be heard amidst the cacophony of other voices and messages and images? Perhaps there isn’t such a disparity after all between catechist and publicist, since in publicising we are evangelising, and a catechist must also necessarily be an evangelist. So, instead of mindlessly pumping out ‘noise’ about our next amazing event, I think that our evangelising and publicising need to be guided by prayer, diligence, intelligence, and sensitivity to what will attract people. Bombardment gets a message in people’s faces, but somehow, we need to open a person’s heart to the still, small voice of Christ calling them from the distractions of the chaos around them, and back into themselves, into Him.

As we publicise our next big event, my prayer each morning is that Christ guides those who are helping with this project to invite the people He most wants to be there. I am convinced that there are countless adults out there, hungry for this Good News in their lives, so I feel that if we end up with a small number of participants, we have not done our best for Him. More people need to hear this message! More people need to encounter Him!

Social media is an exciting opportunity for us at this time. Never has it been so easy to connect with so many people. We are currently planning a revamp of our parish website to maximise opportunities for evangelisation and easier communications within and outside the parish. There is much to be said about this, which it would be good to follow up on in future posts. However, above all else that could be said, of paramount importance is the need for us to master this media and use it for our ends – not for it to master us by idling hours away on Facebook.

Suspicious motives…?

This is a question often raised regarding people who come to RCIA: they just want to jump through the hoops, get their child into a school, and so on.

The first thing I would say about ulterior motives is this: if that is the ‘hook’ that God has used to get them there – so be it. We can work with that! In our parish, we have sponsors who have the “hands-on” role of building a friendship with the person they are matched with, gradually building up confidence and trust. Only when that is there can the sponsor, who is a friend, bring up the nitty gritty issues that have to be confronted. I know a lady who began this conversation with her candidate by being completely upfront: “You are not going to like what I’m going to say but…” The woman was a bit indignant and upset at the time, but later she reflected more deeply and admitted that her sponsor (and the Church!) was right. It may take months and months to win people and yes, we may lose some along the way. But hopefully they will remember the people they had contact with in the Church were people who really cared about them, were real friends, and cared enough to tell them the truth. Deep down, (most) people know that the Church is right.

If our Precatechumenate and Catechumenate are the places they should be (inviting, prayerful, full of friendships and community, not afraid to challenge or deal with tough issues) they will be places where people have to be real. Even if someone comes along to the Precatechumenate determined to get her child into the Catholic school (and there are lots of stubbornly determined mothers out there who have gone to even more drastic measures), she is still a human being, and who can resist for very long people with winning personalities who are kind, friendly, knowledgeable about the faith?! It is true – some people do resist. I was sad last year when a young woman who started attending the Precatechumenate to satisfy her grandmother who wanted her to be confirmed, stopped coming when she realised this was not going to be particularly quick. Several months later I met her in the street and we chatted, and she said she was planning to come back, but I haven’t seen her since. This is sad, but it is a fact of life. This woman wasn’t ready or willing to face the deeper questions about life for herself. I just hope she remembers her experience of the Church as a place where people cared about her and wanted her to keep coming, even though she decided not to.

If you don’t have sponsors – and even if you do! – the catechists really need to build these personal relationships. People are so much more likely to listen to what we are teaching if we know them as friends, if we enjoy spending an evening every week together. This is why socialising is helpful – meeting people for coffee or even giving them a call in between times. Our Catechumenate involves a weekend retreat which builds community. Last year, a comment from one of the men in the Catechumenate after the retreat struck me: he thanked us for all the care we had put into it; it made him feel like he belonged. One of the advantages of having a long Catechumenate is that by the end, the ‘neophytes’, catechists and sponsors are a big community and people often are sad that the classes are over.

Peer Ministry

One thing I have learnt through my involvement with Youth 2000 is that nothing works better than young people evangelising young people. This was how my own conversion happened. My parents could have told me any number of things about the Faith in an array of convincing ways, but for me, it was seeing other young people pray in front of the Eucharist that made me realise: “They have something I don’t have.”

This principle is something we are trying to introduce into our Confirmation programme this year. We have five eager young people in their late teens who are helping on the programme. They are great young people. Over the last few years they have received a lot of formation through the great work of our youth coordinator. They have been to Catholic Underground and Youth 2000 events in the parish and over the summer they went to World Youth Day in Madrid. And now they are contributing lots to evangelising the next generation of young people. They have offered to give their testimonies, and they are in charge of creating the all-important “atmosphere” (candles and music) for the prayer times. What a blessing! It shows that investing in youth ministry is more than worth it. As one of our catechists kindly pointed out, I am a “mummy” in the eyes of our thirteen-year-olds, so anything that the young people tell them is far more valuable than what I can teach them. Sad, perhaps, but true!

Evangelisation in Confirmation preparation

I recently read a great article on the blog Catechesis in the Third Millennium about a session of evangelisation at the start of the Confirmation programme. It is interesting to see different ideas of incorporating this essential element into Confirmation preparation. Of course, catechesis is one of the “moments” of evangelisation, so in a sense it always needs to be evangelistic: attractive, engaging, concerned with converting hearts. This was our concern on our Confirmation retreat last weekend. I’ve said before that it is relatively easy when you have just twenty candidates like we do. Twenty is a great number I have no idea how we would cope with 200!

CFR Friars - an important ingredient for youth evangelisation

We knew the candidates were not greatly looking forward to going away for a weekend early on in the school year. They all had mountains of homework, some had to miss school matches, they didn’t know what to expect. However, the transformation over the weekend was incredible. We had two Franciscan Friars of the Renewal with us for the weekend who proved ever so popular with the candidates, playing football and frizbee, and teaching them annoying games The first morning (after a first night of some games and a film) started by getting the candidates think honestly about where, on a scale of 1-10, they would say their relationship with God is, which provoked some interesting discussion. This was followed by teaching from the Friars on the love of God the Father, including the testimony of one of them. In response to this teaching, the candidates were invited to go off by themselves to write a personal letter to God the Father, speaking with Him openly. It was amazing to see their enthusiasm for this: they spread out outdoors and in the chapel and spent a good 30 minutes writing. The rest of the weekend included a similar teaching on God the Son, focussed on mercy and forgiveness, in preparation for the evening’s Reconciliation Service. We also had a YouCat workshop, introducing them to their YouCats, which they were presented with by the catechists at the end of Mass, and each small group produced a drama of the life of their Saint. All this was interspersed with football, frizbee and a walk to the site of the kidnap and martyrdom of St Alban (the first martyr of England!).

Perhaps what was best about the weekend – other than the candidates’ willingness to enter into prayer and go to Confession – was the sense of community between them. It was an interesting weekend to recognise the dynamics of the group, and was encouraging to see them include everyone in their activities and look out for each other. Similarly, it was a fantastic opportunity for us as catechists to build relationships with them and get to know them a bit on a human level before the catechesis begins.

So, hopefully, a good start. May the Holy Spirit build on this foundation in leading these young people deeper into Christ!

The conversion of the baptised

Since my post the other day, I watched this clip – a lecture by Dr Carole Brown at a Symposium organised by the Dominicans in Dublin. Her doctorate was on the conversion of the baptised in the thought of John Paul II and her ideas are really interesting… Have a watch!

The Human Experience

I doubt The Human Experience will be new to most of you, but it is such a wonderful, profound film that it’s definitely worth watching more than once. I remember when I first watched it a year and a half ago, there were many quotations and comments which invited me to reflect more deeply. The film asks what it means to be human, why life is worth living, what the meaning of suffering is, what the secret to happiness is. Two brothers go in search to the answers to these questions. They spend their time over the course of a year with the poor, with people who are suffering (the homeless in New York, orphans in Peru, lepers in Ghana) so the answers they uncover are surprising. This film will make you want to live your life WELL!

We will be showing it next week to enquirers to the Catholic Faith. It is a great film for precatechumenate and evangelisation since it shows the beauty of being human, of human dignity…and today people are converted by beauty!