Blog Archives

What... or, better yet, WHO is the Parish?

5/28/2015

Ministry Tip of the Week

by Seth Evangelho

This post is about outreach. It's also about recognizing the nature of the Body of Christ, the Mission of the Church, and our specific place in that mission. Ultimately, this post is about vision.

Vision directs action. Action (says good philosophy) follows being: what something does, is based on what something is. So, in other words, the specific things we do and what we strive toward is determined primarily by what... or, better yet, who we understand ourselves to be. Our vision, and the steps we take to achieve that vision, is determined by who we are and why we're here. How does this affect parish ministry? As members of a particular community, we must ask the question, "What... or, better yet, who is the Parish?"

Often we mistakenly see the parish as the body of believers, specifically the registered and practicing Catholics affiliated with our local church. Theologically speaking, this is a very faulty understanding. The Catholic parish is a deeply integral component in the mission of Jesus Christ. It's not the community of believers who gather for worship on Sundays so much as the specific geographical location in the world-wide mission of the Catholic Church. In other words, our "parish" is a ZIP CODE, and every soul who enters the environs of that zip code. Our "parish" here in Laconia is actually responsible for (at least) two zip codes, as well as for all those vacationers who visit the Lakes Region during summer months.

Now here's the point. Our mission as baptized members of the Body of Christ - to lead people closer to Jesus Christ and his Gospel of salvation - is intimately tied to our geographical location. Our parish is the primary spot on the globe where you and I live out this mission.

We do this individually in our daily lives, but we also do it communally out of our parish campus (which, in our case in Laconia, spans two worship sites and a number of other buildings). In a special way, we represent the universal Church through our involvement. Every Sunday when we come to mass, and throughout the week as 'we take advantage of various celebrations, events, and ministries on the campus, we're called to embrace a "missionary responsibility." We never know who from the wider community (our parish zip codes) might be visiting the campus. But if we're there, it's our faces they see, and our actions they come into contact with. Are we creating a Christ-like welcome? Do we share Christ with them through a simple smile? Do we understand ourselves as having an important share in the hospitality our campus provides?

Although it hasn't always been stressed in recent history, we have a call to make our parish home a place of welcome for all who visit. When outsiders arrive, especially un-churched seekers and the poor, they're not just discerning us but the truth of Jesus Christ through us. In a very real way, we are Jesus' hands and feet in the Church's mission here in the Lakes Region. The Catholic parish, specifically the practicing faithful, must consciously reclaim the Church's understanding of this great and dignified responsibility.

May we always approach our Eucharistic Lord with this in mind. May we come to him always hungering for the love we're called to share. May we live the Eucharist, first and foremost through open hearts as we receive him in communion, and then through our embrace of his mission alive inside us. May our vision be shaped by this understanding of what, and who the parish is, and may our actions be animated by our self-identification with the life and mission of Jesus Christ, the humble servant.

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The Thresholds of Conversion

5/22/2015

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Ministry Tip of the Week

by Seth Evangelho

Last week's "tip" was a vision for patiently letting the process of evangelization unfold in someone's life, careful not to push them too hard when they're not ready to hear/understand certain things. This week we look at a "discernment tool" to help us understand where people are at in the conversion process. The last thing we want to do is overwhelm someone with the Gospel; but it would be good to know how we can more effectively help them take the next step toward Christ.

Sherry Weddell, in her book Forming Intentional Disciples, calls it the "Thresholds of Conversion."

Forming Intentional Disciples: The Path to Knowing and Following Jesus

There are five basic thresholds of conversion in the average walk toward Christ: trust, curiosity, openness, seeking, and intentional discipleship. Our goal is to become wise enough to recognize where people are at in the conversion process, and patient enough to supply only what they need to get to the next threshold. Let's briefly look at each threshold:

1. Initial Trust - A person is able to trust or has a positive association with Jesus and "church stuff" (not the same as personal faith)
2. Spiritual Curiosity - A person is intrigued by or has a desire to know more about Jesus and "church stuff" (but is not yet open to personal change)
3. Spiritual Openness - not a commitment to follow Christ, but an openness to the possibility of personal and spiritual change
4. Actively Seeking - an urgent spiritual quest; the person has transitioned from essentially passive to actively seeking God
5. Intentional Discipleship - the decision to "drop one's nets" and make a conscious commitment to follow Christ and to order one's life accordingly.

Notice the final stage of conversion is not perfect sanctity. Intentional discipleship is how Weddell categorizes those of us who are not yet saints, but want to be. That's the real goal. Once this final threshold conversion takes place, the Lord is given full permission to reign over our lives, and that's when everything changes. But it takes time. It begins slow. And it begins with us. Simply "going to church" is not enough. Do you trust Jesus and the Church he founded? Do you have a desire to know more? Are you open to change? Are you actively seeking to know God more personally? Have you dropped your nets?

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Be Patient. It's a Process.

5/15/2015

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Ministry Tip of the Week

by Seth Evangelho

Faith isn't a light switch we can just turn on. It's a relationship with the living God and, like any relationship, it needs time to grow. Like any relationship, the bond of faith is experienced in ever-deepening stages. Faith, like any relationship, develops. It's a process.

Evangelization, then, is also a process. As we seek to help others to encounter Christ (a.k.a. grow in the gift of faith), we do well to remember the nature of a living relationship, and to be patient with where people are in their walk with the Lord.

When it comes to the process of evangelization, I find this visual diagram a helpful tool:

Evangelization begins with our relationships. In the early stages of faith, we often encounter Christ without even realizing it - in the friendships we have with his disciples. We are shown Christ through the humility and love of his followers, and this opens us up to the message they bear. We call this initial stage "pre-evangelization."

In my own experience of conversion, it wasn't until I was in genuine friendships with Christians and felt accepted for who I was that my heart was opened to hearing the message of the Gospel. When I was finally ready, I realized Jesus was real, that he was truly risen, and that he loved me, personally, in spite of all I had done to hurt him. This was stage two of the process: "Evangelization proper." For the first time in my life, I really listened to the proclamation of the Gospel.

Grace flooded my heart and I was utterly converted. I found myself uncovering a new identity; I was a child of God, for real. My initial conversion to Christ had taken place. I had encountered him personally, and I believed the Gospel.

I was ready for stage three: "catechesis." Aware of his love, I had a growing hunger to know that I couldn't contain. The ins and outs of the faith became like manna from heaven, nourishing and sustaining me as my precious faith began to blossom in exciting ways. I was compelled to learn more about the One whose love I was so desperate to hold onto.

As my knowledge grew, so too did my identity, and with it my "mission" (stage four). Eventually, I realized the mission of Christ was being extended to me. I had been given a part in the plan. For God so loved the world... that he sent all his (adopted) sons and daughters. I began to look for opportunities to serve; and it was there, in loving my neighbor, that I started to see Christ even more fully, encountering him not just in the poor I was serving but alive in me. His love was so real in my heart, I found myself doing things and thinking things I never would have before. I found myself loving like I had never loved before. I was being sent. I was becoming a disciple.

Where are you in the process of evangelization? In ever-deepening ways, we're always experiencing every stage. Jesus is present everywhere and at no point could we ever exhaust his love in any of these areas. As the living relationship of faith matures, we come to see his face more brightly in the faces of those we love (pre-evangelization), in the rich simplicity of the Gospel message (evangelization proper), in the depths of doctrine and theology (catechesis), and in the urgent grace of discipleship as we bring our communion with Christ into the world (mission).

How do we know where others are in the conversion process? It's always different. Everyone's relationship with Christ is unique. We begin with friendship and we're ready to provide the individual needs as they arise. But whether we're serving, helping to bring deeper understanding, proclaiming the basics of God's love, or simply nourishing friendship, we're learning to recognize Jesus, truly present in it all. Evangelization is an ever-deepening encounter with the risen Lord. We meet Jesus first in the love of others and, as the process unfolds, we find ourselves swept up and living in his mission of love.

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Encourage Ignatian Discernment

5/8/2015

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Ministry Article of the Week

by Seth Evangelho

Last week I wrote about bondage and the reality of spiritual warfare. This week, we turn now to one of our greatest weapons: the spirituality of St. Ignatius of Loyola.

In a nutshell, Ignatian Discernment teaches that the movements of the heart (passions, feelings, and emotions that arise inside us in various situations throughout the day) are to be scrutinized and understood properly, lest they become obstacles to faith, hope and charity and our relationships with God and neighbor be led astray by the "wiles of the devil." St. Ignatius lays out 14 "rules" to discerning the movements of the heart, rules that help us to properly recognize the influences of the spiritual realm in our daily life. Below, I briefly articulate the first five:

Rule #1 - People living in sin experience the enemy's presence as a consolation tempting them to embrace the sensual delight of their vices, and they experience the presence of the Holy Spirit as "stinging and biting their consciences."

Rule #2 - Those in a state of grace and striving to grow in relationship with the Lord, however, experience the opposite. The presence of the enemy is experienced as stinging and biting. "For then it is proper to the evil spirit to bite, sadden, and place obstacles, disquieting with false reasons, so that the person may not go forward," Ignatius warns. In a state of grace and faith, on the other hand, it's the Holy Spirit who consoles, strengthens, and encourages the soul to continue choosing what is right and good.

Rule # 3 - Those in a state of grace must learn to recognize consolations from the Holy Spirit: every experience of an "increase of hope, faith, and charity, and all interior joy that calls and attracts to heavenly things and to the salvation of one's soul, quieting it and giving it peace in it's Creator and Lord."

Rule # 4 - Learn to recognize times of desolation: "darkness of soul, disturbance, movement to low and earthly things, disquiet from various agitations and temptations, moving to lack of confidence, without hope, without love, finding oneself totally slothful, tepid, sad and, as if separated from God." These are times of trial. They are the moments when the devil is most aggressive with us but, when we learn to view them properly, they are the moments of the greatest grace and the most fruitful opportunities to grow in trust and faith.

Rule # 5 - Never make a life-change in time of desolation. Wait it out and stay committed to whatever you heard the Lord telling you to do in previous times of consolation.

Ignatian Discernment is a priceless weapon in the spiritual life of every Christian. Pope Francis, a devoted follower of St. Ignatius, has been encouraging us to delve more fully into the full teaching on this spirituality, and with good reason. It is a spiritual weapon par excellence. The following is a wonderfully engaging introduction to this kind of prayer and to discerning the movements of your heart (left) and, if you want a penetrating overview in more detail, here is the best I know of (right):

God, Help Me: How to Grow in Prayer

The Discernment of Spirits: An Ignatian Guide for Everyday Living

How do we teach this to our students and loved ones? We begin by living it ourselves. It will make our advice all the wiser, and the life they see us live more authentically Christ-like. Not everyone is going to be spiritually mature enough to embrace everything about Ignatian discernment, but we can nevertheless be there as living witnesses and, in times of both joy and trial, encouraging others to see the ever-present actions of the Holy Spirit.

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Recognize Bondage

5/1/2015

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Ministry Tip of the Week

by Seth Evangelho

"If you wake up in the morning and don't know you're in a battle, you've already lost the day." My dad told me that once, and it has stuck with me ever since. I wake up and consecrate my day to the Sacred Heart, it's just what I do now. This quick prayer as I rise from slumber is certainly a reminder to me of the spiritual warfare that is human life on earth, but it's also my claim to the victory Christ has won. I start my day in peace, the peace of Christ, and it sets the tone for my daily mission to grow in holiness.

Simply put, my dad was right. We're all fighting spiritual battles everyday. Unfortunately, we don't always recognize it. Which is precisely why certain struggles are continually experienced as a "losing battle." Unfortunately, the idea that certain aspects of life are a "battle" often gets interpreted as mere metaphor. Life is spiritual warfare, and until we come to realize it, especially in the areas where we struggle, Christ cannot overcome the stronghold of evil that presses upon us. We have to say yes, and not just to Christ, but to the battle Christ fights in us and to the sword of the Spirit he wields, which also means to the presence of a real spiritual enemy.

We don't like to talk about the devil. We keep him in the abstract and focus on overcoming concrete evils. Sometimes we keep Jesus in the realm of abstraction as well. It's all part of the devil's plan unfortunately, and it brings confusion, isolation, and sorrow to the practical world of day to day activity. Jesus and the devil are not abstractions. The spiritual realm is as real and as present to us as the morning paper and a load of laundry. It's never a good thing to give the devil too much attention, of course, but not focusing on him is entirely different from not acknowledging him as a real and present enemy.

Here's a fascinating difference between Jesus and the devil: the devil's power over us increases to the degree we leave spiritual things in the realm of abstract concepts, whereas Jesus' power in our lives decreases when we do this. On the other hand, paying attention to the spiritual world, to good and evil, to temptation and sin, to mercy and grace, to Jesus' definitive victory over sin and death, decreases the devil's hold on us. It allows the power of Christ to flood our lives. Jesus has won the spiritual battle already. When we enter into that world as Christians, we enter into (his) victory over the struggles of life. Period.

Bondage refers to our inability in certain areas (psychological, emotional, and even physical) to embrace the victory of Christ. We all have those areas where we need to be set free. Where are they? What's causing them? These are the right questions.

If we want to lead people closer to Jesus, we must recognize the chasms of separation from Christ in our own hearts. (The closer we are to Jesus, the more naturally we evangelize others.) So paying attention to this idea of spiritual bondage is twofold. On the one hand, in doing so we're able to recognize more deeply our own (specific) needs for Jesus' saving power. On the other hand, we also become more sensitive to the struggles of others. We all have our spiritual battles, and they take time not just to overcome but even to recognize. Knowing this helps us to be merciful toward the failings of those around us, especially toward those who've hurt us. It makes us patient with the resistance of those we teach. It reminds us to turn to the needs of others with a compassionate gaze, to humbly embrace a prayerful disposition, and to recognize the struggle is spiritual and the victory is Christ's. It's simply not in our power to win these battles.

Where do you need to be set free? For powerful ways to bring this abstract idea of bondage into the practical experiences of deliverance, freedom, and healing, prayerfully read the first nine chapters of this penetrating book by Neal Lozano:

Unbound: A Practical Guide to Deliverance

You may have already read this book, but did you know he also wrote one that focuses on the subtle but significant differences of a Catholic approach?

Resisting the Devil: A Catholic Perspective on Deliverance

Jesus has won the victory, once for all. Now he works to win that victory in us. Learning to recognize spiritual bondage effects in us an utter dependence on his merciful love. It opens our interior lives to the penetrating power of a God who is perfect Light. His gaze shatters the chains of darkness if we let it, and he’s a patient Savior.

May we always extend the patience he shows us and work humbly to soften the hearts of others, that they too might receive the freedom and peace only the Divine Physician can give. If you know someone who you think might be struggling with spiritual bondage, give them a copy of Unbound and encourage them to read the first nine chapters – slowly, prayerfully, and with an open heart.

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