Identity, Faith, Culture, Catechesis

Embracing the PeopleIdentity, Faith, Culture, Catechesis60 Years AgoWhat was our catechesis accomplishing?IdentityIdentity with very local systems (family, more extended than now)Identity with local systems (neighborhood, place of parish, relationship with nuns and clergy)Identity with larger systems (diocese and broader Catholic Church)IdentityHow did we accomplish that identity?

EthnicityInner-group dynamicsOuter-group dynamicsReward and Punishment

60 Years AgoHow many people saw themselves as very involved with the discipleship elements of Catholicism?How many people went to Holy Communion?How many people drifted away from the practice of their faith right after 8th grade?120 Years AgoCatholics went to Communion once or twice a year.Catholics went to Confession once or twice a yearnote the role of missions back then.Catholicism was practiced as a folk-religion reinforced by distinct elements of popular religion.120 Years AgoChurch was alienated from modern world (modernism, Americanism, Syllabus of Errors).Church was alienated from large number of men working for national independence or social rights.Church operated in a society that revolved around early marriage and lots of children.Mid-Twentieth CenturyEmergence of a liturgical movement, inspired by a lot of monastic liturgical renewal.Emergence of a renewed interest in, and reading of, the Holy Scriptures.Emergence of more mature patterns of social moral teaching (Pacem In Terris, etc.).Renewal of catechesis.Emergence of an openness to modernity.

John XXIIII dont agree with the prophetsof doom. They always talk as ifthe present, compared with the past,is getting worse and worse. I see mankindentering a new era, and I see in this a divine plan. This plan, in the course of time and in and through what man does, pursues its own purposes, its own goals, and theyare far, far beyond mans expectations.Mid-Twentieth CenturyOvercoming the alienation that hadgrown up between the Church andmodern culture.

An acceptance of modernity as thesphere in which Christians lived, served,and prayed.Why Embrace The ModernChristianity has grown only by embracing what seemed new, even alienJewishHellenisticHellenisticRomanRomanTribalMonasticUniversity theologyScholasticismRenaissanceEuropeAmericaEuropeAfrica/AsiaUltimately it has no choiceEmbrace the (Modern) PeopleWhat does it mean to be modernin our world today?Christendom vs. ModernityChristendomModernityChristendom stands for a vision in whichthe Church (faith) defines the values of all of life,and Church structures, directly or indirectly,run through all of life.

Christendom is an optimistic reading of a worldwhere state and church (culture and faith)are not separated.Modernity represents a vision of life in which humankind, through the application of reason and resources, gradually takes control of the basic processes of life, particularlyhealth, government, learning, and economy.Experience, and rational processes,determine the shape of society.

Contrasting Styles

ModernityBelief in sciences goals, particularly with reference to health.Belief in the autonomy of the state through democratic processes accepted by all.Belief in autonomous markets driven by economic impulses that can be known.Belief in a growth of knowledge through experiment and experience.Is there a conflict?DataDogma

Faith and CultureApparent Tension PointsVision of human bodyhealth, gender, sexVision of the social bodycapitalist, communist, inherently communal, or something elseVision of the statesecular, semi-secular,religiousVision of the spiritinformation, immediate sensation, pragmatism, transcendentCrisis in Catholic IdentityAll the pieces that we invented between1880-1950 to facilitate the passing onof the Catholic Faith are now under pressure.The elements of that former Catholic societyhave or are disappearing. As a result, Catholics today do not have a readily-formed social culture with which to identify.This has implications for identity withfaith for modern Catholics.Crisis in Catholic IdentityFormation still focused on children.Formation of children still driven by a desire to receive the sacraments.Concrete elements of Catholic life are missing in daily life (prayer, faith sharing and growth).Disconnect between certain moral teachings and widespread Catholic practice (sexuality and, to a less extent, social teaching).Crisis in Catholic IdentityA good Catholic is one who . . . Crisis in Catholic IdentityI can be a good Catholic even if I dont . . . Crisis in Catholic IdentityMy idea of a good Catholic is someone who . . .Where Are the People? Embrace the PeoplePre-1960 cohort largely populates our churches on SundayPost-1960 cohort is largely missing (over 60% mostly not worshipping)Millennials are even more absent (80% tend not to be in church)15% of Americans claim none as their religious preferencePatterns of Modern LifeSuburbanization: we now live in a world structured by choosing among many options.

Maturation: we live in a world in which people construct their identities from a variety of images (rather than receive identity from their families or cultures)Toward a Modern Catholic IdentityChoice, consistent choiceConversion, personal experienceAccepting the external patterns of modernity (the world as it is)Identifying inner patterns of belief within our modern experienceFocused on the person of JesusSupported by a community of faithDISCIPLESHIPCore IdentityGospels, Scriptures, TeachingSacraments, prayerCommunity involvement with othersService to the Kingdom of GodEmbodied in patterns of witness

Non-core IdentitySupports CoreParticular pious devotionsMarian-centrismExternals like medals, etc.Particular movementsEthnic practices

Embrace the People(A) Constructing the elements of a viable modern Catholic identity(B) in tune with the externals of the modern world, (C) but based on the internals/externalsof Catholic discipleship. Embrace the PeopleCatechesis of children is fundamentally catechesis of the family. Need for serious work in developing family patterns of faith.Catechesis of youth is fundamentally instilling elements of a disciplined discipleship, and keeping youth in contact with a community of faith.

Embrace the PeopleCatechesis of young adults involves providing the resources for securing the identity of young people around core values of discipleship, and leading people into patterns of commitment.Catechesis of younger families involves rooting married love into patterns of discipleship (the Paschal Mystery).

Embrace the PeopleCatechesis of the parish means involving the whole parish into patterns of faith formation that spring from, and support, Sunday worship and daily prayer.Catechesis of modern Catholics means instill patterns of personal choice and sharing faith with others (=small groups).

Embrace the PeopleWe must situate catechesis into a framework of evangelization which involves constant invitation and outreach to those not involved in a community of faith.

Embrace the PeopleElements of welcome, acceptance, hospitality, involvement, and journey-in-faith have to be part of every parishs skills.

Embrace the PeopleEven the most successful, large, suburban Catholic parish is missing over 60% of its Catholic people, not to mention the large percentages of unconnected Americans who have no faith family. Embrace the PeopleCatholic parishes can drift into a kind of modern congregationalism that can make it very inward-looking. We do not see people who are different from useither because they do not go to church, or do not speak our language, or do not look like us.Embrace the PeopleParish is not about us but about our ability,through the grace of the Holy Spirit,to reach beyond ourselves and more clearlyembrace all people.Parish is for the Kingdom=for Gods transformation of the world through Jesus and the Spirit.

ChurchThe shrinking church of the purer or more committed.The status quo church of those who come and get their needs filled.The dynamic church of mission, engaged in involving as many people as possible in the Kingdom of God.Many are called, but few are chosen.

You dont have any chosen unless you are constantly calling to the many.

Ministry of JesusLiberation of people in their stucknessOpening of the Jewish imagination to broader images of God, Gods mercy, and Gods actionsDeliberate outreach to those who were excluded from established Jewish normsConflict over overly-restrictive images of God on the part of the leaders of his dayGenerating religious patterns in the daily, social lives of the people of his day

Embrace the PeopleDo we look too rigid?

Do we look too cheap with Gods grace?

Do we look too self-preoccupied?Embrace the PeopleDo we look preoccupied with theKingdom of God?

KingdomKingdom does not exclude the modern world, but engages, dialogues, and potentially transforms the modern world.Kingdom is not another sphere apart from our saeculumour worldly, human existenceKingdom emerges within the saeculum by pulling it forward into Gods purposesGod will be all in all.

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