October « 2008 « Walking the Rite way

30Oct/080

‘Returners’ inspire repeat Come Home for Christmas outreach

Sarah* wrote last January, “I do not know if you are still there now that Christmas has passed, but I would like to let you know that shortly after my e-mail to you my local church had a penitential service. This helped me go to Confession. I have been going to Mass and Communion ever since, including on Christmas Day and most of the Octave of Christmas, as I was off work at that time. It takes quite a lot of courage to go to Confession after 34 years. Thank you for your encouragement. The Christmas season was very joyful for me. I hope lots of other people have been helped through ‘Come Home For Christmas’.”

Another enquirer wrote: “I am a lapsed Catholic who recently moved to a new area and returned to the Catholic community... I am completely unfamiliar with Mass / Catholic law and am feeling lost and alienated. Finding help to answer questions when you return to the fold is proving difficult, unless I prefer having the whole parish know I and my spouse are ‘prodigals’. The most difficult thing in my life was to admit to myself that I had made a terrible, wrong decision in abandoning my faith. I am too embarrassed to ask anyone in the parish for help as only the Father (priest) knows that I stopped going to Mass 18 years ago aged 15. I sincerely pray that you are able to help.”

One couple who received an invitation letter said: “It was sleeping beauty waking up.” Someone who received a home visit said: “Now for the first time, I feel that I really belong to the parish.”

These are just some of the responses the Catholic Enquiry Office received as a result of last year’s first ‘Come Home For Christmas’ initiative, which was launched to equip parishes to warmly welcome those baptised who for many different reasons no longer attend church. Tailor-made posters, invitation cards, leaflets, welcome packs and a website were made available in support of this work of evangelisation. Parishes and individuals distributed around 100 000 leaflets and new materials are now available for Advent 2008 and January 2009. See: www.caseresources.org.uk and www.comehomeforchristmas.co.uk

St Hilda’s Parish in Sunderland was one of last year’s participating parishes. Parish Priest, Fr Noel Colahan said: “Parishioners seemed delighted to have something specific to hand to people. Having a physical resource made it easier to issue an invitation without appearing to pile on the pressure too much.”

Sheila Keefe, who is a parishioner at St Joseph’s in Romsey and promoter of the Portsmouth Diocesan KIT (Keeping In Touch) programme said: “So many church-going Catholics are concerned about their children and grandchildren who don’t seem to have any links with their local parish. We’ve found ‘Come Home For Christmas’ to be a real source of hope and, as a follow up to the initial Christmas invitations, the KIT programme offers home visits and small group meetings where people can share their stories and learn a little about today’s Church. In fact our meetings went down so well that we continued to meet in the local pub during the summer months.”

The Catholic Agency to Support Evangelisation (CASE) is resourcing this year’s initiative and the theme of the outreach materials is “...something missing?” Also being offered is a free information pack from the Catholic Enquiry Office and a text featuring a message of welcome from Cardinal Cormac-Murphy O’Connor.

Clare Ward from CASE said: “We were overwhelmed by the response from parishes last year and are hoping for an even greater one this year. A variety of materials are available in recognition of the fact that ‘no one size fits all’ in a Catholic understanding of evangelisation. Do contact us. We’d be delighted to support and resource you and your parish.”

Bishop Malcolm McMahon, Chair of the Bishops’ Conference Department for Evangelisation and Catechesis, said: "The star of Bethlehem clearly guided the three kings on their long and arduous journey from a distant place to the wondrous reality of Jesus' birth. In the months leading up to this extraordinary event, let's seriously consider in our families, parishes, in our lives, how we can serve as stars, as beacons, leading those baptised who are no longer church-goers to 'come home', to attend Mass. Be bold and courageous. I encourage you to respectfully reach out and 'shine'."

For more information and resources please e-mail: info@comehomeforchristmas.co.uk
www.caseresources.org.uk
For more information about KIT please see: www.kit4catholics.org.uk E-mail: enquiries@kit4catholics.org.uk

Also see: www.everybodyswelcome.org.uk

Filed under: Advent, Christmas, Evangelisation No Comments

27Oct/080

Saints Alive

St Paul procession- Malta.JPG Many countries are lavish in their remembrance of their saints’ days, with the whole village enjoying a day of festivity and reverence to a particular saint. The people of Malta take the celebration of the feast of St Paul’s Shipwreck, very seriously. Preparation is year long for this annual feast to their patron saint. It falls on the nearest Sunday to February 10th and there is much anxiety about the weather, for the 17th century wooden statue cannot be carried outside in high winds or heavy rain. I took this photo after the men had spent a couple of hours transferring the statue to its portable beams, had proudly begun the procession, only to be driven back into the safety of the church when the rain fell. It wasn’t only the bearers that shed tears, but many in the crowd acted as if they had suffered a great loss.

This year All Saints Day will be celebrated next Sunday November 2nd (England & Wales only) and I would like to explore how this provides a catechetical opportunity for RCIA catechists and the community.

Saints are so much a part of our life. We read about them, we pray to them in Mass and in a time of need; we feel supported by them and are secure in knowing they are a communion of saints. Our churches are dedicated to them, but so are street names, pubs and businesses. Statues are part of our architectural heritage Even non-christians have heard of St Christopher, and when on holiday how can you ignore the patron saint hanging above the visor of the bus driver in Malta, Crete, Cyprus etc.

From time to time, saints have featured with great predominance in my faith journey. Although, not always obvious at the time, on looking back I have been able to chart a sideways and upwards step, leading me to new exploration and depths as I try to fathom what exactly God has planned for me. While I find it a little puzzling why All Souls is not being commemorated on the 2nd November, I relish the opportunity that this change to the liturgical year offers to RCIA catechists.

Those involved with the period of inquiry have the chance to share in hearing the richness of saints’ stories when members of the parish participate in group sessions. What an easy way to introduce a relationship with saints when exchanging stories of how St Christopher was invoked on a hazardous journey, or how prayers to St Jude or St Rita helped turn a hopeless situation into a triumph. As for the lost things that St Anthony is asked to find…
For both inquirers and catechumens, there is the opportunity for exploration and discussion over birth names and what saints they identify with. This may involve hearing about holy people from other cultures, and learning about new saints.
Hands on experience is possible by bringing statues, icons or pictures to the group. Many art books or museum catalogues will show how saints have been depicted through the ages.
Use this time of the liturgical year to think ahead to the Easter Vigil to bring alive those named in the Litany of Saints, so that our candidates will be able to sing out ‘pray for us’ with some familiarity of the saints named.

In our parish, everyone has been invited to bring to Sunday Mass a picture or statue, or icon of their favourite saint. I am hoping that those who have adopted England as their second country will bring statues of the saints they have grown up with, and catechumens and all, will see the variety of holy people that have inspired those in our community. It is a time for the neophytes and those who were confirmed to remember their confirmation saint, and together with the parish young confirmed earlier in the year, they could place their saints in a special location in the church.

For those experiencing mystagogy, here is a chance to explore holiness. Look at popular prayers, or the saints named in the Eucharistic prayers. What is amazing about saints, is that they come from such a diversity of backgrounds and cultures. Anne Gordon in A Book of Saints - True stories of how they touch our lives, offers instances where people today have been influenced by their relationship with a particular saint.

The glory of saints is, that they have lived, and coped with temptation, doubt and what seemed insurmountable obstacles; they have planned their path of faith only to find its progress thwarted, until eventually they have realised God is leading them along another path. But perhaps the most apt is St Martin of Tours, the pagan soldier who tore his cloak in half to give to a freezing beggar, and then in a vision Christ called him to stop being a catechumen, and to be baptised.

Filed under: Catechesis, Catechumenate, Liturgy, Mystagogy No Comments

20Oct/080

Credit Crunch – what currency have we invested in?

Every time you turn on the radio or the telly these days, its doom and gloom and credit crunch. None of us, whatever our financial 'profile' is immune from the effects of this, whether its the pension fund, or the high street bank we use, exchange rates, cost of heating and fuel, food, mortgage, even jobs. How does the Gospel speak into our lives this week? How does it fire up our faith when the going gets a bit tough? How does it support our catechesis for bringing people into communion with Christ? The entrance antiphon for 29th Sunday in OT is a call for protection, the opening prayer for strength and joy, Isaiah 'from the rising to the setting of the sun, apart from me, all is nothing'. Paul begins his letter offering grace and peace from God, and encouraging faith in action - 'when we brought the good news to you, it came to you not only as words, but as power and as the Holy Spirit and as utter conviction'. Jesus, caught between a rock and a hard place, says legitimate government has authority and deserves our co-operation. Easy to get bogged down in worries, payment of bills and taxes, and forget to cash in the revealed treasure of God's salvation, freedom, and all the gifts poured out for our lived lives! These wonderful mysteries of our faith and our ordinary lives are not separate realities, but find their full expression in each other. As Seamus O'Connell, Professor of Scripture at Maynooth says, some people in restaurants refuse to put down the menu and do not taste the food - we know the teaching, we know the Gospel - but its useless unless we consume it and allow it to nourish us for every eventually, every worry, every 'crunch', every need. The Communion antiphon from Sunday's Liturgy supplies: 'See how the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those who hope in his love; that he may rescue them from death and feed them in time of famine.' Let's be aware of people whose basic needs are not being met.

: Become conscious about basic needs

Filed under: Catechesis, Catechumenate, Lectionary, Mystagogy, Scripture, Uncategorized No Comments

13Oct/081

Sharing the invitation to the eternal banquet

The First Reading of the Twenty-eighth Sunday in Year A is one that we often hear at funerals. Isaiah (25: 6-10) describes the reign of God as a banquet at which succulent foods will be served – and (a significant reason for its use in funerals) tears will be wiped away and shrouds destroyed.

Its use in a particularly poignant funeral of two little girls raised thoughts about how those gathered in shock and heart-rending grief might somehow be encountering good news. What could they be hearing – seeing – touching or sensing that could possibly point them beyond the anguish to the hope at the heart of our faith: that death is a change in life not its ending? How might a funeral be an occasion for evangelisation … an occasion in which we tell part of the Christian story in a way which seeps into souls too numb to be aware of receiving anything but yearning for something to cling to? How might seeds of that story germinate months or even years later – and encourage the first step towards becoming part of it?

It is a fact that, for many people, a funeral might be one of the very few occasions that they enter a church. They come with preconceptions – largely based on what they have seen on television or in films. They may come with very limited religious literacy – we can no longer assume that even the Our Father will be known (as the fact that fewer and fewer people now continue into “For thine is the Kingdom…” before petering out into a slightly uncomfortable silence suggests). They may have some memory of what Gran did - and try to emulate. But beyond the preconceptions and the anxieties, people come with longings – let this not be the end. Let something make a bit of sense of this agony I’m in. Let me meet people who know death happens and it feels like hell – who don’t hide it away or expect me to get over it in a couple of weeks. Let me find something big enough to contain what is threatening to overwhelm me and shatter me into a million pieces.

In response to these longings, funerals may be opportunities for a parish community to begin to see itself as an evangelising community – not necessarily in erudite theological argument but in the warmth of its welcome and simple presence supporting family and friends during the service. Bereavement support groups could be encouraged to gently share their own faith if invited – bringing a dimension to their visits that would be inappropriate for professional bereavement counsellors but which can offer solace and hope in dark times.

And a good turnout at Masses for the bereaved, an increasingly popular parish event in November– or cemetery visits – with tea and an opportunity to chat afterwards can all be a powerful witness. They could all contribute to the bereaved person’s sense that here is a community where their pain is not shunned or a source of fear or embarrassment but accepted as part of a much bigger story – one that leads through the darkness of death and utter grief to resurrection.

Those who have loved and lost know what Good Friday and Holy Saturday feel like – and know too the yearning for hope beyond them. The Paschal Mystery at the heart of our faith offers that hope and our sharing of it may start with a simple invitation to come to Mass in November and light a candle in memory of a loved one.

Some seeds of ideas …

This November, draw on some of the traditions of the Church and live them with catechumens and candidates.
Consider ways of using this season of remembrance as a means of evangelising with those who plan the liturgy.
Explore appropriate ways for those involved in bereavement support to act as evangelisers.