Dr. Sargent’s Reflection

Dear Friends of Faith on Fire,

As many of you already know, Sr. Ginger and I recently launched our new ministry formation program in August.  Our first events were held at St. Thomas More parish in Glendale, San Francisco de Asisi in Flagstaff and All Saints in Mesa. We are so grateful to the pastors and parish staffs who showed us such an outpouring of support and good will. It was also wonderful to see the support from so many of our friends in ministry throughout the Diocese of Phoenix. Their prayers and presence really gave us a lot of strength and courage that will sustain us as we move forward in our ministry.

Now for some musings:

For those of us involved in evangelization and catechesis, we must always be mindful that it is always Gods’ action, presence and spirit which brings people to the place of knowing Jesus Christ. Part of the work of evangelization and catechesis is providing an environment in which the Word of God can be heard, nourished and celebrated. Thus, evangelization and catechesis requires a profound spirituality of humility, creating space for the activity of God in the lives of people. A spirituality of humility invites us to be prepared to accept and even embrace the messiness of human life as it grapples for meaning and purpose. Evangelization, as Pope Paul VI stated so powerfully, is the essential purpose for which the Church exists. Evangelization is the work of all baptized Christians…to seek opportunities to create space for the Word of God to enter into people’s lives.  Evangelization is not about going around asking everyone you encounter whether or not they have accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior…though it can be that! More often, it begins with hospitality, kindness, and a sincere concern for others. We become the context of invitation through our response of love and concern for the other. As St. Paul reminds us that without love we are simply noisy symbols clashing!

Perhaps the biggest challenge for Christian evangelization is the unfortunate reality that what is being proclaimed on Sunday from our places of worship, finds very little expression in the lived experience of many Christians. A separation exists between what is proclaimed at Church and what is being integrated in the lives of our Catholic people. This reveals, I believe, a crises in our catechesis. Christian life is a journey toward conversion, a life -long process of becoming fully human. So we must ask ourselves whether our catechetical programs are assisting persons in coming to know that Christian faith is a way of life, a way of standing in the world as a sign and witness to Christ in our lives. In our love for Christ are we aware of the needs of one’s neighbors, one’s community and in solidarity with concerns of the world. Are we helping people understand that Christian life is made known in the giving of one’s own life for others?

Too often, it is easier to identify a Catholic by what they are against. This is not to undermine the very serious assaults upon human dignity which we find prevalent throughout our society and culture. We need to realize, however, that personal moral indignation does nothing to change the world. Catechesis, therefore, must not only help people to understand the relationship between human life, doctrine and sacramental practice, but must also assist us in cultivating a deeply rooted spirituality that opens us to an awareness of the other.

At the heart of the “New Evangelization” is the call for renewal within our own Catholic lives. In order for an authentic invitation of sharing the Good News to take place, we must first have the ability to understand what it means to be saved! We must come to recognize the story of grace, salvation and redemption as a living story of Christ in our own lives! Until we can see our own lives as being radically dependent on God’s profound love and mercy,  we will continue to view faith as moral indignation rather than a response to God’s loving presence in the world calling us always to become more and more generous, open hearted and compassionate. Let us be reminded by the words of Pope Benedict XVI in the encyclical Deus Caritas Est: “Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.”

If you would like to learn more about how to create a dynamic and inspiring process for your catechetical or adult education program, please contact faithonfirenow.org to arrange for a catechetical workshop or pastoral retreat.

Tags: Events

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 16th, 2009 at 12:30 pm and is filed under Sparks Newsletter. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.