A Reflection On Paragraphs 26 And 27 Of CFL
For those new to this blog, Integrity began as a paragraph by paragraph commentary on the Pope's Apostolic Exhortation, Christifideles Laici (The Lay Member's of Christ's Faithful People). I don't plan to rely on that approach as exclusively as I once did, but reflecting on CFL will remain a key element of Integrity. Today, we will look at what CFL has to say about the parish.
For most of us, the parish is the primary way in which we experience and participate in Church life. Unfortunately, most committed Catholics have nothing but complaints about the state of their parish. Not all of those complaints are probably deserved, but there is no denying that the reality of parish life seen in the United States falls well short of the ideal. What is the parish? Consider Pope John Paul II's description in CFL:
"The parish is not principally a structure, a territory, or a building, but rather, 'the family of God, a fellowship afire with a unifying spirit,' 'a familial and welcoming home', the 'community of the faithful'. . . [The parish] is the Church living in the midst of the homes of her sons and daughters."
I think most of us can recognize the truth in the Pope's words and the appeal of the idea of the parish as "a 'place' in the world for the community of believers to gather together as a 'sign' and 'instrument' of the vocation of all to communion . . ." The image reminds me of a passage from Fr. Giussani's, Why The Church?, about the early Christians gathering at Solomon's portico outside of the temple (Acts 5:12). A visible community of people.
But despite all of that, I think most of us would find one priest's sentiment about parish life, captured by Sherry Weddell in the Catherine of Siena Institute's wonderful piece, Parish: Mission or Maintenance?, far more accurate:
"...far from centers for evangelization, our parishes resemble nursing homes..."
I know this has been my experience. And admittedly, my parish is probably better than most. We have an adoration chapel, a pro-life group, and the Legion of Mary is present. But still, it doesn't come close to feeling like a vibrant community. Instead, it can seem like a place where people are going through the motions, where connectedness is only superficial at best. (Again, I think my parish is probably better than most in Chicago.) That's what makes Fr. Giussani's image so striking. The gathering of the early Church at Solomon's portico made a bold statement because of the depth of their unity in Christ and their living of that unity out. I think Fr. Giussani is right in thinking that a regular temple-goer would be bound to ask, "Who are those people and why do they gather together?" I'm not sure the same can be said of most of our parish communities today. I question whether an outsider would clearly see our parishes as a sign and instrument of Christ and what man is called to be.
This sense of alienation or isolation within the parish, I think, derives from how we conceive of our parishes and the role of pastor. Again, from Parish: Mission or Maintenance?:
"No longer can the parish be simply a place where the laity receive the spiritual goods of the Church. If all lay Catholics are apostles to the world as the Church teaches, then the institutions that nourish them must become places of apostolic formation, support, and consultation. The worldwide network of parishes that has sustained the faith of lay Catholics for centuries can and must become primary centers of lay formation and outreach to the world.
....
Almost all of our parishes would be considered “mega-churches” in Protestant circles. As they have well known, communities of such size and complexity necessitate secondary and tertiary levels of pastoral leadership in order to provide every member adequate care. If we do not deliberately develop this secondary leadership, we cannot create evangelizing communities, nor provide the laity with the formation they need to effectively practice their vocations in the world. In a mission-centered parish, the job of the pastor is not to form every individual in the community, but rather to form and collaborate with lay leaders who then assist in the formation of other lay people. If we would have mission-centered parishes, we must truly govern, not merely administrate, them. The pastor must understand himself as prophet, priest and king, as one who teaches, sanctifies, and governs in a community of lay apostles with whom he seeks a genuine collaboration."
This is the Pope's vision of the parish and it is a vision of a vibrant faithful. If I can speak for my generation, the biggest issue for younger faithful Catholics isn't the Church and what She teaches. We accept the Church's teaching, having seen the fruitlessness of the world's teaching, and having found in the Church Christ and, thus, the answer to our search for meaning. Our struggle is with how to live out the faith in the world -- a struggle complicated by the world's hostility to even the possibility of faith, the lack of examples to be found in our elders, and a criminally poor formation in the faith that robbed us of both the truth and the chance to use our youth to learn how to live in the truth.
So how do we recover this proper understanding of the parish? Frankly, that's a question that we all should ask ourselves, over and over again. The Catherine of Siena Institute has some ideas and resources. Check them out.
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