Nd presentation day 2

Editor's Notes

• #4: Meet them were they are -welcome them no matter their circumstances -Pope Francis on several occassions has talked about church personnel becoming “custom agents” – checking papers, creating requirements, etc -I understand the need for requirements but as Ronald Rolheiser told us in a conference we must balance the Jesus Son of David and Jesus Son of God --Dr. Simone Brosig earlier: preparing a liturgy to match their theme instead of preparing a liturgy for an encounter with Christ -parishes that are more successful have more than one model of formation: summer intensive, quarterly family gatherings, school year model, home school model, etc… Catechumenal Model -will have more to say in tomorrow’s session For now: gradual Evangelizing Catechesis -everthing we do in Catechesis is Christocentric -we can no longer assume that they are living a life of faith -we must evangelize Incarnational Catechesis -Everything we do has to help them live the Paschal Mystery in their lives -when we talk about the signs, make them come alive -what are uses of water in every day life- take them from there to the theological symbolism Gap btwn liturgy and the life of people has grown too wide – Dr. Simone Brosig Mystagogy -Part of doing catechesis in the catechumenal model is doing mystagogy – what are we doing AFTER the celebration of the sacrament?
• #6: The statistics paint a dire situation -As I mentioned yesterday, we can’t continue to do the same things, many people say “they’ll be back” or “the sacramental grace will bring them back”… -People forget about the distinction between a valid and a fruitful celebration of the sacrament, and we’ll talk about that shortly
• #7: Another definition from Pope Francis, reinforcing what we’ve talked about… -we search for ways to reach modern people in a way that speaks to them in their language -Faith as a result of the encounter with the living God, faith that provides a secure foundation for our lives… -the meaning that modern people are searching for can be found via our faith -we go back to Augustine’s our hearts are restless oh God, until they rest in you
• #8: -Perhaps we will hit many of the same issues as yesterday. think perhaps of your own experience as you yourself celebrated the sacraments of reconciliation the first time as well as first holy communion, or your children or grandchildren’s celebrations. I’m specially interested in hearing from the youngsters (we already know about the nuns inflicting pain with instruments of torcher…)
• #9: The age of discretion, both for Confession and for Holy Communion, is the time when a child begins to reason, that is about the seventh year, more or less. From that time on begins the obligation of fulfilling the precept of both Confession and Communion. Something that Dr. Brosig mentioned yesterday about liturgy that applies here - A full and perfect knowledge of Christian doctrine is not necessary either for First Confession or for First Communion. Afterwards, however, the child will be obliged to learn gradually the entire Catechism according to his ability.
• #10: Do not overemphazise requirements for children -What are the minimum requirements? -Example of Peter’s Kerygmatic preaching Acts 2:6-43 the listeners were "pierced to the heart and said, 'Brothers, what shall we do?' " Peter's response is, "Have a change of heart and mind, be baptized, then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." (Another example of this minimum instruction followed by conversion is found in Acts 8:26-38.) -Requirements often include memorization of prayers, mass attendance (punch cards) -Ever confessional you go to, what’s the first thing you see? Prayers… we don’t expect adults to know them…
• #11: Another issue is that the one program will effectively serve everyone (of course, it’s my program!) -Please don’t crucify me, I know how hard it is to tailor a program to specific needs. I worked in the parish too, and I too used to complain about the diocesan folks in their Ivory Towers. Blah blah blah -but the alternative of leaving things as they are is unsustainable To illustrate the effects of the mentality of one size fits all, allow me to share a story of this mentality in the military…
• #12: I listen to a looot of podcasts - anybody here listens to podcasts? Let’s trade notes after the presentation. After all, I have a 1 hour to 1 ½ hour commute to work One of my favorite podcasts is 99% Invisible, which talks about how design is everywhere around us, and how design affects our lives… I also have to give credit to Jonathan Sullivan for pointing out the connection of this episode and catechesis… Lincoln, after a series of losses to the Confederacy, realized he needed more information about the Union army. He ordered a massive study to assess the soldiers physically and mentally, and, in strict adherence to Quetelet’s science, calculated averages of just about everything. These averages began to inform the distribution of food rations, the design of weapons, even the fit of military uniforms. Before the Civil War, uniforms were custom-sewn. In this war, however, such a massive number of people had to be outfitted that uniforms needed to be mass produced. But they couldn’t all be one floppy size. Soldiers were put into subtypes: large, medium, and small—classifications that eventually found their way to civilian clothing. This Civil War study was the basis for the American military’s long-standing philosophy of standardization. So in 1926, when the Army designed its first airplane cockpit, they measured the physical dimensions of male pilots and calculated the average measurement of their height, weight, arm-length and other dimensions. The results determined the size and shape of the seat, the distance to the pedals and the stick, and even the shape of the flight helmets. This mean that, in part, pilots were selected based on their ability to fit into the cockpit designed for the average 1920s man. This worked more or less up until World War II, when the Army began recruiting hundreds of new pilots to expand its air forces (which became a separate branch of the military in 1947). But with the birth and expansion of the Air Force came a decline in performance and a rash of deaths. Even with no war, pilots continued to die during training, as they were unable to control their planes. At first, they assumed it was just too small and that the average man had grown since the 1920s, so in 1950, they asked researchers at Wright Air Force base in Ohio to calculate the new average. One of these researches was a young Harvard graduate named Gilbert S. Daniels. In his research measuring thousands of airmen on a set of ten critical physical dimensions, Daniels realized that none of the pilots he measured was average on all ten dimensions. Not a single one. When he looked at just three dimensions, less than five percent were average. Daniels realized that by designing something for an average pilot, it was literally designed to fit nobody. Again, I know it would be hard to accomplish tailoring a program to individual needs, but that is something that the Church asks of us -Catechumenate -Special Needs 
• #13: RCIA – depending on their level of formation -obviously age -disabilities – what are minimum requirements? -culture/language I know that it is very hard to adapt, but what if you had an army of people at your disposal? You would say…
• #15: -Desperation-nobody wants to join a sinking ship -we should be discerning their call (our call too) there are folks that have the best of intentions but… -Do you have a clear vision – (develop a mission statement or follow the parish’s) Do we evaluate? -provide a concise job description -provide training-have you ever been started a job that offered no new employee orientation?
• #16: I think many parishes would do well to do some soul searching and ask what are doing here? What is our mission? What do you say is the purpose of sacramental formation/prep In the past we’ve been really good about preparing for a valid celebration – that the child knew about the sacrament to worthily receive it – the difference between a sin and a mistake in Reconciliation, the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist, etc -what about a preparation that envisions a fruitful celebration? That the graces poured for us in the sacrament will be renewed in our daily life -We could do a whole conference about Adult formation-we have yet to realize the Church’s Focus on Adult Faith formation spelled out in “Our Hearts were burning” Just look at parishes budgets…
• #17: -or again, based on your own experience or your children’s – what has worked?
• #18: -both for parents and for children -We go back to valid vs. Fruitful -God always gives us His grace, but without the proper dispositions, without our minds being attuned to our voices (via catechetical instruction) the divine grace is received in vain
• #19: In the early Church, the catechumenate and preparation for the sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist were the same thing. Although in the countries that have long been Christian the Church has changed her practice in this field, the catechumenate has never been abolished; on the contrary, it is experiencing a renewal in those countries(54) and is abundantly practiced in the young missionary Churches. In any case, catechesis always has reference to the sacraments. -discuss idea of adding liturgical formation to our catechetical framework
• #20: Of course liturgy is also catechetical
• #22: More and more I’m hearing from different sources the call for sacramental formation to return to a catechumenal form Two different synods on the family have seen the Catholic Church’s bishops propose a new model of marriage formation based on the catechumenate conception, where couples would be formed for marriage within the context of the parish community, with their pastor and mentor couples working together, guiding them before the wedding and after, when they take their first steps as a new family. He said the Christian community “is called to announce cordially the Gospel to [engaged couples], so that their experience of love may become a sacrament,” and then help newlyweds “follow the path of faith and in the Church also after the celebration of marriage.”
• #24: First, as the baptismal catechumenate initially calls man to repentance and conversion to Christ, so does catechesis bring about constant conversion and repentance, causing man to renew his Christian initiation through participation in the sacraments. Second, as the baptismal catechumenate falls under the responsibility of the entire Church, so does catechetical instruction. Third, the “pilgrim fellowship” of the catechumenate guides the catechumen from the initial stage of evangelization through to the participation of the Paschal Mystery, whereby man dies and rises with Christ in the waters of Baptism. In the same manner, all catechetical instruction should lead men to a more intense encounter of the Paschal Mystery. Fourthly, just as the catechumenate must take place within a culture, so must catechesis.[v] Furthermore, while the catechumenate is an intellectual transmission of the faith of the Church, it is truly “a gradual familiarization with the new life-style of Christianity.”[vi] It is a systematic process by which all the signs and symbols of Catholic life are revealed to the catechumens.[vii] In the same manner, catechesis serves to deepen the faithful’s understanding of such signs and symbols, if not, to introduce them to the faithful for the first time.
• #25: -Involves the whole community - helps form relationships (present candidates before community a few times for blessings, anointing, etc) -Involves a mentor (sponsor) -Marked by rituals -Has a mystagological component (have sustained guidance and support from the Christian community) Evangelii Gaudium 166 a progressive experience of formation involving the entire community and a renewed appreciation of the liturgical signs of Christian initiation. 166. Another aspect of catechesis which has developed in recent decades is mystagogic initiation.[128] This basically has to do with two things: a progressive experience of formation involving the entire community and a renewed appreciation of the liturgical signs of Christian initiation. Many manuals and programmes have not yet taken sufficiently into account the need for a mystagogical renewal, one which would assume very different forms based on each educational community’s discernment. Catechesis is a proclamation of the word and is always centred on that word, yet it also demands a suitable environment and an attractive presentation, the use of eloquent symbols, insertion into a broader growth process and the integration of every dimension of the person within a communal journey of hearing and response.
• #27: -Involves the whole community - helps form relationships (present candidates before community a few times for blessings, anointing, etc) -Involves a mentor (sponsor) -Marked by rituals -Has a mystagological component (have sustained guidance and support from the Christian community) Evangelii Gaudium 166 a progressive experience of formation involving the entire community and a renewed appreciation of the liturgical signs of Christian initiation. 166. Another aspect of catechesis which has developed in recent decades is mystagogic initiation.[128] This basically has to do with two things: a progressive experience of formation involving the entire community and a renewed appreciation of the liturgical signs of Christian initiation. Many manuals and programmes have not yet taken sufficiently into account the need for a mystagogical renewal, one which would assume very different forms based on each educational community’s discernment. Catechesis is a proclamation of the word and is always centred on that word, yet it also demands a suitable environment and an attractive presentation, the use of eloquent symbols, insertion into a broader growth process and the integration of every dimension of the person within a communal journey of hearing and response.
• #28: e catechesis of children begins in the home. As the primary educators of their children, parents form their children humanly and spiritually by instruction and example. Parents plant the seeds of the Christian faith within their children. This is analogous to the pre-catechumenate, where the initial evangelization takes place. Children are introduced to God and Catholic piety for the first time by their parents. When a child is taken to Holy Mass, he gains a sense of the Eucharistic mystery, rudimentary as his understanding might be. Eventually, he will grow in understanding of the Eucharist through the experience of the liturgy and the teachings and example of his parents.[x] Once the child reaches the age of reason, he is ready to continue catechesis in preparation for First Holy Communion in a more formal manner. Formal catechetical instruction corresponds to the catechumenate, whereby he will be systematically taught the Church’s teaching on the Holy Eucharist by his pastor and a catechist. This catechesis will, in turn, enable the child’s parents to catechize more effectively. During this period of formal catechesis, there are certain essential truths of the faith that must be taught which are outlined in the NDC: the Holy Mass is primarily the memorial of Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross at Calvary and commemorates the Last Supper, reception of the Eucharist makes them full members of the Church, teaching on God’s love for man, the ability to participate in Christ’s sacrifice, and on the Holy Spirit as gift, that in the Holy Mass the bread and wine really change into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, even through the species still has the characteristics of bread and wine, the meaning of receiving both the Body of Christ and his Precious Blood, how to pray the Holy Mass, how to receive Holy Communion in a reverent and knowledgeable way.[xi] During preparation for their first reception of Holy Communion, children should be guided in more intense spiritual preparation. This corresponds to the purification and enlightenment of the baptismal catechumenate. In preparing children for First Holy Communion, this spiritual preparation will likely accompany the catechetical instruction. The catechist and pastor should work to teach the children how to pray to Our Lord, truly present in the Blessed Sacrament. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and teaching the habit of making short visits to the Blessed Sacrament, accompanied by a simple spiritual communion, will instill in children the desire to be united to Christ in the Eucharist. Immediately before reception of Holy Communion, the children should be purified of their sins in the sacrament of Penance,[xiv] removing any obstacles that may stand in the way of the sacramental and sanctifying grace to be received. A simple retreat of a few hours, given by a priest, would allow children to prepare immediately before their first sacramental encounter with the Eucharistic Lord and this great event of grace.