• Why doesn’t our parish do _______?
• We should start a _________ at our parish!
• Father really needs to _________ at our parish!

If you have ever worked in a parish then you have probably heard these kinds of questions / statements and many more like them. You may have even made some of them yourself. What is behind these kinds of thoughts is that many Catholics want a parish to operate in a certain way. This leads to several questions:

• What is the ultimate purpose of a parish?
• Why does a parish exist?
• What should a parish do?

I would like to explore these ideas, because many of them have behind them some false understandings of the purpose of Catholic parishes.

WHY DO WE HAVE PARISHES?
The Catechism gives us some insight into what a parish is, when it says (quoting the Code of Canon Law):

2179 "A parish is a definite community of the Christian faithful established on a stable basis within a particular church; the pastoral care of the parish is entrusted to a pastor as its own shepherd under the authority of the diocesan bishop." It is the place where all the faithful can be gathered together for the Sunday celebration of the Eucharist. The parish initiates the Christian people into the ordinary expression of the liturgical life: it gathers them together in this celebration; it teaches Christ's saving doctrine; it practices the charity of the Lord in good works and brotherly love."

We can sum it up to say that the purpose of the parish is to live out the Catholic Church’s universal mission on the local level. Elements of a parish include

• Giving the faithful the Sacraments (esp. The Eucharist) 
• It is the local community of faithful 
• Part of a diocese and headed by a priest (assigned pastor by the Bishop)
• Initiatives people into liturgical life
• Teaches doctrine (esp. About salvation)
• Promotes the practice of good works

These elements show that the parish ultimately does not exist for itself. It exists to bring the message of salvation to the local area. Thus, the parish exists to evangelize the part of the world that it is in. The parish exists to make disciples of the “nations”.

Is this the kind of vision we are living out? In most parishes, the answer is a mixed yes and no.

THE PURPOSE EXPLORED
When you think of your parish, do you find that it is a disciple-making machine? Is it having a profound impact on the local culture, rather than the culture having a profound impact on it? Are the people of your parish evangelizing in the neighborhoods, schools, and workplaces? Are lives being changed? These are the markers of success in a successful Catholic parish.

In thinking about this idea of parish, I was stuck by a passage in Tolkien’s The Hobbit, where he talks about the elvish kingdom of Rivendell. It says:

"All of them, the ponies as well, grew refreshed and strong in a few days there. Their clothes were mended as well as their bruises, their tempers and their hopes. Their bags were filled with food and provisions light to carry but strong to bring them over the mountain passes. Their plans were improved with the best advice. So the time came to mid -  summer eve, and they were to go on again with the early sun on midsummer morning."

This sounds like a vision of what the parish ought to be:

• Food that refreshes - The Eucharist
• Healing for wounds - Confession and Anointing of the Sick
• Refreshment, consolation, and rest - Gifts of the Holy Spirit / prayer
• Provisions for the journey - Graces of Baptism and Confirmation
• Guidance for the mission - Formation, Catechesis, and community
• Sending out - Mission / Evangelization

Rivendell is what a parish ought to be. But, I fear that more parishes are like the Shire. The Shire is a place of great safety, comfort, and ease; where little changes ever happen. Here is a brief description:

“Families for the most part managed their own affairs. Growing food and eating it occupied most of their time. In other matters they were, as a rule, generous and not greedy, but contented and moderate, so that estates, farms, workshops, and small trades tended to remain unchanged for Generations.”

This description of the Shire sounds like the current state of most parishes to me. We remain in our Catholic huddles, safe from the world, with few who ever venture out. Those that do go on these “adventures” are generally the rare oddballs who don’t act like the rest of us. We don't like change, even when evil is knocking on our borders. We resist personal challenges. We don't talk about faith outside the safety of our "shire".

Now there is a lot to be said about having a safe place to come home to. But, the purpose of a parish is not to keep us safe, but to help us be equipped to go back into the world a better disciple who can evangelize it. The parish is supposed to be more Rivendell than Shire.

THE FINAL WORD
The Church has several documents that go into the mission, vision, and purpose of parishes. The most recent is the new Directory For Catechesis. I will give it the final word.
It says:

300. The significance of parishes cannot lead to neglect of present-day difficulties, dictated by changes in the historical, social, and cultural spaces in which they were born. Influential phenomena include urbanization, nomadism, migratory movements and the drop in the number of clergy. A process of missionary conversion must be begun that is not limited to maintaining the status quo or guaranteeing the administration of the sacraments, but presses forward in the direction of evangelization.

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If you are a Catholic leader who wants to partuner with us as we help parishes and diocese live out culture change like this, then please contact us.