Many of the Old Testament prophets could be called reluctant in fulfilling their calling. I understand the feeling. I have the charism of prophecy and certainly don’t always like using the gift. To explain myself a bit better, I need to back up and fill in some blanks, before I launch into this post, which I am reluctant to make public.

First of all, a charism is a gift of the Holy Spirit, given to someone for the good of others. In other words, it isn’t given primarily for your purposes, but for God to work through you (if you want more on charisms, read this).

Secondly, the charism of prophecy does not mean you get to tell the future. Rather, it means you are called to tell others what God wants them to hear. This doesn’t necessarily make you very popular, especially when the message God wants to deliver is a difficult one for some to hear.

This is where I find myself. I believe that God has a particular message to give some of our readers, but I am reluctant to talk about the topic, because I know some will not want to hear what I am going to say. Still, I feel I need to try and please God more than humans, thus this post.

GET TO IT ALREADY!
Well, to sum it up, here is what I think God wants some folks to hear. The renewal of Catholic parishes will not happen by merely having a more reverent liturgy or increased piety. While these are good things (and things I really want the Catholic Church in the USA to practice them), by themselves, they are incapable of renewing a parish. Why? Well, we will explore this below.

The first issue lies deep in Catholic identity issues. Too many Catholics don’t understand the primary reason the Church exists. Benedict XVI put it this way,

“The Church exists to evangelize. Faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ’s command, his disciples went out to the whole world to announce the Good News, spreading Christian communities everywhere.”

Paul VI wrote:

"Evangelizing is in fact the grace and vocation proper to the Church, her deepest identity. She exists in order to evangelize.”

In other words, the Catholic Church exists in order to get people to heaven. The source of her power, which drives this mission, is found in the person of Jesus, who gives us his grace (a free gift of divine life that we cannot earn). Grace is primarily given to us through the sacraments.

Thus, we ought not separate our efforts of evangelization from the sacraments. The graces we receive in the sacraments allow us to be evangelists. Our evangelization should ultimately bring others back to the sacraments. Thus, evangelization culminates in the sacraments, for the unsacramentalized and strengthens those who are already evangelized to go out and evangelize others.

Still, we need to explore further this relationship between grace, evangelization, and the sacraments.

THE BIG DEAL!
Too often, grace is thought of as magic by many Catholics. Grace doesn’t make us Saints or get us to heaven, just because one has received the sacraments. Yes, grace is received every time the sacrament is validly celebrated and worthily received. Still, they require faith, which is predicated on our consent. This is why the Catechism says:

“From the moment that a sacrament is celebrated in accordance with the intention of the Church, the power of Christ and his Spirit acts in and through it, independently of the personal holiness of the minister. Nevertheless, the fruits of the sacraments also depend on the disposition of the one who receives them.” -CCC 1128

Notice that disposition of the person is necessary in order to receive the fruits of the sacraments. Earlier in the Catechism, it reads (quoting Vatican II, which I quote in larger context below):

"The sacred liturgy does not exhaust the entire activity of the Church": it must be preceded by evangelization, faith, and conversion. It can then produce its fruits in the lives of the faithful: new life in the Spirit, involvement in the mission of the Church, and service to her unity.” -CCC 1072 

Again, we see that in order for the sacraments to change us, we need to say “yes” again and again to the grace we receive from them. It isn’t magic that works without faith, conversion, or consenting to them.

This is why so many baptized Catholics still need to be evangelized. In many ways, we Catholics haven’t helped folks come to the point of personalizing their faith, but just offered the sacraments and crossed our fingers that they would work on hearts and minds of those receiving them.

MAGIC?
This is why so few parishes are being renewed, growing, and changing the culture around them. We treat the sacramental graces like magic and expect them to change folks just by giving the sacraments to those coming to us. Yet, without conversion, faith, repentance, consent, etc. - why would we expect changed hearts, minds, lives, families, and parishes?

Furthermore, reverence and piety are wonderful for things to grow into, for those who already have faith, but since so many Catholics don’t pray, don’t believe, and don’t center their lives around Jesus - why would we expect that merely offering more reverent Masses or pious devotions would change the parish?

This is why reverence and piety are incapable of renewing a parish by themselves, because it is still treating grace like magic. When folks are not having inward conversion, then we can’t expect outward actions (as good as they are) will be able to change their hearts and lives.

Now, this isn’t to say that it is impossible for a beautiful Mass to change a life, a pious devotion to be a moment of conversion, or that God can change hearts anyway he pleases. Not at all. Rather, it is to say that these things generally happen to those who are already somewhat open to God, going to Mass, and ready for an encounter with God.

It isn't an either/or. It is a matter of sequence and understanding how grace works.

• God acts first, he gives us grace.
• Grace (for it to be fully operative in our lives) requires faith, repentance, and conversion (which we consent to).
• Once we have faith, repentance, and conversion, the graces of the sacraments are fully tapped in our lives.
• This drives us back to the sacraments (especially the Eucharist = the “source and summit”), so that we can grow ever closer to God and be impelled to share him with others.

The primary mission of the Catholic Church is to save souls. Thus, we are meant to evangelize. Once one believes, repents, and is converted, they can become a saint, grow as a disciple, get others, participate fully in the Sacraments, be more reverent, practice piety, etc.

So let us do all these things, but in the right order and manner - not forgetting that one thing (or merely some things), without the others, is incapable of renewing a parish and changing our world.

I know that one objection will be to say, "that is nice, but you have never been to my parish. Father has offered a more traditional liturgy and folks love it. We have more people every year." That is great. I love traditional liturgies myself. But, true growth is measured in conversion, not Catholics moving from one parish to another. So, unless the parish has an RCIA that is busting at the seams, you are shifting Catholics around, not truly growing.

Vatican II put it this way:

“The sacred liturgy does not exhaust the entire activity of the Church. Before men can come to the liturgy they must be called to faith and to conversion: "How then are they to call upon him in whom they have not yet believed? But how are they to believe him whom they have not heard? And how are they to hear if no one preaches? And how are men to preach unless they be sent?" (Rom. 10:14-15).

Therefore the Church announces the good tidings of salvation to those who do not believe, so that all men may know the true God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent, and may be converted from their ways, doing penance. To believers also the Church must ever preach faith and penance, she must prepare them for the sacraments, teach them to observe all that Christ has commanded, and invite them to all the works of charity, piety, and the apostolate. For all these works make it clear that Christ's faithful, though not of this world, are to be the light of the world and to glorify the Father before men.” -SC 59