A seminarian I know recently asked me the following question:
"What can I do as a priest to help people become missionary disciples?"
I thought this was an excellent question (esp. since I love my own opinion) and it led me to write the following response. Warning, this won’t be one of my short posts.
I have been blessed to have many priests play a big part of my life. One thing that almost all my friends who are priests will tell you is I love Jesus and the Catholic Church. So, all of what I am going to say flows out of that love and a desire to see the Church be renewed.
1 - Model an authentic life as a disciple of Jesus. This might be a “duh” statement, but it needs to be said plainly. Without a leader who models missionary discipleship, your parish will suffer to evangelize and grow in discipleship themselves. But, what does this really mean? It means that you live as a man of Christian integrity. Someone who leads by example, does what they say they will do, is humble, open to growth, a man of prayer, and one who consistently models service to others. A man who is comfortable being himself, and not someone wearing a priestly "mask" that hides who he really is.
What Catholics need right now is bold leaders who are willing to sacrifice all in order to lead others to Jesus. Even when you might have times of loneliness, fear, sin, and woundedness - you are still needed by your spiritual children! We need a father, who will serve and lead your spiritual family!
Look, I know that being a priest is difficult for many men, and I will never fully understand it. But, I know more than the average Catholic. One priest confided in me that he was very lonely, because he had a rural parish with few people he connected with. While on the surface they held him up as a leader, they continued to keep him at a distance. He was on the fake pedestal of “Father”, but really not a part of the family. He felt isolated and stuck. He didn’t know how to break out of the cycle of not feeling like he belonged to the parish he was supposed to lead. So sad.
What he needed to do was what I think every Catholic leader ought to do - get inefficient and invest in a handful of more intimate relationships, with others (in his case - laymen in his parish). This is what Jesus did. I am sure that Jesus sometimes felt isolated, lonely, afraid, etc. Even in the midst of leading his disciples, he didn’t always connect with them. But, over time (3 years), he deeply invested in a handful (especially Peter, James, and John). This building up of trust, intimacy, vulnerability, and accountability didn’t happen overnight. It won’t for you either.
But, if you are to lead by example, it can’t just be with the crowds at Mass. It has to be like Jesus did it - and he found time to invest in a handful. If the Savior of the world can do it...why can’t you? How else are your spiritual children supposed to learn how to be disciples of Jesus, if you don’t start to model it for them.
Leaders that model what they expect of others will ultimately see fruitfulness.
“[Each person] is the primary route that the Church must travel in fulfilling her mission: he is the primary and fundamental way for the Church, the way traced out by Christ himself, the way that leads invariably through the mystery of the Incarnation and the Redemption.” -JPII, CL 36
2 - The facts are in - the way we have been doing things has failed and it is time to do something old. Old? Yes, ancient. Helping your people rediscover what real relationships look like (forged over a lot of time). I know the problems you have in running a parish, I helped do that for 15 years. One day you will have to stand before Jesus and give an account of how you did. That is daunting, but much less daunting than saving the world. That is what Jesus had to do.
Still, Jesus lived for 30 years before starting his active ministry in the world, and in the three years he had, he spent most of his time with 12 men, not with crowds. Yes, you have to minister to all the people that come to Mass show up at your other activities. No, you can’t invest in all of them intimately. You can certainly give some shared responsibility to staff and volunteer leaders, but that still isn’t enough. So what do we do? How do we reach the crowds coming to us, much less the wider community? Well, we have to first own something...
Our current models of ministry have mostly failed to reach modern people and certainly haven't helped us evangelize our culture.
The statistics don’t lie. Not only are we failing to "make disciples of all nations", but it is a fact - we are losing Catholics and have already lost millions. Eternal souls. If this doesn’t sober us up, then nothing will. Some people are going to go to hell because the Catholic Church “has always done it this way”. What do we do? Because no priest (or group of priests) will ever be able to reach the masses of people that need to be reached, we need to double-down on having holy laity who understand how to live their faith in the world, evangelize, walk with others, and there is no other option.
Let me put it plainly - there are no video series, books, retreats, parish missions, classes, events, or media offerings that will renew the Church. But there are men and women who can. Personal investment in others, along with spiritual multiplication, is the model of Jesus and what we really need to shift our money, time, and efforts into. It is highly inefficient, but the only thing that has ever worked to change the culture dramatically.
“The Church will have to initiate everyone – priests, religious and laity – into this “art of accompaniment” which teaches us to remove our sandals before the sacred ground of the other (cf. Ex 3:5). The pace of this accompaniment must be steady and reassuring, reflecting our closeness and our compassionate gaze which also heals, liberates and encourages growth in the Christian life.” -Francis, EG 169
“So that all parishes of this kind may be truly communities of Christians, local ecclesial authorities ought to foster the following: a) adaptation of parish structures according to the full flexibility granted by canon law, especially in promoting participation by the lay faithful in pastoral responsibilities; b) small, basic or so-called "living" communities, where the faithful can communicate the Word of God and express it in service and love to one another; these communities are true expressions of ecclesial communion and centers of evangelization, in communion with their pastors" - JPII CL 26
3 - Plan, program, and structure ALL of the parish’s efforts towards evangelization and discipleship. This means we have to make room for creativity, but be patient and discerning as to what ought to be done. Not every good idea is a God idea. We need not rewrite our mission statement, because Jesus already gave us one ('Go and make disciples'). Furthermore, the laity have a particular role - to renew the temporal order. So it follows that in order for you to reach the wider community, you must support lay initiatives. You can’t do it alone. We currently struggle with reaching those that come to Church sometimes and still call themselves “Catholic”, much less those that are “nones”.
As Pastor (or Parochial Vicar), you don’t get to opt out of investing in others. If you do, then you might as well go sit at the head of the table and just sign the checks. Your ministry should be hands-on, dirt under the fingernails. Not from a distance. With that being said, you will also need to help your community (especially your key leaders) keep their eyes on the larger goal - helping make more and more disciples who make other disciples.
Make sure you know how to evaluate, help, and move forward someone on the pathway of discipleship. Also, learn what a parish path of ministry might look like, when we start to do everything with evangelization and discipleship in mind.
Furthermore, this kind of change takes great patience. You won't get there overnight and many obstacles will sprout in front of your effort to move forward. Don't give up!
Many say that formation, education, and catechesis are the keys. Of course this is necessary, but it can't be done in isolation. We must understand the role of catechesis in the life of a parish and work even harder at the weaker points in most parishes - which includes pre-evangelization, evangelization, and a holitistic formation for mission.
“The parish is not an outdated institution; precisely because it possesses great flexibility, it can assume quite different contours depending on the openness and missionary creativity of the pastor and the community.” -Francis, EG 28
“Pastoral ministry in a missionary key seeks to abandon the complacent attitude that says: “We have always done it this way”. I invite everyone to be bold and creative in this task of rethinking the goals, structures, style and methods of evangelization in their respective communities.” -Francis, EG 33
4 - Assume nothing. A friend asked me what I had learned since starting Catholic Missionary Disciples. After thinking about it I responded, “that you can’t take the basics for granted with anyone.” Ask yourself:
“I hope that all communities will devote the necessary effort to advancing along the path of a pastoral and missionary conversion which cannot leave things as they presently are. “Mere administration” can no longer be enough. Throughout the world, let us be “permanently in a state of mission”” -Francis, EG 25
5 - Don’t give in to clericalism, but don’t give into laicization of the clergy either. We don’t need any more clericalism, but it certainly isn’t the only problem on our hands (as much as some want to make it the epicenter of our current scandals). Lack of faith is really a bigger issue, but I digress. Clericalism has never saved a soul. But, neither has any false understanding of any vocation.
So, while clericalism is something we need to fight, we also need to fight the tendency to overreact to it as a problem. Let us work to have a correct understanding of clergy and laity, and their proper roles / vocations.
Think of your parish (or diocese). While some priests are accountable to their bishops (on certain issues - mostly around money, safe environment, tribunal issues, etc), there are few who are accountable to their peers. Furthermore, there is little that is done in making sure that a parish or diocese is operating in a way that fulfills the mandates/mission of Jesus. We just don't see pastors being voluntarily accountable to others on how they run their parishes (most diocesan operations also lack much accountability). Of course, lay leaders aren't off the hook either. They are rarely accountable to their peers either. True, some may have to answer for something they did wrong (or failing to do the basics of their job), but not much else. Think of it this way, if any for-profit business operated as the church does, it would have gone under long ago.
It is no secret that many parishes and dioceses are not healthy places. There is mistrust, lack of clarity in mission, church politics, infighting, power plays, etc. In other words, sinners run the Church! Furthermore, there is a culture of management - not mission. There is little vision for growth, but mainenance of decline. There is little tranformation and a lot of status quo.
Even with all of this, we see a lack of leaders, who what to do about it and want to change.
The fix isn't easy. We need change in how we operate, within our parishes and dioceses. It starts with humility and prayer. We can then really discern what each of us needs, in order to grow as leaders. We need the proper vision. We need help. The reason is that God wants renewal in our Church, so that we can fulfill His work. Remember that a handful of disciples changed the world in a few generations, after Pentecost. What about us?
“However, the exercise of such tasks does not make Pastors of the lay faithful: in fact, a person is not a minister simply in performing a task, but through sacramental ordination. Only the Sacrament of Orders gives the ordained minister a particular participation in the office of Christ, the Shepherd and Head, and in his Eternal Priesthood. The task exercised in virtue of supply takes its legitimacy formally and immediately from the official deputation given by the Pastors, as well as from its concrete exercise under the guidance of ecclesiastical authority” -JPII, CL 23
“Missionary disciples accompany missionary disciples.” -Francis, EG 179
6 - We don’t need watered down Catholicism in order to evangelize today’s world. Preach the truth - the laity have a right to it and you have a duty to do so clearly. Imagine if Jesus avoided the tough topics. What about the Apostles, after Pentecost? We wouldn’t have the Catholic Church we have, if they did.
So, why are we afraid to boldly teach and proclaim all that the Catholic Church teaches? Well, there are several possible options:
**We don’t believe it ourselves or have serious doubts. This is especially true with tough teachings on sexuality and the moral life. What the Catholic Church teaches is no longer socially acceptable. But, it is no less radical than Jesus turning Judaism (and paganism) upside down with what he taught. The reaction of Jesus’ contemporaries was to kill him!
**We think it it is too tough for modern people. This is merely avoiding the facts that we are made for something better and sainthood isn’t for the few, but the many. Watering down tough doctrines is like giving a placebo to someone with cancer. It might make them feel good for a while, but ultimately they are going to die from our lack of help.
Jesus had a tough message and that message isn’t meant to be watered down. A message that is meant to transform us and then meant to be lived radically by all who take the name of “Christian”. You and I need to be more radical, more bold, more courageous, more Christian. We need to look and sound more like Jesus did. The world has rejected the soft and easy idea of following Jesus. So, let’s offer something different.
The Cross - where the bad news is defeated and Good News ultimately wins.
“In accepting this mission, everyone should keep in mind that the vital core of the new evangelization must be a clear and unequivocal proclamation of the person of Jesus Christ, that is, the preaching of his name, his teaching, his life, his promises and the Kingdom which he has gained for us by his Paschal Mystery.” -JPII, Ecclesia in America 67
“Jesus Christ meets the man of every age, including our own, with the same words: "You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free". These words contain both a fundamental requirement and a warning: the requirement of an honest relationship with regard to truth as a condition for authentic freedom, and the warning to avoid every kind of illusory freedom, every superficial unilateral freedom, every freedom that fails to enter into the whole truth about man and the world.” -JPII, RH 12
7 - Reorder your priorities and time to be more fruitful. You are busy and you need to have healthy boundaries. But, you also need to find time to make prioritize what is truly important. Let me put it this way - you didn’t become a priest to merely be an administrator, a manager of decline, or to swim in paperwork. While these might be necessary (to a certain extent), you don’t need to let them manage you - you need to manage them.
You probably became a priest because you wanted to be a fruitful spiritual father to others, correct? If so, then why not take some time to answer these questions:
“The field in which priests work is vast. Therefore they should concentrate on what is essential to their ministry: “letting themselves be configured to Christ the Head and Shepherd, the source of all pastoral charity, offering themselves each day with Christ in the Eucharist, in order to help the faithful both personally and communally to experience the living Jesus Christ”. As witnesses and disciples of the merciful Christ, they are called to be instruments of forgiveness and reconciliation, putting themselves generously at the service of the faithful in the spirit of the Gospel.” -JPII, Ecclesia in America 39
8 - Stick with a vision of renewal for the long haul. You can't renew a parish or drive significant change overnight, so you better be ready for a lot of headaches and many years of struggle! Changing a parish culture is VERY HARD and will take a LONG TIME. There are no shortcuts or silver bullets of culture change in a parish.
Dedication, prudence, perseverance, and patience are all key. Since there are no magic bullets, every Catholic leader who wants to be a change agent, needs to know that is worth every headache you will ever run into. Think of how little fruit the average Catholic parish (in the USA) produces. Yet the mission of a parish is to be a source of God's love to the wider community. To offer salvation and mercy to those outside communion with her. Are we achieving this? If not, then what will it take to get there? Are we committed to the long-term efforts it will take to make this a reality?
We all know it and we all struggle with it sometimes. But, we MUST change the way we operate or we will continue to see the Church decline. For every one person joining the Catholic Church we have (at best) FOUR CATHOLICS WHO ARE LEAVING, in the USA! Not only that, but few go to Mass, believe the Church's teachings, have a relationship with Jesus, etc. How we can accept this and just continue to "manage" our parishes and dioceses doesn't add up. We should all be upset at this...unless we really just don't care that much about salvation for others.
“One way of renewing parishes, especially urgent for parishes in large cities, might be to consider the parish as a community of communities and movements. It seems timely therefore to form ecclesial communities and groups of a size that allows for true human relationships. This will make it possible to live communion more intensely, ensuring that it is fostered not only “ad intra”, but also with the parish communities to which such groups belong, and with the entire diocesan and universal Church. In such a human context, it will be easier to gather to hear the word of God, to reflect on the range of human problems in the light of this word, and gradually to make responsible decisions inspired by the all-embracing love of Christ. The institution of the parish, thus renewed, “can be the source of great hope. It can gather people in community, assist family life, overcome the sense of anonymity, welcome people and help them to be involved in their neighborhood and in society”. In this way, every parish, and especially city parishes, can promote nowadays a more person-centered evangelization and better cooperate with other social, educational and community work.” -JPII, Ecclesia in America 41
“Priests must have the mind and the heart of missionaries - open to the needs of the Church and the world, with concern for those farthest away, and especially for the non-Christian groups in their own area….Especially in those areas where Christians are a minority, priests must be filled with special missionary zeal and commitment. The Lord entrusts to them not only the pastoral care of the Christian community, but also and above all the evangelization of those of their fellow-citizens who do not belong to Christ's flock.” - JPII, RM 67
“As sharers in the role of Christ as priest, prophet, and king, the laity have their work cut out for them in the life and activity of the Church. Their activity is so necessary within the Church communities that without it the apostolate of the pastors is often unable to achieve its full effectiveness. In the manner of the men and women who helped Paul in spreading the Gospel (cf. Acts 18:18, 26; Rom. 16:3) the laity with the right apostolic attitude supply what is lacking to their brethren and refresh the spirit of pastors and of the rest of the faithful (cf. 1 Cor. 16:17-18). Strengthened by active participation in the liturgical life of their community, they are eager to do their share of the apostolic works of that community. They bring to the Church people who perhaps are far removed from it, earnestly cooperate in presenting the word of God especially by means of catechetical instruction, and offer their special skills to make the care of souls and the administration of the temporalities of the Church more efficient and effective.” - Vatican II, AA 10