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Catherine of Siena Institute

Forming Intentional Disciples

Sacraments of Initiation

u Baptismu Eucharistu Confirmation

u Initiation for what?

Faith: Capacity and Choice

uVirtus Fidei -The Virtue of Faithu The power or capacity to believeu Given to us at Baptism

u Not the Act of Faith

uActus Fidei - The Act of Faithu The explicit, personal, free choice to respond

to God’s grace with belief and discipleship

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Faith: Capacity and Choice

u“it is that personal act of faith

. . . that transforms the human being from one who can be a believer to one who is a believer.”Lawler, Marr iage and the Catholic Church, pp 54 -55.

How do we help unwrap the gift?

Catherine of Siena Institute

u Formation for laityu Discerning Gifts given in

Baptismu Resources for schools

and parishesu Evangelisation

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Choosing One’s Faith is Normativeu Fastest growing religious group: “Unaffilliated” or

“Nones”u 19.6% of US adults and 1/3 of those under 30:

u 6% (13 million) “atheist” or “agnostic”u 14% (33 million) “ nothing in particular”

Pew Forum, Nones on the Rise, 2012

u The majority of unaffiliated growth since 2007 is made up of people who were formally affiliated with a faith but seldom or never attended.

Religious Identity isRemarkably Fluid

• Worldwide in 2010: • 16 million converted to Christianity (43,800 every day)• 11.6 million left Christianity (31,780 every day)• 27.6 million moved in and out of Christianity in one year!

• Approximately 53% of US Adults have left the faith of their childhood at some point – even if they return to it later.• 9% leave and return at some point.

• Pew US Religious Landscape Survey, 2008• Pew, Faith in Flux, 2009

ConversionTHE HABIT OF A LIFETIME

Conversion

Life ChangingSally Read went from athiest to Catholic

DailySimcha Fisher –Morning offering –however imperfect was all I could do at that time of life

Life LongLife of faith is about on-going Conversion

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The Majority of Catholics

u Don’t believe that a personal relationship with Jesus is possible

u Pew Landscape Survey 2008

u Are still without any personal explicit personal attachment to Jesus Christ; they have only the capacity to believe placed within them by Baptism and the presence of the Holy Spirit

uCatechesis in Our Time, 19

“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Culture

Many disciples are not having the impact they could because they are suppressing the expression of their discipleship to “fit”into an overall parish culture of “non-discipleship”.

What is ‘Normal’u 1. It is NORMAL for lay Catholics to have a living,

growing, love relationship with God.u 2. It is NORMAL for lay Catholics to be excited

Christian activists.u 3. It is NORMAL for lay Catholics to be

knowledgeable about their faith, the Scriptures, the doctrinal and moral teachings of the church, and the history of the Church.

u 4. It is NORMAL for lay Catholics to know what their charisms of service are and to be using them effectively in the fulfillment of their vocation or call in life.

What is ‘Normal’u 5. It is NORMAL for lay Catholics to know that they

have a vocation/mission in life (primarily in the secular world) given to them by God. It is NORMAL for lay Catholics to be actively engaged in discerning and living this vocation.

u 6. It is NORMAL for lay Catholics to have the fellowship of other committed lay Catholics available to them, to encourage, nurture, and discern as they attempt to follow Jesus.

u 7. It is NORMAL for the local parish to function consciously as a house of formation for lay Catholics which enables and empowers lay Catholics to do #1-6 above.

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Young Adults who stay

1) Have experienced God’s presence and seen answered prayer. 2) Can ask and openly discuss their real spiritual questions in the Christian community. 3) Understand the Gospel at a deep level.4) Have seen communities of faith and older adults authentically live their faith.

Evangelisers must be convinced:

“Knowing Jesus is the best gift that any person can receive; That we have encountered Him is the best thing that has happened in our lives,And making him known by our word and deeds is our joy.”

Concluding Document, Fifth General Conference of Latin American and Caribbean Bishops, 1.2, 29

Thresholds of Conversionu Focus: Lived relationship with God,

whether baptized or unbaptized, churched or unchurched.1. Initial Trust2. Spiritual Curiosity3. Spiritual Openness4. Spiritual seeking5. Intentional Discipleship

(Adapted from Five Thresholds of Post-Modern Conversion, Doug Schaupp, 1998)

Trust – threshold 1Curiosity – threshold 2

Openness – threshold 3Seeking – threshold 4

Baptism

Intentional Discipleship

Non-believing, non-trusting

Christ

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Five Thresholds of Conversion(pre-discipleship)

Focus: Lived relationship with Godu Baptized or unbaptized, churched or unchurched.

1. Initial Trust2. Spiritual curiosity3. Spiritual openness4. Spiritual seeking5. Intentional discipleship (5% of “active”?)Adapted from Five Thresholds of Post - Modern Conversion, Doug Schaupp, 1998

1. Initial trust

u Trust – a positive association withu Jesus, Church, believer,

u A bridge to move closer to Godu Building that bridge is our first task

as Evangelisersu Affirm, strengthen, broaden any

trust that existsu Why do some ‘distrust’ the Church?u Evangelisation is not about us.

u We need to put aside our own prejudices.

2. Curiosity• From Bridge building to Curiosity about

Jesus Christ• ‘He who must not be named’

¡ Awareness¡ Of more possibilities than they imagined . . . ¡ A personal relationship with Jesus

• Engagement• Takes own steps – friendship, reading

• Exchange• Moves from listening and observing Christians

to active questioning and exchanging ideas

Curiosity

u Not so much Q&A but Q&Qu Jesus rarely gave a straight

answer to a straight questionu Allows natural curiosity of the

person to allow them to draw closer to Jesus

u Jesus welcomes and cultivates curiosity

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Living curiously‘signs of contradiction’u “To be a witness does not consist in engaging in

propaganda, nor even stirring people up, but in being a living mystery. It means to live in such a way that one’s life would not make sense if God did not exist.” Emmanuel Cardinal Suhard

u “Testimony to Christ’s charity, though works of justice, peace and development, is part and parcel of evangelisation, because Jesus Christ who loves us, is concerned with the whole person.” Benedict XVI Caritas in Veritatis, 15

3. Openness• Difficult transition - Requires

lowering defenses of cynicism, antagonism

• Open oneself to change• Dangerous, frightening, out

of control• Openness often triggered

by major life event• As an evangeliser: Do not

jump the gun.

Opennessu ‘if we open ourselves to Christ, are we not

afraid that He might take something away from us? Are we not perhaps afraid to give up something significant, something unique that makes life so beautiful? Do we then not risk ending up diminished and deprived of our freedom?

Benedict XVI, Inaugural Homily, April 24, 2005

“Please don’t send me to Africa” syndrome

Do not jump the gun

• Practice non-judgmental fruitfulness• Ask thought provoking questions• Help them connect the dots• Encourage them to ask God for a sign• Ask them if you can pray for them to be open

to God• Ask them if they would be willing to pray

themselves and acknowledge their openness to to God

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‘Seeking’ and ‘Intentional Discipleship’

u Making the transitionu Works of Mercyu Jewish & Christian

moral traditionu Exploring forms of

prayer within the Christian tradition

u Sin matters: social and personal

Put into the Deep . . .

u Personal choice to follow Christ

u Luke 5:4-11u Drop the nets before

entering the Church?

uBaptismal disposition

u Pastoral problems:u When our leaders are

not disciples

An Evangelising Communityu Break the silence

u Talk about a relationship with a God who loves youu Drop the Nameu Do Ask: others about their lived relationship with

Jesusu Do Tell: the Great Story of Jesus (kerygma)

u Offer multiple overlapping opportunities for baptised and non-baptised to encounter Jesus in the Church

u How can we do this?

We Must Not Confuse

PassiveInitial Trust withCuriosity withOpenness with

ActivePersonal FaithSerious SeekingIntentional Discipleship

The majority of Catholics, practicing or non-practicing, are in one of the earlier,

essentially passive, stages of development.

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Intentional Discipleship

u Is not “unconscious” or accidentalu Is not merely culturalu Is not just “following the rules” or “being

good”

u Is not just a “transactional” relationshipu Is not a matter of just attending Mass on

Sunday

Requires a deliberate decision to follow Jesus Christ as a disciple in the

midst of his Church

Three Journeysu As evangelisers, we must attend to three

concurrent spiritual journeys in adults:u Personal interior journey

u“act of faith” resulting in intentional discipleship

u Sacramental/ecclesial exterior journey usacramental/ecclesial belonging

u Active” or “inactive” journeyuparticipatory belonging

Three Stages of Adult Christian Development

Seeker

Disciple

Apostle

Disciple Stage

Intentional Disciple of Christ

Responsible for Mission of Church

“going public”witness in

marketplace”

Gifts Discernment

“Active”full catechesis,forming basic habits of discipleship“Ananiases”

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Apostle Stage

Responsible for Mission of the Church

Living Your Call

Discernment of vocation(s)Active evangelisation of people,secular cultures and structures

Spiritual Norm of a Parish

Seeker

Disciple

Apostle

Average parish culture norm: earliest,passive stage of pre-discipleship

Average evangelicalcongregation norm:early discipleship

Christ the King,Ann Arbor: 65% ID:Norm: mature discipleship/Early apostleship

Break the Silence!

uTalk explicitly about following Jesus: Drop the Name!“Jesus is he who must not be named.”

Jesus Christ is not a topic that the Church “believes in” He is the Center, the Savior, the Lord, the Redeemer, the Head, the Cornerstone, the Bridegroom of his Church.uTo the extent that we focus on the Church without Jesus Christ at the center of that Church, we communicate an institutional, rather than personal faith.

Break the Silence! Do Ask others about their lived relationship with God.

uVery few people have ever had someone ask and really listen to understand their lived experience with God from their perspective. If we ask and really listen, it may raise the possibility for the first time and shows that we consider this to be real and very important.uNever accept a religious label in place of a story!

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Break the Silence!

Do Tell: u Tell your personal

story of Jesusu Tell the “Great

Story of Jesus”(Kerygma or Initial proclamation)

We Have to Presumeu Even many Catholics in our pews don’t know

the basic facts of The Story.

u A good deal of what they “know” may be wrong.

u They don’t know how the parts of The Story fit together to make a whole.

u They don’t know what The Story means for them personallyu for their family

u for their friends, neighbors, co-workers u for their world

Thresholds of Conversionpre-discipleship

Focus: Lived relationship with Godu Baptized or unbaptized, churched or unchurched.

1. Initial Trust2. Spiritual curiosity3. Spiritual openness4. Spiritual seeking5. Intentional discipleship (5% of “active”?)Adapted from Five Thresholds of Post - Modern Conversion, Doug Schaupp, 1998

Stages of Evangelization & Thresholds

Trust

Curiosity

Openness

Seeking

Discipleship

Pre-­Evangelization

Initial  Proclamation

Catechesis

30% “active”Catholics

70% “inactive”: many at pre-trust?

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Catherine of Siena Institute

In General:1. Almost all “active” Catholics are, at least, at

trust. 2. All indicators are that the majority of “active”

Catholics are in earlier, essentially passive stages of spiritual development: trust/curiosity.

The greatest need for “active” Catholics is initial proclamation & fostering curiosity, openness &

seeking.3. Roughly 70% of US cradle Catholics are not

“active” and many do not have bridges of trust in place.

The greatest need for “inactive” Catholics is pre-evangelization & building trust/fostering

curiosity.

Double in Five Challenge

u Offer multiple, overlapping opportunities for baptized and non baptized people to personally encounter Jesus in the midst of his Church.

u Nearly everything we do in parishes can be given an evangelizing “tweek”.

u Two critical anchors:u A truly evangelizing RCIA processu Parish based evangelization retreats/courses.

Double in Five Challenge

u Expect conversion. Plan for conversion.

u Expect these conversations. Prepare for these conversations.

u Think through the existing resources, initiatives, or people in your parish, region, or diocese that you can connect seekers to.

u Lay the foundation of intercessory prayer.

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IF We Were Really Seriousu IF we prayed in an intense, organized, sustained way,u IF we shattered the silence in our parishes and dioceses and

campus ministries and schools in every possible way u IF we told the Great Story of Jesus (the kergyma) over and

over in a thousand different ways to our people.u IF we systemically and consistently challenged our people

about where they are in their journey and about the possibility of following Jesus as his disciples in the midst of his Church

u IF we celebrated and supported new disciples in an on-going way.

u We could quadruple the number of intentional disciples inu the Catholic Church in 10 years.

Pre-Discipleship Spiritual Development• There are progressive levels of spiritual

development that are genuine works of grace but not yet intentional discipleship.• John 4:1-39; 9:1-41

• People respond to Godʼ’s grace in a wide variety of ways and trajectories.

• We need to find out what their spiritual journey has been to this point and respond effectively to spiritual seekers at different points in their journey.