The Catholic Moment Article

As we draw near to the date 75 years ago when the Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana was established, we have enjoyed looking back into our archives and reflecting on what we looked like as a faith community in the past.

Seventy-five years ago, there were still homes and churches that did not have indoor bathrooms, our highway system and cars were much more basic, and space travel was still something that we considered to be the lore of science fiction.

Looking forward in time it is very difficult to imagine what the archives might say about our diocese today when the 100th or even 150th anniversary comes around.  What will the people that follow us imagine our faith community looked like?  Will they look into the archives and see a people of God that built up the Body of Christ and gave them a firm foundation upon which to live their faith lives?

In recent articles, I have spoken to you about the ongoing work of Uniting In Heart. How we have secured the good services of Partners Edge, LLC. to help us understand the current state of our diocese. In addition, how we are endeavoring to understand what might lie ahead for us as the world around us resists living a life in Christ.

The culture of the world around us is spoken of as a ‘post-Christian’ culture.  Dictionaries speak of this phrase in very blunt terms, defined as the period, “following the decline of Christianity as a majority religion” (Source: Merriam-Webster).

In the second year of his papacy, on October 16, 1979, Pope John Paul II gave us the Apostolic Exhortation, Catechesi Tradendae.  In this letter, he speaks clearly about the post-Christian era telling us, “Christians today must be formed to live in a world which largely ignores God.”  He goes on to say that we have, “To “hold on” in this world, to offer to all a “dialogue of salvation” in which each person feels respected in his or her most basic dignity, the dignity of one who is seeking God, we need a catechesis which trains the young people and adults of our communities to remain clear and consistent in their faith, to affirm serenely their Christian and Catholic identity, to “see him who is invisible” and to adhere so firmly to the absoluteness of God that they can be witnesses to Him in a materialistic civilization that denies Him.”

The words of St. John Paul II encouraging us to “hold on” in this world, in this post-Christian culture, is at the center of our Uniting In Heart: 2030 Pastoral Plan.  A determination to not allow ourselves to fall into the grasp of a materialistic civilization denying Jesus by thinking that we just continue to go about life without seeking Jesus and sharing our faith with our children, brothers and sisters, and the world around us.

Jesus said to us, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations… teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you”  (Matthew 28:19). Discipleship begins by building up our local church: the Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana.  Moreover, we must catechize our young people and adults to strengthen and grow our parishes.  As disciples, we go out to the community around us as witnesses of God in the world.  Christ leads us as his disciples to look inwardly at our diocese to see where we can share the Word of God and our resources to energize and enliven our parishes wherever there is a need.  As disciples, we are Christ to each other.

Bishop Timothy L. Doherty, working with the priests and lay leaders of the diocese, continues to prayerfully develop the vision and plan for how our diocese positions ourselves to “Hold On” in this post-Christian era to our mission of being and making disciples; to witness Christ to a culture that would deny him if not for our Church witnessing to him.

As we go forward, it is essential that we let prayer guide our Uniting In Heart 2030 Pastoral Plan.  Let us share as one people in Christ a common prayer that God will fill us with his grace and the wisdom of the Holy Spirit in the days ahead.