The Catholic Moment Article

When I first joined the staff in the Bishop’s office a little more than four years ago, I was introduced to Uniting In Heart. At that time, it was a new initiative for our diocese. Soon, I found myself taking part in parish visits.  These were in-person visits by a team from the Bishop’s office with the goal of visiting all 61 parishes over an 18-month timeframe.  I was the designated scribe for these meetings.  My focus was to listen intently and to capture as much as I could of the conversations taking place around the table.

These were good visits; I was impressed by how staff and parishioners in the meetings spoke kindly and honestly about the difficulties they faced, as well as the accomplishments they achieved as a parish.  Images of strong faith communities, charitable ministries, pride in traditions and heartfelt reflections on the generations that preceded them abounded.

Some of the things I learned during those visits stay with me today.  For example, the number of parishes with limited means financially, small or no staff, and a real need for resources to bring the Word of God to their community. Yet they persevered, undeterred by the challenges that they faced. On the other hand, we found parishes very blessed with the resources that our sister parishes could only imagine. This caused me to reflect on the letters of St. Paul—as he helped the Gentiles to know and love Jesus, he also showed each of the churches he established how to be Christ to each other. Could we, should we not be doing the same?

Still, another realization from these visits was the deep concern of our parishes who were seeing diminishing levels of attendance at Mass, most particularly with our young adults.  The pressing question was always; how do we confess our faith in a way that others will know and love Jesus like we do?  Or, the other question: how do we, as a faith community, make our parish welcoming and our liturgies an encounter with Jesus?

I believe the answer to these and other questions of how we live our faith as a diocese is found in the mis-sion given to us by Jesus to “go and make disciples.” The first step of this mission is learning what it means to be a disciple of Christ and how to be disciples to each other.

Much of what I have written in previous articles has been to share a picture of our diocese from the perspective of the numbers we have been analyzing.  The Uniting In Heart: 2030 Pastoral Plan, while guided by data, is about so much more.  It is about who we are as a people of faith in the Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana, and how we live our faith guided by our baptismal graces and the gift of the Holy Spirit received at our Confirmation.

Uniting In Heart is about taking a good look at what we can do differently over the next 10 years, to bring about a “New Pentecost” for our diocese; one that says we have to step out of our comfort zone as St. Paul and the Apostles did when they set out to bring the Good News to all people.

Should we not build up the community of faith within our own parishes, praying for and caring for those we encounter each Sunday at Mass?  Can we, aware of the needs of our brothers and sisters in the church, be missionary disciples within our own diocese?  What would it be like if we took that same missionary discipleship and touched the community around us?  How much would our church grow by those we have brought to Christ?  Can we truly follow the example of our Savior and touch the marginalized in our diocese?

As I contemplate these questions, I reflect on this past November when the priests, deacons and staff from the Bishop’s office spent a day together. First on the day’s agenda was a briefing on the analytics performed by Partners Edge.  After lunch, we broke into working groups and began to develop our narrative.  The narrative spoke to who we are as a diocese and answered the question: What must we consider as we prepare for the next 5 to 10 years of ministry?

Remaining steadfast in living our faith and being missionary disciples is what Uniting in Heart is all about. The vibrancy and vitality of our Church rests on us. We must pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirt and then have the courage to follow his promptings.  It energizes me to think about what might be possible if we allow ourselves to be disciples of Jesus Christ and build up the Body of Christ.