Praying with Evangelii Gaudium, Day 14: Being Church

                                                        The greatest hope of the Church?

In the last entry, we were reminded again, how renewal is the focus for Francis in this document. The challenge that he faces in his papacy, and that we face as a universal Church, is that renewal is a theme that terrifies many people in the Church. Those who respond to change and renewal with fear, are people who assume that our whole identity as Catholics revolves around tradition which we must defend and hold on to for dear life. Francis has already suggested in the past that our traditions will continue to be a great tool for all the faithful,  but we should not be afraid to use it as a tool of change and renewal.Turning to the tradition to help renew the Church is what I believe helps him remain optimistic, despite the struggles that lie ahead. This optimism is expressed in EG 28, as he reminds us that the reason why parishes, and the Universal church (and therefore,all her traditions)  do not become outdated and inconsequential, is because of the missionary creativity of the pastors and the parishioners. Thanks to this creativity, parishes can be flexible (EG 28), and can  even adapt themselves to integrate a new approach to ministry. It’s that flexibility, that ability to adapt that allows the Church to live ‘in the midst of the homes of her sons and daughters’ (EG 28; Christifelis Laici(JPII) 26).

 I struggled a little bit with that quote from Christifelis Laici. I know the Church, as bride of Christ, has wonderful teachings and a beautiful way of looking at the world, which has the capacity to live in the midst of the homes of all people. Unfortunately, the truth is that these days,  many households live lives that are disenchanted with the Church and many of her social positions.  So how is it that Francis can assert with so much confidence that the Church ‘really is in contact with the homes and the lives of its people’ (EG 28)?  Well, what I had to remember is that, although the Church doesn’t necessarily speak to many people in Quebec, other places in the West, and Australia, it still remains a relevant presence in the lives of many families around the world, whether they be rich, poor, or middle class, immigrants, refugees, or permanent residents of a country. Furthermore, the Church, as Francis sees it, is something that is making a lot of people talk, possibly because his vision of the Church is so radical. It’s exactly what the world needs right now. Because of that, many may describe Pope Francis as the greatest hope for the future of this Church.

 But as we know, Francis on his own, is not the Church, nor is he the only hope that this Church has for Her future. He needs the Bishops to be that Church, and he needs us to do the same. We forget, just how much it is that we can offer to the world through the work we do in our parishes: All the growth, the charitable outreach, all the opportunities for a community to gather together and celebrate, all the conversations we can have with people (EG 28). Yet, the sad realization that Francis makes that all this wonderful work won’t always bring us closer to the people or make parishes the “ environments of living communion”  (EG 28)  that they are called to be. Thankfully, there are ‘movements’ and community based endeavors that do fulfill the task of creating a living communion in our parishes. The challenge Francis sees is that some of these movements work sometimes independently of the parishes (EG 29). The time for division has passed. We’ve heard Francis say all week long (during the week of Christian Unity) how much of a disaster division was in our Christian Churches,  but we should also remember that they exist in our parishes too, and that this is unacceptable. We should no longer be concerned about who gets credit for this or that work, or who benefits more from it etc.... Everything we do is for the greater glory of God. It really matters not who does it. We're not there yet, but we seem to be moving towards that.

 There is indeed a wind of change in the Church, as Francis and others continue to push Christians to live their faith with a deeper sense of love, and affection for others. However this change  cannot come from Francis alone. We need to live past our pettiness and our pride, and to embrace the call to unity, love and compassion that our Lord and Savior gives us daily. This is how we will prepare our Church for the 21st century, and beyond.

28. 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. While certainly not the only institution which evangelizes, if it proves capable of self-renewal and constant adaptivity, it continues to be “the Church living in the midst of the homes of her sons and daughters”.[26] This presumes that it really is in contact with the homes and the lives of its people, and does not become a useless structure out of touch with people or a self-absorbed cluster made up of a chosen few. The parish is the presence of the Church in a given territory, an environment for hearing God’s word, for growth in the Christian life, for dialogue, proclamation, charitable outreach, worship and celebration.[27] In all its activities the parish encourages and trains its members to be evangelizers.[28] It is a community of communities, a sanctuary where the thirsty come to drink in the midst of their journey, and a centre of constant missionary outreach. We must admit, though, that the call to review and renew our parishes has not yet sufficed to bring them nearer to people, to make them environments of living communion and participation, and to make them completely mission-oriented.

29. Other Church institutions, basic communities and small communities, movements, and forms of association are a source of enrichment for the Church, raised up by the Spirit for evangelizing different areas and sectors. Frequently they bring a new evangelizing fervour and a new capacity for dialogue with the world whereby the Church is renewed. But it will prove beneficial for them not to lose contact with the rich reality of the local parish and to participate readily in the overall pastoral activity of the particular Church.[29] This kind of integration will prevent them from concentrating only on part of the Gospel or the Church, or becoming nomads without roots.