The Parish As A Faith-Learning Community
By Monsignor Vincent J. Grimalia, V.G.

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A favorite expression of Pope John Paul II for the Church was “Community of Disciples.” The word disciple in its origins means student or learner, and is a reminder of the importance of ongoing conversion and faith formation.

The old Baltimore Catechism raised a profound question when it asked: “Why did God make you?” It gave a clear answer when it said, “God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him forever in heaven.”
A simple answer that a child can understand, yet a profound answer that adults can ponder throughout their lives. When a parish community is developing or revising a mission statement, it is important that it see itself as a learning community with the responsibility of handing on the faith in the context of the parish and the local community in a way that speaks to the 21st century.

While it is becoming more recognized and accepted that all of us are or should be life-long learners in every area of our life, with the continuing expansion of knowledge in all disciplines, when it comes to the faith, many adults try to get by with the information they received for Confirmation. It is sad that Confirmation strengthens us with gifts of the Holy Spirit for a more active participation in the Church, and many use that as an end to faith formation. How can adults live the faith in a fruitful and meaningful way without an adult understanding of faith? 

Ongoing faith formation provides support and direction to live our lives and discover meaning with help from our Catholic faith and tradition.
In a visit last month to a Roman parish, Pope Benedict said: “The parish is a beacon that radiates the light of faith, above all in our largely secularized world. Thus it meets the most profound and authentic desires of the human heart, giving meaning and hope to the lives of individuals and families.”

Several years ago, when he was Archbishop of Munich, the Holy Father shared this reflection on Acts 2:42-27: “Human life is, in the first place, a search for meaning, the search for some message that can show me my path and give me direction.” The parish as a community of disciples can and must be a place that supports the search for meaning and personal vocation through faith. 

Dr. Viktor Frankl spent his life studying the importance of meaning in the lives of people and ways that people discover meaning. He noted that meaning can be discovered through three general ways: through activity, experience and attitude. 
The first way of finding meaning, through creative activity, includes: doing one’s job, community involvement, helping others, becoming a volunteer in a charity or community organization. For Catholics, stewardship of time and talent, active participation in the mission of the Church, is a way of finding meaning in life.

Different age groups can find meaning and mission through different activities. A group of senior parishioners can combine service, faith formation, community support and social activities. Youth Group activities can likewise combine faith formation, service and social activities. During parish self study there will be an opportunity to look at the various groups and activities on the parish calendar and evaluate how they are providing positive support to the mission of the parish and support for the search for meaning through faith and reason in the lives of the parishioners at each age of their lives.
An important question to ask is, “How is this group or any parish organization or activity helping support the search for meaning for each parishioner?” Another question is: “How is this group or activity building a sense of community within the parish or the community?” If a group or activity is not creating community or helping people to find meaning, it needs to re-evaluate itself and its purpose. 

The second way of discovering meaning is through experience. This way is compatible with the integral Catholic approach to salvation; it involves the whole person and looks at every aspect and dimension of human life in the light of faith. Examples of this second way include: prayer, liturgy, ritual, Catholic culture, family and parish customs and traditions, ethnic traditions, the experience of loving and being loved, genuine care for another, commitment to the Church, and experiencing the good, the true and the beautiful. Faith and the discovery of meaning can also be cultivated through the experience and study of music, art and literature. 

A third way of searching for meaning is through the choice of an attitude. The choice of an attitude determines how I will deal with a situation. In Sources of Renewal, Pope John Paul II, then Cardinal Wojtyla, noted: “…attitudes, springing from a well-formed Christian conscience, can in a sense be regarded as a true proof of the realization of the Council… It involves ‘taking a position’ and being ready to act in accordance with it.”
In our day-to-day life, our Christian attitudes can console us, challenge us, and guide us in such a way that we make a meaningful choice and response in every situation and circumstance.

Pope John Paul II, in his encyclical Fides et Ratio, reminded the world of the two gifts that Catholic tradition sees as an aid to the human search for meaning: “Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth; and God has placed in the human heart a desire to know the truth — in a word, to know himself — so that, by knowing and loving God, men and women may also come to the fullness of truth about themselves”.

Each parish, or parishes working together, through faith formation activities can provide a variety of opportunities where both faith and reason work together to provide direction and support in the search for meaning and community building in the Catholic tradition.

Search For Meaning Leads To Discovery of Vocation
Pope John Paul II noted that there is a vocational dimension to life, and there are various aspects of vocation that need to be understood and cultivated. Vocational awareness is at the heart of evangelization and pastoral care. It is a dimension to be considered in every aspect of pastoral care and parish life. An occasional vocational talk or homily is simply not sufficient to help people find meaning through the discovery of their vocation.

“Vocation is at the very heart of the new evangelization …The vocational perspective is the soul and unifying criterion of all pastoral work. All pastoral work must be vocational, beginning with the explicit intention of placing the believer before the proposal of God.” (New Vocations for a New Europe).

In his message to the Vocational Congress, Pope John Paul II stated: “Life has an essentially vocational structure. In fact, the plan for it stems from the heart of the mystery of God… All human existence is therefore an answer to God, who makes his love felt especially on some occasions: the call to life; the entrance into his Church’s communion of grace; the invitation to bear witness in the Christian community to Christ according to a completely personal and irreplaceable plan; the definitive call to communion with Him at the hour of death.”

In its final report the Congress noted: “Once the vocational dimension of the Church has been highlighted, it can be understood how pastoral work for vocations is…an activity related to the very being of the Church and therefore intimately inserted into the general pastoral program of every Church…”

The Diocesan Pastoral Plan for Vocations, available on the diocesan website www.dioceseofscranton.org, can provide further information for how a parish community can assist in the search for meaning and the cultivation of vocations.
Recall that Pope Benedict, in a reflection on the Acts of the Apostles, once stated: “A search for meaning…can show me my path and give direction.” 
Efforts to cultivate the vocational awareness of the parish as a learning community should be considered when developing or revising a parish mission statement.

Search For Meaning Through Faith Formation
In Gaudium et Spes of the Second Vatican Council, an expectation is stated: “One is entitled to think that the future is in the hands of those who will be able to offer coming generations reasons for living and hoping.” This expectation is an important motive for evangelization that must be met by each parish community for its members and for people living in the local community.

In the First Letter of Peter, 3:15, each one of us is likewise challenged: “Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope, but do it with gentleness and reverence, keeping your conscience clear…” 
Saint Anselm has described theology as “Faith seeking understanding.” We ourselves must seek to understand our faith and its implications for living. Each parishioner needs to understand the teaching of the Church so that it can guide and direct their lives and help them to give a reason for their hope. What we understand and our point of view must be permeated by faith, hope and love, because our thinking influences our feelings and actions, our choices and decisions.

While a parish community must provide opportunities for parishioners of all ages, it is most important that parishes make a financial and pastoral commitment to adult faith formation. When developing a parish mission statement the importance of a parish as a learning community and the importance of adult faith formation needs to be acknowledged.

The American Bishops, in a Pastoral Plan, Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us, call for a living, explicit and fruitful faith. They state three major goals: “Invite and enable ongoing conversion to Jesus in holiness… Promote and support active membership in the Christian Community… (and) Call and prepare adults to act as Disciples in Mission to the world.” 
The parish mission statement helps the parish to understand the nature of the parish, its purpose and the ways it has to express and put into practice its self understanding and mission. Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us states: “The parish places adult catechesis at the center of its stated mission and goals, and it promotes the importance of adult faith formation at every opportunity.” 

The parish self study will evaluate how a parish is evangelizing its internal culture as a parish, as well as, how a parish is equipped to evangelize the culture of the local community. The pastoral plan on adult faith formation provides direction and support for a study of the importance of adult faith formation and the necessity of integrating adult faith formation into the pastoral plan of the parish.

This is a new approach to faith formation. Until recently it was and is still understood in many places as child centered and focused on preparation for the reception of the sacraments. Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us raises important questions and gives direction for implementation of adult faith formation on the level of the parish. In preparation for the development of a parish mission statement and later in the development of a parish plan, this pastoral plan will provide great insights that are necessary for every parish to consider.