By Fr Pierluigi Vajra
Parish renewal is a buzzword in Catholic Australia at the moment. We realise that Catholic parishes, the way we have always run them, are not serving their purpose of leading crowds to Jesus. New initiatives attract already practising folks –leading them to revive their faith, which is welcome. Still, parishes remain an “insider’s” business. People who were lost… remain lost.
It is an exciting time for us, because this was the greatest Somascan concern from the start – we were born for this purpose.
“Our sweet Father Lord Jesus Christ, because of your infinite goodness we ask you to reform Christianity to that state of sanctity that was characteristic of the time of your Apostles.” So starts a prayer – “Our Prayer” – prayed by St. Jerome Miani and his companions three times a day. The renewal of the Church (they called it “reformation” back then) was their highest priority. Every other action they took was an expression of this one.
Five centuries later, it is surprising to see how renewal continues to be a top priority. Here are some practical steps we took in this direction (more to come, watch this space).
St. Jerome’s journey in faith started with a military defeat. He turned for help to the Mother of Jesus (something he had learned as a child, then neglected), and her work brought him back to Jesus. She lead him back to prayer and the Scripture.
We started our journey of parish renewal by requesting people to commit to prayer, especially in the face of struggles. Over 80 people responded. We send them a weekly list of intentions. The Rosary features prominently in their way of praying. And God did answer abundantly, above all by moving people’s hearts to commit to change.
“St. Jerome was lead to a personal encounter with Jesus. He realised that Jesus had suffered and died personally for him. He spent long hours of prayer in front of Jesus Crucified, by night, steeped in his love, weeping over his past sins, begging him to be his Saviour and not his judge (Jn 3:17).”
Renewal happens when people have this personal encounter with Jesus, alive and real. Great music, enticing messages, fun-filled socials are useful – but people do not come to church for entertainment. What draws them is Jesus, his mercy and love. We spend a considerable time to plan what we offer during the weekend Masses – especially the message, the homily. And people respond.
St. Jerome encountered Jesus in the context of a community named the Oratory of the Divine Love, men resolved to reform their live to imitate the life of Jesus. This community remained a reference point for St. Jerome ever after.
Connection with a vibrant community is the doorway to encounter Jesus. So we offer these opportunities – we try successful attempts made by others.
In our parish we started running Alpha (you can have a look for yourself at alpha.org). It proved effective to help people, regular Catholics and new arrivals, to (re)discover the basics of their faith. It made them confortable to talk faith, something some of them had seldom done before. A number of people have by now committed to an intentional faith journey and to some ministry after experiencing Alpha.
A Life in the Spirit Seminar produced similar results, on a smaller but perhaps more durable scale.
We are about to venture into another tool, which resembles closely something the early Somascans did in their days. We know that connections can be very real in one’s neighbourhood. We are therefore starting to connect very locally, in one’s own street. We call this Small Christian Communities, though the name may change as we go. Faith and service would be nourished, lived out and shared in one’s home and street. No longer a weekend’s business, apart from “real life”. Right in the midst of it, along with one’s brothers and sisters.
Does it not sound exciting?
And there is more to it – but that story will be told another time.