Lawn Chair Catechism: Week 5

This week’s Lawn Chair Catechism discussion is about Chapter four of Forming  Intentional Disciples, “Grace and the Great Quest”. In this chapter, the author discusses the validity of the Sacraments when the recipient is not spiritually ready. It is a very interesting look at this topic and enlightening as well. I never really thought about it until reading this chapter but now I think it is something that should be discussed at the parish level often.

As I read this chapter, I thought back to my own reception of the first Sacraments of the Church- Baptism, Confirmation, and First Eucharist. I was SO ready to become a Catholic that I had a few sleepless nights worried that I would die before I received them (I later found out that I was “Baptized by desire” and had nothing to worry about). After I received the Sacraments, I felt a little let down, worrying that I missed something because it seemed like life got harder after that. After battling these negative feelings and feelings of emptiness, I realized that when we receive the Sacraments, we are placing a huge target on our backs for the Devil. We NEED the grace that we receive from the Sacraments to move past that initial spiritual battle of going from an un-baptized “heathen” to a true Christian. If the disturbing information in Chapter Four is true, then it is no wonder we lose so many new Christians and Confirmed students. They aren’t properly disposed to receive the Sacraments and therefore, they don’t receive enough grace to make it through the initial battle!

I have two sons who are receiving Sacraments next year. My oldest will be Confirmed and my youngest will receive his first taste of Jesus in the Eucharist. I think my youngest is ready. He reads his children’s Bible and even carries it to school daily. He is interested in having a relationship with God and tries to follow the Commandments as best he can. My oldest son, on the other hand, enjoys Religious Ed and follows the motions during Mass but doesn’t show a personal devotion to our Lord like my youngest son does. I will be working with both boys to ensure that they are prepared for their Sacraments but, after reading this chapter, I am going to be diligent to ensure that they are properly disposed to receive them as fully as possible.

Lawn Chair Catechism Week 4

 This week's chapter from the Lawn Chair Catechism Study is called "The Fruit of Discipleship". The chapter discusses in detail about two parishes that have flourishing vocations, abundant financial support, and active parishioners. I seriously looked to see if either of them were nearby so I could move there! That is where I would want to be, wouldn't you? Well, I am hoping maybe I can get my parish looking more like those after I finish this study. I am hoping God will equip me so that I can get others as fired up as I am!



Can you recall a “before” and “after” time in your life, when you became a true disciple of Jesus Christ? There is definitely a "before" and "after" but I'm not exactly sure when it was. There was so much growing that I've done over the period of time since I've become a Catholic that I am not sure when the "after" showed up. I do know that I was on fire before I was even baptized. I remember drooling in anticipation for the day that I could receive the Lord in the Eucharist.
    
What success stories can you share in your parish? We haven't had one in quite some time but we used to have a woman's retreat every once in a while and it seemed to draw a lot of women of the parish together. Also, when we had a Women's Group, there was some movement towards growth. Right now the Knights of Columbus are the most successful at finding and living out discipleship in our parish.



In what areas is Christian discipleship not yet the standard for ministry? Sometimes it seems that our parish wants to stay locked into itself. Pope Francis says "The Church needs to come out of itself and start moving toward the peripheries of society. Obviously, when you go out, there will be accidents: “But I prefer a thousand times more a Church that is damaged than a Church that is sick from closing in on itself. Go out, go out!” Our parish needs to go out!

Lawn Chair Catechism: Week 3

This week at Catholicmom.com, we are reading a chapter of Forming Intentional Disciples: The Path to Knowing and Following Jesus
 entitled, "We don't know what normal is". You can tell I have not been reading ahead because I kind of touched on this last week when I said that I think many cradle Catholics get overwhelmed because they don't know what to do.

When I first became Catholic, I became a Catholic mom of three boys, too. This means that I had to learn about my faith and then play "catch up" with my boys, especially my son who received his First Communion not too long after I became a Catholic. When I asked for suggestions of books to learn about this subject, everyone came up blank. When I looked online for information and ideas, there was little to be found (that's when I found Catholicmom.com, one of the few great resources!). No one seemed to know how to help me find normal. Now I know why...

I am not completely comfortable talking with others about my relationship with God. I am a fairly introverted person so talking about things of the heart doesn't come easily to me. I share things like books and facts that I learn in an attempt to share my relationship, though. I am also an avid Facebook evangelist, with tons of "shares" going on my timeline on any given day.

According to the book, the following actions are considered "normal" (there are more in the book!):

. . . It is NORMAL for lay Catholics to be excited Christian activists.
. . . It is NORMAL for lay Catholics to be knowledgeable of their faith, the Scriptures, the doctrinal and moral teachings of the Church, and the history of the Church.
. . . It is NORMAL for lay Catholics to have fellowship of other committed lay Catholics available to them, to encourage, nurture, and discern as they attempt to follow Jesus.
. . . It is NORMAL for the local parish to function consciously as a house for formation for lay Catholics . . ..

 So, basically, it is normal to be Scott Hahn! Just kidding! But this does sound like a dubious list for us regular Cathy Catholics out there. If you look over the list and think about it, it isn't as bad as it looks.

Being excited should be easy, especially if you do all the other things listed.

Being knowledgeable includes being intentional during Mass and actually paying attention, reading good Christian/Catholic books, reading or at least referring to the Catechism, and learning about the lives of the Saints. I can say that I have most of this covered- for now. It is something we should always be watching to make sure we are not slacking in this area.

Having fellowship with other committed lay Catholics can include any fellowship opportunities at the parish level and also making friends with fellow parishioners. I have this one licked, too! I'm three for three!

The local parish should function as a house for formation of lay Catholics- our parish has a Bible study but I cannot attend because one is during the day when I work and the other is after Mass when I have three tired and hungry boys who have already attended Religious Ed and Mass. We used to have Bible study during Religious Ed and I attended then. I think my parish has a little work to do in this area...

How are you doing at being "normal"?

Lawn Chair Catechism- Week 2

This week at Catholicmom.com, we are discussing the statistics of Christians who leave the faith of their childhood and either convert to another faith or become a "none", someone who claims no religious affiliation. I chose to answer this week's discussion questions in a Q&A format in order to give you a better picture of who I am in the Catholic community.

Have you always been Catholic?

I joined the Church in 2007 after a life of yearning to be Catholic. I was one of the “nones” that the author talks about in Chapter 1. I was raised with no religious affiliation and my parents thought that this was best so that I can choose my faith when I grew up. Because of my “none” status growing up, I don’t consider myself a convert to the faith nor a cradle Catholic. I think those of us “nones” who become Catholic fit into a special category all to ourselves. We have no religious background to help us to connect with our Catholic faith but we also have no preconceived notions about what to expect.

How did the instruction and mentoring you received help you – or prevent you – from having a personal relationship with God?

I started RCIA classes not long after I began attending Mass regularly. The instruction offered there was the basics of the faith but they did not get into the practical application of the faith at all. I suppose they discussed a personal relationship with God but not in the way that most evangelicals approach it. A personal relationship in Catholic terms would be frequent reception of the Sacraments. How much more personal can you get then by ingesting the body and blood of our Lord?

What events among your friends and family seem to explain why some are Catholic, and others are not?

In my family, I am the only truly practicing Catholic although I actually have a few Catholic family members. My one cousin was baptized Catholic but never attended Mass. She now has a daughter who is baptized Catholic but has never been to a Mass. They know nothing about their faith and sometimes she mentions wanting to connect to her faith better but I think she gets overwhelmed with all she doesn’t know about her faith that she gives up on learning. This overwhelmed feeling may be one of the reasons that so many Catholics tend to drift away and feel disconnected.

How’s your “retention rate”?  Do young adults in your parish stay in touch with their childhood faith community, or do they drift away to an unknown fate?

I don’t know what the retention rate is within our parish but I know that our priest makes the joke that the Confirmation youth should not do as the bats did in the house we use for religious education. He said he confirmed them all and they have not been seen again! I think this is an indication that many of the youth leave the Church after Confirmation.

Lawn Chair Catechism: Week 1

This is the first week of Catholicmom.com’s Lawn Chair Catechism book study. You do not have to purchase the book to participate; they have a wonderful 13 page printable guide to study along with. Anyway, the first week gets into the introduction of the book where the author, Sherry Wedell, finds that most people that she interviewed in ministry positions in the parishes that she visited for her studies were not as spiritually developed as one would expect. Truthfully, this came as no surprise to me.

When I became a Catholic in 2006, I first attended Mass and was involved in a parish Bible study before attending RCIA classes. In a congregation of over 250 families, there were 3 people in the Bible study. I was amazed that all along I thought that Christian church-goers, especially Catholics were active in their spiritual walks, with all of the wonderful prayers and daily Mass available, I just couldn’t fathom that they were not uber spiritual and that I, the newbie in the field, was showing more motivation than most of them who were steeped in this beautiful tradition their whole lives!

How would I describe my lived relationship with God at this point in my life? Ooh, I must admit it is not what it was or what I want it to be. When I first became a Catholic, my children were small and stayed home on most Sundays so I was rushing to get to Mass and listen to the Word and bask in the peace. Now I have two boys who receive the Eucharist and one preparing to receive next year so I must take them with me to instill spiritual formation in them. I am the only church-going and Catholic parent of two ADHD boys, one with Autistic-like symptoms and an older son who tries to help but sometimes causes more harm than good. This makes for less peace during Mass and more time spent just getting through it. I would love to get to a point that I could have peace again. Also, our women’s ministry has broken up and I just don’t have the energy to be the one to re-start it.

What does the word “discipleship” mean to me? The official definition of disciple is “somebody who believes in and follows the teachings of a leader, a philosophy, or a religion”. In practical terms, I think this means following the teachings of the Church- Bible, Tradition, and Magesterium- in a way that enriches our own lives, spilling over into the lives of those we touch.

Do I perceive a need in the Church today to help lay Catholics become more fervent followers of Jesus Christ? I’m not sure what I think. There seems to be plenty within the Church for us lay followers to do, but many choose not to do it. Why is it that we cannot get kids to come to Religious Ed classes but their parents take great pains to make sure that they get to Scouts and sports and extra-curricular activities? I just don’t know if this is something that the “Big-C Church” needs to do or the “Little-c church” needs to do. I think the Church has offered so much to us that we just don’t take the initiative to get out and participate in.

How would I describe my parish’s current efforts at discipleship?  A hotbed of discipleship?  A weekly gathering of spiritual sleep-walkers?  Or perhaps something in between? I would say that my parish in particular is a weekly gathering of spiritual sleep-walkers with a few great, energetic disciples who are fed up with trying to get others to come out and participate and seeing the same faces every time. We want a church with an active congregation. We are amid over 200 Protestant churches in our tiny town and we want to knock their socks off. We want the Catholics to come and enjoy their relationship with Jesus Christ and to see the beauty of the Fullness of the Faith but they are busy sleep-walking and not seeing the light-show that is happening in front of their faces. We disciples are tired and fed-up…

Please leave a comment if you have any ideas on how we can spice up our parish and awaken them to the beauty sitting under their noses!

Alicia

Lawn Chair Catechism Announcement!

We're hosting the "Lawn Chair Catechism" at CatholicMom.com on Wednesdays this summer, beginning on May 29. We're using Forming Intentional Disciples, by Sherry Weddell, as the basis for our study.

We have put together a discussion guide that includes both the executive summary of each chapter and discussion questions, and a two-page discussion question-only download.We'd love to have you participate!

 You do not have to read the book to participate.

Our Sunday Visitor is offering the book for the incredibly low price of $10 through June 8, with free shipping. After June 8 and through the conclusion of our study, they'll be offering free shipping.

You can find all the information on the Lawn Chair Catechism page at CatholicMom.com.

I will be participating and hope to see you there!
Alicia