May 14, 2010
The Christian Journey
Faith stories bring people closer, into community
BY FATHER JIM SAUER
When many of us were children attending Catholic elementary school, most library books occupying the shelves were the lives of the saints. This was hardly a coincidence! Catholic heroes and heroines inspired our youthful Catholic faith. We wanted to follow them — if not in their exact vocation, at least in living the gospel values they exemplified. These men, women and youth were real Christian models.
Although we may still enjoy reading books about “canonized” saints, let us not forget that there are living saints in our midst today. St. Paul spoke of the early Christians as “God’s chosen ones, his saints” (Col 3:12). Those same words apply to us. Saints strive to be an inspiration to one another in our faith.
Inviting our new members to share moments of their faith journey into the Church will 1) definitely inspire the people in the pews, 2) help our new members feel more a part of the faith community, and 3) bond the parish community together in closer relationship. Faith stories do that by their very nature because God is their source and our Trinitarian God delights in bringing people together into more intimate community. Thus, the Church proclaims the great stories of our faith in the Liturgy of the Word to keep us connected to our spiritual roots and our spiritual ancestors. Their experiences illumine our experiences of God today. Recalling ancient experiences enables us to remember the God who is forever, “I AM.”
When the assembly hears how God has led our new members to faith, they will be touched emotionally and in their faith. Individuals or parishes may slowly let go of an attitude of “Thank God we don’t have to go through that RCIA experience.”
The witness stories of our new members can strengthen and re-awaken a deeper awareness of God’s presence and action in us “cradle Catholics.” Through them, we may be able to learn once again how to listen to God’s call and recognize the Spirit’s inspirations. The Spirit molds us into a new creation both individually and as Church. The Spirit calls us to be God’s People, who live differently than the world, for we have died to sin in baptism. We belong now to Christ and God fills us with his very own Spirit to live a new life.
The witness stories of our new members will help us become aware of God’s action in the daily routine of our lives. We will be retuned to recognize the Good Shepherd’s call and share in his abundant life by responding to him. We must not overlook the importance of the personal witness our new members can offer to the renewal of our parish membership. They are, after all, the Lord’s newest gift to our parishes, which does not mean “an increase in the monetary collection or their involvement in the various ministries of the Church.” Their first ministry is to witness the presence of the risen Lord Jesus in their life to the community. This can bring about a renewal in the life of every parish that learns how to creatively deal with presenting this “Good News” to their parishioners.
Therefore, the RCIA ritual tells us that this time of faith sharing during Easter is of “great significance for both our new members and the rest of the faithful” (paragraph 246). Our parishes need only to discover how significant it is and how we can imaginatively develop the Easter Season in our parishes as set forth in the wisdom of the RCIA ritual.