September 2003
"Are you saved?"
Questions of
Conversion
Part 1
"Are you saved?"
This question sometimes comes at Catholics out of the blue,
puzzling and agitating us. Some argue this is
because
our religious culture doesn't use that type of
terminology. We have had the experience through Baptism, and our "yes" of
faith, but do not think of these experiences as "being saved". Others say
that Catholics are private people, unaccustomed to sharing about their faith
publicly. Still others suggest that Catholics are uncomfortable with the
question because many of us have not personally experienced the gift of
salvation in Christ.
Regardless of what "are you saved?" might mean
(and it means different things for different Christians), the question
itself raises for Catholics the issue of conversion. Over the next few
months I would like to consider just that: What role does conversion play in
catechesis? What role should it play? How do we make ongoing
conversion the heart and soul of everything that we do?
"Remembering where we're parked"
One of my favorite movie lines is
from Star Trek.
Captain Kirk, as he a disembarks from a spaceship in the middle of San
Francisco, calls over his shoulder to members of the crew, "Now, let's
remember where we parked..." Those words come to mind as I read the
following quote from the General Directory for Catechesis:
The Christian faith is, above all, conversion to
Jesus Christ, full and sincere adherence to his person and the decision to
walk in his footsteps.
General Directory for Catechesis 53.
No matter what age level we catechize,
conversion should be our first concern. This lends an "evangelizing"
tone to everything we do. The GDC mentions three groups of people in need of
conversion:
-
Non-Christians who have not received the
Gospel message. The Church must reach out to them with missionary activity.
Conversion here means a basic turning towards Christ.
-
Baptized Christians who are actively living
their faith. These people need formation that leads them to
ongoing and deepening conversion.
-
Baptized Christians who do not have or who
have lost a sense of faith.
This third group represents a large portion of those whom we see in the pews
on Sunday, or even those who do not attend church, but still consider
themselves Catholics and Christians. This group lies somewhere
between the first two in terms of conversion. While they may have heard the
initial proclamation of faith, they need to "hear it again for the first
time." Outreach to this group has been called the "New
Evangelization". (GDC 58)
Questions of Conversion
In our day-to-day ministry, it is
easy to get caught up in programs and processes, and to lose track of
people. Every day we meet people from all three groups mentioned above.
Are we ministering to their needs?
-
Are we stirring non-believers to faith?
-
Are we inspiring active believers to grow
further?
-
Are we helping baptized Christians who have lost
a sense of faith to discover or rediscover Jesus Christ?
In this series, I will suggest that teaching,
preaching and ministering for conversion is about personal, preferably
face-to-face conversations. How do we use conversations to make our
ministry one of "evangelizing catechesis?"
Next month, we will consider how to build
conversations of faith into our welcoming of new families.
Chris Weber
Director,
Catholic Education Ministries of Central Maryland
301-447-3707
Copyright © 2003 by the Catholic Education
Ministries Center of Central Maryland, Emmitsburg, MD 21727. All rights reserved.
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