Recently, I had a conversation with Veronica LaPlant, the coordinator of our 7th-9th grade Confirmation-prep program. She and I were talking about the need to integrate practical-application and real-life scenarios into our formation programs. We both affirmed that, without this integration, our programs will fail—downright fail. Now, I know that statement might seem overly dramatic, but our assertion is founded in our years of experience with programs, homilies, and other “religious” events, where they were informational, yet not inspirational, relational, or connected to our everyday lives in any concrete way. That lack can mean all that anyone leaves with is an attitude of an “Isn’t that nice,” status quo, “I have no need to do anything about that message” impression of the content. That disconnect means church becomes a place where you go to “get a dose of God,” and when you leave, you go back to your life totally unchanged. The problem with that situation is the person caught in that cycle never grows in their faith. They mature and develop in other ways, while their concepts of God, prayer life, and faith, in general, remain stagnant. They are left unarmed to face the challenges in life. As I said before, there is a solution: If those in parish positions make sure to integrate concrete application into programs, it can help. There is, however, a flipside to that coin. We, the people in the pews, need to be open to the message and actually willing to do something about it!
To begin, we all need more than flowery words when we go to church. We are blessed to have some great homilists here at St. Therese, but I’m sure we can all think of those members of the clergy who present us with totally forgettable homilies. We can also think of formation events where our brains become numb with the sheer amount of content, yet that is all it is—a document dump of facts, and nothing more. In many ways, the above has been my experience in childhood and young adulthood, anyway. It sure feels different, however, when I am given a concrete challenge or an example of how someone was able to integrate Christian values into their life, with the expectation that I should, as well. Almost always, squirming in the pews is a really good thing for us. It means we are being called to think and reflect on our lives, assessing whether or not we live up to Jesus’ example and expectations.
That brings us to the second part of the equation. Are we open to the uncomfortable feelings that might come with hearing a challenging presentation, or do we immediately close our minds off by putting up barriers? For example, in my ministry, I welcome questions, and even challenges, about the sources of my information when giving a presentation, yet I have had people who have told me I wasn’t teaching what the Church teaches when I am pointing to a document that came directly from the Vatican! I’ve come to know they just aren’t ready to hear a message that is contrary to their assumptions, or faulty information they learned from an unreliable source. They close their minds and simply stop listening. Here is where I challenge you: Are you willing to listen when the message is uncomfortable? Many of Jesus’ messages caused his listeners to squirm and reject him. They are meant to challenge us, as well. Will we reject him and his message? I hope not! As one of my priest friends said, “We are called to be a different person in the pew tomorrow than we are today.” That difference only comes from being open to growth. Are you open to it?