July 31, Feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola
At Mass today the presider talked about the gifts St. Ignatius and the Jesuits have brought to the church... and the gifts St. Alphonsus Liguori (whose feast will be celebrated tomorrow) and the Redemptorists have brought, and the gifts brought by the Dominicans, including St. Thomas Aquinas whose song we sang at the end of Mass, and the gifts of the Benedictines, one of whom he quoted in the homily. Someone mentioned afterwards he was very ecumenical. It reminded me of the people in our small church communities: diverse backgrounds and talents and interests, all with so much to offer, serving and inspiring one another, deepening our faith and bringing us to more life. All for the greater glory of God!
July 20
Tomorrow our small church community will be looking at the session on Mother Teresa in "Great Twentieth Century Catholics." Not only has Mother Teresa started on the way to sainthood since the booklet was published in 2006, but she was also the center of a great deal of discussion last year when it was revealed that she had suffered through a "dark night of the soul" for 50 years - that is, she had no real spiritual consolations to strengthen and inspire her, and that at times she may have questioned her faith.
Surely this is a topic to include in any discussion of Mother Teresa's life. My own take is one of outright admiration for the woman. That she was able to provide such profound assistance to the poor and touch the hearts of so much of the world is inspirational. That she did it "in the dark," with no real certainty that she was following the will of God for herself and her nuns - this, to me, shows both strength and courage. Perhaps it's also consoling to know that if we never once have a mystical experience, never once sense the presence of the Spirit, never once hear the voice of God telling us what to do - then we are not alone. Even a person as saintly as Mother Teresa never had those consolations.
And always, this meeting will be a reminder to pray for the poor and to actively work to help the poor. With so many people suffering economically in our own country, perhaps including ourselves or someone in our small church community, we have many opportunities to serve.
July 12
From John Paul II's Apostolic Exhortation Christifideles laici, Dec. 30, 1988:
“…the various group forms of the apostolate can represent for many a precious help for the Christian life in remaining faithful to the demands of the gospel and to the commitment to the Church's mission and the apostolate.
Beyond this, the profound reason that justifies and demands the lay faithful's forming of lay groups comes from a theology based on ecclesiology, as the Second Vatican Council clearly acknowledged in referring to the group apostolate as a ‘sign of communion and of unity of the Church of Christ’(106).”
July 1
Our new small church community met yesterday in our home. What an enriching experience! Eight people who'd never participated in that kind of group met, shared, prayed and were enthusiastic about this new dimension of faith. We followed the meeting (from "Great 20th Century Catholics") about Dorothy Day; our consensus was we'd love to meet and have lunch with her, but it would be very demanding to be her friend...
With the simple ice-breaking question, "Why did you join this group," the participants offered deep wisdom. One said later she'd known almost everyone there for many years - and learned something brand new about them because of what they said during the small church community gathering. What a blessing small groups are!
June 24 - Feast of St. John the Baptist
A new feature for this website: an ongoing blog, updated frequently, with quotes and thoughts on small groups/ small church communities/ small faith communities/ small Christian communities.
Pope John Paul II, speaking to American bishops, Oct. 2, 1993:
"Likewise, the growth of small Christian communities especially within the boundaries of parishes is both a means of formation for lay people and an impetus for mission to the world. In most cases these communities serve to enliven parish life..."
Small groups for small parishes?
In our new parish, located in a town of 384 people, 12 adults signed up for a summer small church community that will meet weekly through Aug. 4. Members of the group, including the pastor and our brand new deacon, will study "Great 20th Century Catholics" (see outline in the "Small Group Guides" menu at left). Our promotional flyers said, "Explore your faith with some fascinating guides," and few Catholics of any century are more interesting than Dorothy Day, Pope John XXIII, Thomas Merton, Henri Nouwen and Mother Teresa. All have so much to say to today's Catholic Christian who seeks a deeper relationship with God, borne out in a more fruitful life of service.
ARE YOU STARTING NEW SMALL GROUPS IN YOUR PARISH?
A new small group needs time and effort to build trust and commitment, and of course the first few meetings are crucial. They are a time to get to know each other in the group, perhaps a time to understand what the small group experience is all about, a time to share – tentatively at first – a little about what is meaningful to us in our lives of faith.
If your parish will have new small groups beginning this fall, take a look at "Making Connections," a six-meeting series for beginning groups. Its meetings are entitled "Making Connections," "Knowing Ourselves," "Knowing Jesus," "Becoming Jesus – Church," "Becoming Jesus – Eucharist" and "Becoming Jesus – Mission." These start-up meetings offer a relaxed format for meeting other people in the group, review what small groups are all about, delve into some aspects of the Catholic Christian faith and explore new dimensions of living the faith today. Meeting Six concludes with Blessed Mother Teresa's beautiful words, "You are God's Good News. You are God's love in action." Discussion questions throughout this guide are geared to the person who is new to faith-sharing; they are non-threatening and interesting, and have produced fruitful discussions in a variety of groups. Check out the meeting-by-meeting synopsis in the drop-down guide at the left for more information.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
The comment in the last few sentences above reminded me that you will never (I hope!) find a "confessional" question in any of the Gathered In His Name meeting guides. The group does not need to know "What's the worst thing you've ever done in your life?" or "What are you most repentant of during this Lenten season?"
Instead I tried to include questions that are thought-provoking and that connect the Gospel (and other Scriptures) to everyday life. And it is from struggling with those questions that we truly grow.
COMING IN SEPTEMBER: AN ARTICLE ON SMALL GROUPS AND THE ADULT INITIATION PROCESS IN 'CATECHUMENATE' MAGAZINE
Check the September, 2008, issue of Catechumenate magazine for my article entitled, "Initiation and Small Church Communities: An Intersection of Grace." It talks about how RCIA and small church communities can nurture and strengthen each other.
STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION!
This website is still under construction. As it develops, it will include more information on my published materials, as well as ideas that worked for our parish and others. I hope these resources will help you nurture your small group, RCIA, adult faith and social justice parish ministries – my passions through many years of parish work.
You are welcome to use the Gospel reflection questions (at the right on this home page) in any way you'd like, without attribution.
God bless you and the work you do.
Margo Doten
WHAT YOU'LL FIND HERE:
- At the top right of this page, see reflection questions for the Gospels of the next four Sundays (and sometimes for holidays or feastdays that come up during the week). Use them for fruitful discussions in your small groups.
- Discover more about the Gathered In His Name series for small church communities. Check the "Small Group Guides" menu at left. You’ll find synopses and sample questions from each meeting of every title in the series.
- Soon you'll find additional leaders’ resources in the "Small Group Information" menu. These were ideas that could not be included in the Gathered In His Name "Leader’s Guide" because of space restrictions.
- Read articles I wrote for Church and Catechumenate magazines. Topics include RCIA sponsors, RCIA rituals, parish communications programs, leading a tour of the parish church/worship center, and “Faithful Citizenship” (written in 2004). You'll find them under the "Published Articles" menu.
- Keep coming back! The reflection questions will be updated regularly, and more material will be added as the site develops.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions or comments.