How can the Catholic Church as church become more evangelical and what role might liturgy play in this effort? Most Catholics are not very familiar with the language of evangelization and tend to associate it more with conservative Protestantism. Yet Pope John Paul II has explicitly linked evangelization with liturgy and most liturgical scholars recognize that liturgy is itself evangelical. This essay will look at Catholics and evangelization and explore the relationship between liturgy and evangelization. Then we will look concretely at three successful parishes where worship has played a key role in developing a vital, evangelical community life.
It has to be acknowledged from the outset that the word"evangelical" does not trip lightly off a Catholic tongue. As Avery Dulles has noted, if fifty years ago someone had asked the question, "Can the Roman Catholic Church be evangelical," some Catholics and practically all Evangelicals would have answered with a "no." As he explains, "Protestant churches. . . could be churches of proclamation and evangelization, but the Catholic Church was a church of liturgy and law, centered on tradition, hierarchy, and sacraments."(1) Part of the problem was one of perception. Of course, one could argue that the Catholic Church since at least the sixteenth century had supported a strong commitment to missionary work. Yet too often this was seen as a special vocation, not a task of the whole church.
With the Second Vatican Council, the Catholic Church's understanding of its missionary task began to develop in a number of significant ways. First, the Council began a recovery of the word "evangelization" for Catholics. In contrast to Vatican I, which used the term "gospel" only once, Vatican II mentions the gospel 157 times, "evangelization" 31 times, and "evangelize" 18 times. Shortly after the Council ended, Pope Paul II changed the name of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith to the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and chose as the theme for the 1974 Synod of Bishops "the evangelization of the modern world."
Second, Pope Paul VI developed the concept of evangelization considerably. In Evangelii nuntiandi (1975), the great apostolic exhortation he issued after the Synod, Pope Paul stressed that cultures, not just individuals, need to be evangelized. And he emphasized that evangelization has a social dimension which involves human rights, family life, peace, justice, development, and liberation (no. 29). In the Pope's view, evangelization and liberation are linked because the person "who is to be evangelized is not an abstract being but is subject to social and economic questions" (no. 31). Thus there is a profound link in the Pope's view between evangelization and social justice. Pope John Paul II, building on his predecessor's teaching, has reaffirmed the place of works on behalf of justice in the church's evangelizing mission.
Finally, Pope John Paul II has called not just for the traditional mission ad gentes, but also for a "new evangelization."(2) Dulles lists the following four characteristics of the Pope's new evangelization. First, it calls for the participation of every Christian, not just clerics and religious. Second, in being directed to those who have lost a living sense of their faith, it is distinct from the foreign missions. Third, it seeks to evangelize not just individuals, but cultures. Fourth, it envisages a comprehensive Christianization, a lifelong process of deepening the life of faith that includes catechetical teaching, moral doctrine, and the social teaching of the church, one that can lead ultimately to a "civilization of love."(3)
But if the Church has moved dramatically since the council to refocus on evangelization as being at the heart of the church's mission, it remains true that many Catholics today are uncomfortable with a more evangelical language. It still sounds somewhat foreign, too "Protestant" or even "fundamentalist."
Perhaps even more surprising to many Catholics would be Pope John Paul's explicit linking of evangelization and liturgy. In 1988 he linked his call for a new evangelization to a renewal of church life. "Without doubt a mending of the Christian fabric of society is urgently needed in all parts of the world. But for this to come about what is needed is to first remake the Christian fabric of the ecclesial community itself present in these countries and nations."(4) In describing the comprehensive or total evangelization he envisions to the Puerto Rican bishops during their 1988 ad limina visit, he said: "Such a total evangelization will naturally have its highest point in an intense liturgical life which will make the parishes living ecclesial communities."(5)
But the average Catholic would have trouble putting the words liturgy and evangelization together. For them, evangelization means preaching, missionary work, going door to door to invite others to a new relationship with Christ. Evangelization is about bringing people to church; it is not what takes place in church. Stanley Hauerwas once said something similar from a Protestant perspective when he pointed to the difference between a revival and church: "You 'got saved' in the tent. Worship was what you did in the church. Evangelism was what you did in the tent."(6) I suspect that many Catholics, however unfamiliar with the tent tradition, would still judge the average, non liturgical Protestant service more "evangelical" than Sunday Mass, not to mention the new phenomenon of the "seeker churches," whose easy informality and "Jesus rock" music is designed to draw in the unchurched.
Yet scholars as diverse as Don Saliers, Regis Duffy, Mary Catherine Hilkert, and Hauerwas seem to echo the pope in arguing that liturgy is itself evangelical.(7) Hilkert writes that "Christians are both challenged and enabled by the liturgy to reform their lives, their society, and their church so that they might more deeply reflect the gospel of Jesus."(8)
But does this really happen? In a collection of essays evaluating a 1988 study of liturgical renewal in fifteen middle-class U.S. parishes, a number of the contributors raised questions about the relation between Sunday liturgy and daily life. Aidan Kavanagh found the "gathering rites" of welcome and hospitality which had developed in many parishes more reflective of middle-class culture and a "therapeutic" ecclesiology. "There is no prayer or Godward direction in this new 'rite of gathering'; it is a set of activities not ritually very different from the same procedures used when persons of middle-class society gather for any purpose."(9) Monika Hellwig welcomed the new involvement of the laity in the liturgy but questioned the sense that the real business of the church was liturgical worship, while "healing, reconciliation, and the service of practical human needs" was "for those with that particular charism or inclination."(10) John Baldovin commented on a tendency to look to liturgy for immediate gratification and a sense of community: "Overattention to intimacy and warmth also inhibits worshipers from experiencing sacramental action as God's gift rather than their own creation."(11)
Can an intense liturgical life transform parishes into communities of reconciliation and mission, and what might that mean in a North American context? How can the liturgy evangelize us as worshipers? Would we be more engaged as disciples of Jesus if we really saw blessing ourselves with Holy Water on entering church or taking part in the Rite of Sprinkling as a renewal of our baptismal vows? How many Catholics today could even explain those vows? What if the Penitential Rite became for each of us a real confession of sins? Would we be more attentive to social justice if we brought forward with our gifts food for the hungry in our communities? Would we be able to better articulate our faith if we recited the creed with more attention? Would we be more moved to seek reconciliation with those we've injured or with others from whom we've become estranged if saw the Sign of Peace as something more than a time of greeting or really understood that the Eucharist is the basic sacrament of reconciliation? How can we fail to learn the lesson of humble service when we participate in the Washing of Feet on Holy Thursday? And what if we really understood ourselves communally as the Body of Christ for the world?
In an earlier day in the United States, people were to a considerable degree shaped and formed by the neighborhood communities in which they grew up and lived. When their neighborhoods were still largely ethnic enclaves, church, ethnic background, and the extended family were all part of a common culture. But that kind of social cohesion has long ago disappeared. The old neighborhood is gone. Andrew Greeley has observed that parishes "are the religious counterparts of neighborhoods,"(12) or perhaps we could say, they are often the successor to the neighborhoods we once had.
In many parts of the U.S. today, it is not uncommon for people to "shop" for a parish that meets their needs. According to Archbishop Rembert Weakland, those that represent the largest group in his archdiocese of Milwaukee are looking for vital parishes with good liturgies and preaching, effective educational programs, and an ability to introduce their children to the riches of the faith.(13) They also want a sense of community which counterbalances the individualism, disconnectedness, and isolation of our contemporary secular culture.
What are the signs or indicators of a parish's vitality that might be considered signs of an evangelical effectiveness? I'd like to outline some criteria and then consider three very diverse Los Angeles parishes, each of which places a high priority on liturgy and preaching.(14) One is situated in an affluent Westside neighborhood, another in the decaying South Central part of the city, and one in an East Los Angeles housing project.
St. Monica's, an upscale parish in Santa Monica, California, is known throughout the archdiocese of Los Angeles as the premier parish for young adults. According to Charles Morris, who described St. Monica's in his book, American Catholic, the Sunday evening Mass there "looked like a Baywatch convention, packed with more than 1000 almost uniformly blond and tanned young adult singles and couples."(15) People come to St. Monica’s from all over the west side of Los Angeles. The classic styling and beauty of the church and the impeccably maintained facilities make a wonderful first impression on the visitor. A comprehensive website links the parish to the broader community.
St. Agatha's is a poor parish in South Central Los Angeles with mostly Hispanic and African American parishioners, though it also draws a diverse group from the Los Angeles area. Two of its six weekend Masses are celebrated in Spanish. There are 1600 households or members registered. It is listed in Paul Wilkes's book, Excellent Catholic Parishes.(16)
Dolores Mission, in the middle of the Pico-Aliso housing projects in East L.A., the largest housing project in the western U.S., is a Hispanic parish with many undocumented immigrants. As the parish is unable to keep a register, the number of families is not available. One staffer described the everyday experience of the parishioners as "crime, potential and actual violence, serious poverty, government relief, immigration, police and city agencies, unemployment, etc."
In the efforts to describe the evangelical effectiveness of these parish communities I will draw on two sources. First, Thomas Sweetser's offers a list of eleven indicators in his book, Successful Parishes: How They Meet the Challenge of Change.(17) Second, keeping in mind Peter Henriot's critique of the 1988 study of liturgical renewal in fifteen U.S parishes,(18) I will suggest that a good, evangelical liturgy should result in a higher level of social concern and service. Building on these works, I'd like to suggest the following six criteria for our review and look at our three parishes in light of them.
1. Vital Liturgy. Father Sweetser observes that for most parishioners, "the Mass will be their only contact with the parish or the Church."(19) Therefore, the quality of the liturgy is of first importance. Is it alive, involving the assembly, giving expression to a diversity of roles? Does it help foster a sense of community, and at the same time, maintain a sense for the transcendent? Does the music energize the assembly and sustain a dialogue of ritual action, prayer, and song? Does the preaching enlighten minds and touch hearts?
It is universally agreed that what draws people to St. Monica's is its liturgy. Some years ago the parish brought in consultants to assist in the development of their liturgical program. Today the parish has a vital, "pumped up" liturgy; people drive from all over Los Angeles to participate. My reporter described it as "well planned, professional, enthusiastic, and polished." Though there is a full complement of lay liturgical ministers, both men and women, the priest is no adjunct minister; he presides and preaches. All services are supported by cantors and/or choirs, and even Sunday celebrations of Baptism have lectors and ushers. The professional quality of the music "approaches the threshold of entertainment," but contributes to a liturgy which remains authentically prayerful. Because of parking and seating limitations, people begin gathering forty-five minutes before the popular Sunday evening liturgy.
Liturgy at St. Agatha's usually takes at least an hour and a half. Welcome signs and ministers abound. The buzz is deafening as people greet each other as friends. Before the opening procession, a lay minister leads the congregation in invoking the Holy Spirit on the assembly. The opening procession involves not just presider and liturgical ministers, but all present members of the pastoral council, accompanied by a rousing hymn and the church mother in the front pew shouting "Alleluia." The robed gospel choir is racially mixed. Homilies generally go about half an hour; powerful preaching, but very informal, often addressing by name various members of the congregation present. When the liturgy goes longer, the creed and some sung mass parts are skipped. No one leaves early and people are expected to stay afterwards for coffee and conversation. One question: does the exuberant liturgy leave any space for quiet and contemplation?
Liturgies at Dolores Mission are mostly in Spanish, standing room only, and one Mass in English. Though not up to standards of contemporary liturgists, the worship of the community and the strong influence of liberation theology themes clearly drive its many involvements. Music is simple but strong, with lyrics projected on an old movie screen. An emphasis on praxis is evident in the preaching. Only part of the assembly receives communion; the heart of Dolores Mission is its call to empowerment in response the community's daily experience of poverty and injustice.
2. Shared Ministry. Is the parish run from the top down by the pastor or by a small parish staff or is there a diversity of ministries that support its life? How are important decisions made? How many full-time and part-time ministers and how many programs and organizations does the parish have? Do parish ministers, ordained and non-ordained, have a sense for enabling the ministries of others in the community?
St. Monica's has a parish staff of twenty full-time paid lay ministers, including two pastoral associates who are women. Clergy include a ubiquitous pastor, an associate pastor, and two priests in residence. Charles Morris says that its pastor, Msgr. Lloyd Torgerson, is probably the best preacher he encountered in the considerable visiting of parishes across the country he did for his book, while the quality liturgy he provides in harmony with the great medieval liturgical tradition.(20)
St. Agatha's has a dynamic pastor, a lay pastoral associate, a permanent deacon, business manager, a "Director of Teaching Ministry," Confirmation Coordinator, Coordinator of Apostolado Hispano, Maintenance Manager, Administrative Secretary, Teaching and Hispanic Ministry Assistant, Music Minister, Nurse, Summer Day Camp Director. The style of leadership for what is considered the parish family is "collaborative." The pastor meets monthly with the pastoral council, a group that represents the many different communities, interests, and cultures of the larger parish. Standing committees are responsible for individual spiritual formation, community building, and outreach. No major decisions are reached without the consent of the entire parish.
Dolores Mission's ministry has four Jesuit priests on staff, an administrator, school principle, religious education director, coordinator for the base communities, youth director, and an executive director of Proyecto Pastoral. The ministry of the parish is shared through the fifteen or more base communities the parish hosts.
3. Adult Faith Development. Do members of the congregation gather to share their faith, take part in Scripture study groups or adult education programs? Are they moving towards an adult understanding of their faith and a mature spirituality? Are they taking an active part in the life and direction of the parish?
St. Monica's sponsors an incredible variety of programs on prayer, spirituality, and adult education, using some of the best speakers in the archdiocese. Most of these take place on Sundays, as many people commute great distances and could not be there during the week. Each month courses are offered on topics such as Celtic spirituality, Jewish-Catholic dialogue, contemplative prayer, and Christian meditation. For returning Catholics, a course called "Checking out the Church" is regularly scheduled over a six-week cycle.
St. Agatha’s has numerous faith development and catechetical programs. Four times each month there are preparation programs for infant baptism, in Spanish and English. Couples planning to be married must meet with the pastor six months before the celebration. On Saturday mornings there are programs for 300 junior high and high school students in the public schools as well as family catechesis classes in Spanish for their parents, with 50 to 75 attending each Saturday. Quinceaneras, a Mexican tradition for the coming of age of 15 year old girls, are celebrated as an opportunity to evangelize them. Confirmation classes are held twice a month; high school students and adults must attend. Special programs for the Spanish-speaking include "Mary's Angels," a program for young girls focussed on human and Christina formation; Marriage Encounter, a Thursday evening Bible Study, Young Adult Group, Charismatic Prayer group, and several small faith community groups for evangelization, Scripture and faith sharing.
4. RCIA/Full Communion. The parish RCIA program can be a very effective indicator of a parish's evangelical vitality. How many are preparing for Baptism or for reception into the church? Is the RCIA program supported by the prayers and interest of the parish members?
St. Monica's has 80-90 candidates for baptism and reception into the church each year; this Easter (2001) over 120 were baptized or received into the church at the Easter Vigil. One staff member described the parish as a "welcome back church." The parish staffs each week a "Welcome Table" for visitors and newcomers to the parish who meet staff members and learn about the various programs available. Those who leave their names and phone numbers are called within the week. The daughter of the graduate student who did the survey was so impressed with her visit that she signed up herself. The Welcome Table is set up even after baptisms. Because of this program, the parish recently registered its 2000nth new household. The parish also has an evangelization coordinator who has a master plan for evangelization designed by a parish committee.
St. Agatha's had 17 candidates this year; 3 adults (English speaking) and 14 children who are catechumens, all of whom are bilingual.
Dolores Mission does not have an RCIA program because no one comes for it. Most living within the parish boundaries are nominal Catholics. Evangelization means trying to reach the unchurched at significant moments for individuals or families (quinceaneras, first communions, etc.) and encouraging them to become involved in the community.
5. Community Outreach. What programs does the parish have for the poor and the disadvantaged, particularly those in the local community? Does it cooperate with and share programs with other churches and organizations in the neighborhood? Is it active in the ecumenical and interreligious efforts of the diocese?
Though Santa Monica is an upscale community, it has a very large homeless population. The graduate student who visited there said that he had heard stories of "life enriching experiences" with the homeless the community seeks to serve. With such a large group, St. Monica's has joined a consortium with other churches in the community. The pastor works with three other parishes to serve the disadvantaged. According to the Archdiocesan report, "Together in Mission," St. Monica's has the highest level of giving for the Archdiocesan annual campaign, based on a published goal based on a percentage of the total parish income during the previous year.
With its central city location, St. Agatha's sponsors numerous outreach ministries. To keep children away the often violent streets, the parish runs a Summer Day Camp from the end of June to the end of August. Accredited by the American Camping Association, it offers a full program, including a Wednesday field trip for children from kindergarten through 8th grade. Older children participate as junior counselors or counselors-in-training. Cost is $125/week, with financial assistance for families who cannot afford it. The Clinica QueensCare offers basic medical care for a $5 donation, pap smears and breasts exams for women, prostate exams for men. There is a tutoring ministry on Tuesday evenings and Saturdays for children to help elementary and high school children with their homework. The community assists the St. Peter Claver Center with a monthly food drive, a special Thanksgiving collection, and a Christmas "Adopt-a-Family" program. "S.H.A.R.E." (St. Agatha Hands Are Reaching Everywhere) provides an annual Christmas dinner for the homeless, as well as gifts, services, and companionship.
Community Outreach for Dolores Mission is focussed through two groups. Community in Action (CEA) is the community's grassroots organizing arm. CEA has succeeded in a number of initiatives: increasing the police presence at the Pico-Aliso housing projects by over one hundred officers, closing alleys, having speed bumps installed to deter drive-by shootings, and having the storm drains and sewers cleaned. It also holds information sessions on welfare and immigrant rights. It organizes caminatas or peace marches after acts of violence, gang shootings, or to raise consciousness on immigrant or housing issues. There are about thirty of these caminatas a year, plus one every Friday night to make three of the Stations of the Cross on the streets of the neighborhood.
Another very successful ministry is the Guadalupe Homeless Project (GHP). GHP helps the largely male immigrants who come to Los Angeles without jobs, providing temporary shelter in the church at night and showers. The women of the parish take turns providing hot meals. GHP also immigrants find longer term housing, provides access to medical service job referrals, and information of workers' rights, legal aid and referral, weekly classes in English, and classes on the prevention of venereal disease.
There is also a very significant outreach to young people from the parish, many of whom are involved in gangs, in the Los Angeles juvenile hall facility. The emphasis is on prayerful reflection on their experience, using the Sunday readings and meditations written by Michael Kennedy, S.J., Dolores Mission's pastor.(21)
6. Welcoming the Marginal. In all parish communities there are many who do not "fit in," among them youth, single adults, the divorced, shut-ins, inactive Catholics, gays and lesbians, immigrants, the poor. Do people from these groups find a welcome? Are there specific programs to meet their needs? How are visitors welcomed and invited to become involved? Is there an outreach to inactive Catholics in the community? Sweetser asks, "Can people have a loose association with the parish and still feel they belong there?"(22)
The members of pastoral team at St. Monica's place a high priority on meeting people's needs; this is their pastoral vision. Those needs are very different. Half of the congregation is on the liberal side, half very conservative. The young people in the parish tend to be politically conservative, but are more progressive on church issues. They want to see things change, and often become more progressive on social issues as they become involved in parish activities. A priest on staff described St. Monica's as having a "hidden diversity consisting of separated, divorced, homosexual, and other categories of people who don't feel particularly welcome in their home parish." One Lesbian couple reported that they were turned away by four other parishes before St. Monica's welcomed their child for baptism. It is one parish where openly paired gay couples can be seen. The Parish Directory lists roughly forty widely diverse ministries and projects. They have a Bible study, a charismatic prayer group, and the Legion of Mary as well as a ministry for divorced and separated Catholics, a Young Ministering Adults group, a gay and lesbian outreach, an AIDS ministry, an Older Adults Ministry, in addition to the usual liturgical, music, religious education, and retreat ministries.
St. Agatha's is a richly diverse community, with many mixed race families and children. The gay and lesbian community is obviously welcome. It has a Bereavement Ministry for families which have experienced the loss of a loved one and another to bring the sick and homebound the Eucharist. The Golden Agers provides opportunities for seniors to take a more active life in the community.
The Dolores Mission Alternative School serves fifty or more marginal students, among them, teenage mothers or gang members on probation. The Jobs for a Future, directed by Father Greg Boyle, S.J., helps gang members or other young people "at risk" by providing job training and placement, as well as operating a number of businesses: Homeboy Bakery, Homeboy Silkscreening, Homeboy Production Cleaning Services (for movie sets) and Homeboy Artesiana. It also offers free tattoo removal in conjunction with a local hospital. The Dolores Mission Women's Cooperative Child Care Center offers day care as well as classes for adults in early childhood education for certification, college-level English, ESL and mathematics. Imaginando Mañana (Imagining Tomorrow) offers a variety of programs aimed at preventing gang violence among the four gangs battling for turf in the neighborhood.
A concern about lackluster liturgies and ineffective preaching should not blind us to the many successful parishes across the country, as Paul Wilkes illustrates in his new book.(23) The communities we have considered here represent the rich diversity of Los Angeles. Two of them experience daily the poverty, violence, and crime of their inner city neighborhoods. But in each, a care for both liturgy and preaching has played a major role in developing them as vital communities of faith, worship, and service. They are indeed, to paraphrase Pope John Paul II, living ecclesial communities, sustained by an intense liturgical life. They are indeed successful instruments for evangelization. Perhaps we won't have to go to the tent.