Our Lady of Lourdes Church and School

Last week we considered the theme of discipleship and what it means for us. As part of our initial reflections, we observed “The baptizing and teaching that accompanies this work of making disciples is carried out by the Church in all manner of ways, and it is for us here at Our Lady of Lourdes to discern how we can best do it in our own time, two millennia later.” This week, I’d like us to focus a little more on how we have traditionally done this work in our Church.

In a traditional model of parish life, most of our growing in faith is built around the sacramental life of our community. Not surprisingly, then, most (though not all) of the the opportunities we have in our parish for learning a little more about Jesus, the Church, and our own faith, are directly connected to preparation for receiving a sacrament.

In preparing for the Sacrament of Matrimony, we have certified counsellors who are trained in the use of the FOCCUS pre-marriage instrument. This is used along with regular marriage preparation for a couple choosing a Christ-centered, Catholic marriage experience.

For those parents who are looking to baptize a child, we share the excitement of new life and we make available a pre-baptism preparation session for parents and god-parents, outlining the basic church teaching about the sacrament, the expectations the community of faith has of parents and god-parents as we baptize their infants into the community, and encouragement of parents as they begin an amazing new chapter in their lives.

Our Confirmation preparation program follows Archdiocesan guidelines and involves a two-year period of preparation for high-school aged members of the community. We also have a separate preparation for Adults who have received other sacraments, but for whatever reasons may have missed the opportunity to celebrate Confirmation.

First Eucharist preparation takes place within our Religious Education program and within our School, as does preparation for First Reconciliation or Confession.

The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) prepares adults for reception of the sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, Confirmation and First Eucharist). There is an adapted RCIA for those who are not yet adults.

Holy Orders is kept in our awareness by the work of Larry and Sylvia Maloney who invite us to prayer every month, particularly for vocation to the priesthood and religious life. The Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick generally takes place when and where needed, but doesn’t really get any “preparation” other than life itself.

In all of this, I wonder if we are preparing people to receive sacrament, or if we are preparing people for a life of discipleship of Jesus? Do we presume that just because someone receives their sacraments that they also grow into discipleship of the Lord and Savior of our lives? What are we not providing by way of opportunities for ongoing faith development? Are there needs that have emerged within our community that have not been traditionally part of what we offer, and do we need to begin to explore different opportunities for growing in faith at different life-stages? Equipping people for discipleship involves engagement in the core truths of the teaching of Jesus as we find it in the gospels, and at the same time reflection on our lived experience as a people of faith through the generations. Constant attention to and care for the emerging needs of a growing and changing parish would seem to require of us that we are always open to adapting and growing in this area of our supporting one another in our discipleship.