Mission Week: Anything wrong with these ideas?

[DL82]

Dear All,

I’ve just come to the Catholic Church after a long period in Evangelical protestant Christianity. I’ve found the riches of the Church such a wonderful blessing, and can’t believe I ever lived without them.

I’ve been thinking about trying to set up a mission week/fortnight with some Catholic friends at my University’s Catholic chaplaincy. Before I suggest anything though, I want to be sure I’m not making a mess of things, or introducing errors from my protestant past into the Catholic church. As I’m a bit older than most of the other students, and have quite an intellectual tone, I’m aware that my ideas often carry more weight than they ought to, so I don’t want to make any suggestions that might lead us down the wrong path.

So anyway, I was thinking:

One of the greatest treasures the Catholic Church has is the Church Fathers. The office of readings gives an opportunity for good missionary preaching, and lets the word take centre-stage. Unlike the mass, it’s not divisive between Catholics and non-Catholics. I was thinking the group could have the office of readings every lunch-time before our University mass, inviting different people to prepare a mission talk on the theme of the readings, and then have time to talk with people over coffee (us serving coffee, them drinking it) before mass, which non-Catholics could join us for or not, as they feel comfortable.

Just how informal can the office of readings be? We wouldn’t necessarily have to have it in Church, we could hold it in a meeting room or a coffee lounge, right? Should the office be led by a priest or deacon, and the talk given by the same, or could we lead it ourselves as students? The less threatening we can make things, the better. Or am I wrong about that? Should we be making the office as reverent and as holy and as beautiful as possible, at the expense of accessibility?

Another treasure of the Church is the liturgical calendar. The Kingdom Season begins shortly after students have returned from their summer vacation, so what better time to talk about Christ and His Church.

Finally, one thing I’m bringing in from Evangelical tradition: the altar call. Of course, we can’t have an ‘altar call’ in the way the protestants do, i.e. ‘pray the prayer, then you’re a Catholic’, but what we could do is have an altar call to Mary, the seat of all wisdom. Pray a prayer at the end of the mission week mass, committing yourself to Mary’s protection, asking her to show us to the blessed fruit of her womb, Jesus, in other words, asking her to teach us about the Church. That prayer would be a commitment to come to RCIA and find out more about the Catholic Church, with a view to joining at Easter.

What do you think? Good ideas? Bad ideas? Worth talking to other students and our priest about?

 

[DallasCatholic]

I am curious as to where you have gotten the idea that the Office of Readings is about preaching? I always thought the Office of Readings was part of the Liturgy of the Hours.

 

[John_Lilburne]

The Office of Readings is official liturgy. From the General Instruction of the Liturgy of the Hours:
“254. … In every celebration with the people, a priest or deacon should normally preside, and there should also be ministers present.” Number 255 explains the vestments he should wear.
“258 When there is no priest or deacon, the person who presides is only one among equals; he does not enter the sanctuary, nor does he greet or bless the people.”
(Divine Office, published by E.J. Dwyer, Sydney, 1974, ISBN 085574233X).

A short homily is clearly an option for Morning and Evening Prayer: “47 In celebrations with the people, a brief homily may be added to explain the reading.” But the corresponding description of the Office of Readings does not have this. Instead on particular days, according to n. 68:" the Te Deum is said after the second reading with its responsory". But the Ceremonial of Bishops has in Chapter 4 “OFFICE OF READINGS”: “215. … As circumstances suggst, the bishop gives a homily.” So I conclude a homily is permitted. But I would see it as something given by the presiding priest.

So perhaps a talk, catechesis, meeting or popular devotion would be a better way to organise this.

 

[Eilish_Maura]

I think you need to clarify just who it is you are trying to reach and what you hope this will be a stepping stone to.

 

[ccfbob]

The “alter calls” in Catholic terms you refer to I believe would be “Acts of Consecration”. I have participated in them with respect to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and our Lady of Czestochowa. :bowdown: There are many more out there based upon your particular devotion.

Please also do remember at the beginning of every Mass, we confess our sins and then are called to the alter “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Happy are those who are called to His Supper.”

God’s Love,
Bob

 

[jonnyws]

As a committee member of a University Catholic Society we always find that the most important mission work we do is to Catholics who are lapst or have just left home for the first time and are unsure how to practice a faith without their family dragging them along to Mass.

We see it as our calling to find these people, show them what we do (we have morning prayer every day, Mass three times a week, a prayer night, a Bible study and a talk on some aspect of the faith all once each week as well. not to mention a social on the Sunday night) Besides showing them what we do it’s a matter of making people feel part of the community as quickly as possible. Get to know them, see them outside of the organised events as a friend. You can tell people about events and bring them along as much as you want but unless a community form’s it’s hard to to drift away when things are tough.

We find that if we do this then the real mission work to non-believers takes care of itself. People talk to their housemates, bring them along to socials and, where possible, show them the Liturgy. This is all done informally, if we minister to the people in the Church, build them up and bring them together then they carry the light of Christ out to others far more effectivly than we ever could. I know it work’s because I’m one of those converts myself.

If you want to talk about any of the events we run as a university chaplaincy or swap ideas or just talk about how to reach out to young people then feel free to get in contact with me. But truthfully the most important thing to remember is that Liturgy is the heart beat of your community, be it Mass or the Offices, and that that heart beat drives us the furthest when we come together as one body not only in the Liturgy but in our daily lives as well.