Neo-Catechumenal Way

[nagyszakall]

But if I were to say…what does the CC teach about…x…any priest could and would answer me without saying…“well come and see…”

If I do a search online for the CCC…I can find it…read it as I want by topic…

I can go to a bookstore and find the CCC…and read it all will.

So…yes…you will have to come and listen first…and not in writing…ya…is a little suspect and seems cloaked in secrecy to me… Even the fact that you would make someone listen first without putting in writing is suspect IMHO. What you refered me to is no different then what I found when I was trying to research them which does not REALLY telling me doctronially what they are teaching. Clear as mud… So your comparison with the catechism is not a good one at all.

I am sorry I couldn’t clarify for you the question of secrecy.:nope:

 

[Corki]

You have a great parish. We have these things in mine too, except we call it different names. CCE for example (if I understood correctly what it means) is called catechism classes. Looks like normal parish life. I have yet to see someone who is taken away from these things (or segregated) because of attending Mass with the neocatechumenal community. You surely must have seen something like that, but I haven’t.

We don’t have NCW in our parish, but in the ones near us that do, the NCW members do not attend regular Sunday Mass or participate in other Sunday activities such as CCE (catechism class). They have their own catechism classes for children and adults. They are pretty much a separate community.

 

[Earthen_Vessel]

We don’t have NCW in our parish, but in the ones near us that do, the NCW members do not attend regular Sunday Mass or participate in other Sunday activities such as CCE (catechism class). They have their own catechism classes for children and adults. They are pretty much a separate community.

Corki, do you believe that the Holy Spirit gives rise to different charisms within the Church? Consider that the Neocatechumenal Way is first and foremost evangelistic. It is somewhat different because many of the brothers and sisters in the communities, though not all, were far from the Church and have returned. So meetings and liturgical celebrations are geared to bring back the far off and provide a solid Catholic Christian formation. It is not for everyone, and anyone is free to attend or not. But its role in the parish is to provide a place for the far away from the faith to come back and be catechized and to provide a way to reach such brothers and sisters.

It’s important to know the reason for things.

 

[Annabelle_Marie]

Corki, do you believe that the Holy Spirit gives rise to different charisms within the Church? Consider that the Neocatechumenal Way is first and foremost evangelistic. It is somewhat different because many of the brothers and sisters in the communities, though not all, were far from the Church and have returned. So meetings and liturgical celebrations are geared to bring back the far off and provide a solid Catholic Christian formation. It is not for everyone, and anyone is free to attend or not. But its role in the parish is to provide a place for the far away from the faith to come back and be catechized and to provide a way to reach such brothers and sisters.

It’s important to know the reason for things.

That’s interesting because we have a Catholics Can Come Home program and it provides for those to come back…without separating itself from the parish community…

I still don’t understand the reasoning for the seperate and sometimes very secretive community:shrug:

 

[Earthen_Vessel]

That’s interesting because we have a Catholics Can Come Home program and it provides for those to come back…without separating itself from the parish community…

I still don’t understand the reasoning for the seperate and sometimes very secretive community:shrug:

But that’s the point. It ISN’T separate. Nor is it secretive. And it doesn’t become part of a parish if that parish’s Pastor doesn’t invite the Neocatechumenal Way into it. Some Pastors do and some don’t, but essentially, it’s a pastoral decision to bring it to his parish.

It has a specific evangelistic function as I mentioned in my last post, but it is not separate from the Parish. If teaching the brothers to mature in their Baptism is secretive, then that’s not really much of a secret.

Please allow me to ask a question as food for thought. If someone far from the Church, say someone who hasn’t darkened the door of a Church for years, or has no idea how to pray, or doesn’t know the meaning of the Cross, or penance, or the Eucharist, and I could go on and on, but if such a person is invited back to Church, would you throw everything about the faith at them at once? In the Neocatechumenal Way, it is a slow process to bring someone to a mature faith, hence not everything is thrown out there at once, but I can assure you from experience that what is taught is based on the Gospels and the Tradition of the Holy Catholic Church and the teaching of the Holy Father along with the Magesterium.

There are many ways to evangelize, as you already know since you mentioned your parish’s program. In fact my parish is exploring numerous ways to evangelize. The Neocatechumenal Way is just one. Frankly, I don’t know where everyone gets the ideas there are these ghastly secrets. It’s about living an authentic faith, the faith of our Baptism. No more, no less.

 

[Annabelle_Marie]

But that’s the point. It ISN’T separate. Nor is it secretive. And it doesn’t become part of a parish if that parish’s Pastor doesn’t invite the Neocatechumenal Way into it. Some Pastors do and some don’t, but essentially, it’s a pastoral decision to bring it to his parish.

It has a specific evangelistic function as I mentioned in my last post, but it is not separate from the Parish. If teaching the brothers to mature in their Baptism is secretive, then that’s not really much of a secret.

Please allow me to ask a question as food for thought. If someone far from the Church, say someone who hasn’t darkened the door of a Church for years, or has no idea how to pray, or doesn’t know the meaning of the Cross, or penance, or the Eucharist, and I could go on and on, but if such a person is invited back to Church, would you throw everything about the faith at them at once? In the Neocatechumenal Way, it is a slow process to bring someone to a mature faith, hence not everything is thrown out there at once, but I can assure you from experience that what is taught is based on the Gospels and the Tradition of the Holy Catholic Church and the teaching of the Holy Father along with the Magesterium.

There are many ways to evangelize, as you already know since you mentioned your parish’s program. In fact my parish is exploring numerous ways to evangelize. The Neocatechumenal Way is just one. Frankly, I don’t know where everyone gets the ideas there are these ghastly secrets. It’s about living an authentic faith, the faith of our Baptism. No more, no less.

I get the secretative idea from when I ask them about it, all I get is…“well, you will have to come and see”,really? I have to sit through 4 hours a week just to “see”? That sounds secrative to me. Especially when I try and research them on the internet and get no real answers. With the Catecism I can find out immediately. That’s where I get the idea of secrative…

I sure as heck wouldn’t throw 4 hours a week at a returning Catholic…just saying…

 

[nagyszakall]

We don’t have NCW in our parish, but in the ones near us that do, the NCW members do not attend regular Sunday Mass or participate in other Sunday activities such as CCE (catechism class). They have their own catechism classes for children and adults. They are pretty much a separate community.

I am a bit delayed in replying. I was away from the computer for some time (a healthy thing, I recommend it to anyone)
So “Neocatechumenal CCE” as far as I know, does not exist. Those nearby parishes, which you speak of, are doing something peculiar to that parish or neighborhood and not following a general practice of the NCW in that regard (that is not to say there is anything wrong with it necessarily; presumably the parish priest sees it fit to organize separate CCE for them). As for the individual parishioners who avail of the rediscovery of faith that the parish offers through the NCW, that all of them never attend any other liturgy or other gathering of the parish, is hard for me to believe, but if you are certain of it, again, I would say, it must be a rather peculiar situation and definitely does not happen in many parishes. Usually, people make the mistake of not considering those parishioners who keep attending the same things after joining the Neocatechumenal community which they have been attending before.

 

[Earthen_Vessel]

I get the secretative idea from when I ask them about it, all I get is…“well, you will have to come and see”,really? I have to sit through 4 hours a week just to “see”? That sounds secrative to me. Especially when I try and research them on the internet and get no real answers. With the Catecism I can find out immediately. That’s where I get the idea of secrative…

I sure as heck wouldn’t throw 4 hours a week at a returning Catholic…just saying…

4 hours a week are NOT immediately thrown at a returning Catholic. There is an 8 week catechesis (2 nights each week for ONE hour per session) that people are invited to.

As far as the “Come and see,” response you get when asking questions, I would say two things. First, I wouldn’t expect a regular person involved in the Neocatechumenal Way to give you a theological dissertation on it. Not saying you are, but some people who think they know a lot about the Catholic faith expect that. Second, many people on the NCW are there because they’ve had an EXPERIENCE of Jesus Christ, and hence you can’t really describe it well in words. It’s like if you go on a fantastic Mediterranean vacation and you go and tell someone about it who wasn’t there. They won’t really appreciate the way you did because you experienced it, not them. What you’d probably say is, “Friend, if you can swing it, you must go and experience this trip sometime.” That’s why people say, “Come and see.” Not because of some secret.

By the way, the canonnically approved statutes of the Neocatechumenal Way are available on Amazon for anyone who wants to see them or on the official NCW website. They pretty much lay it out for anyone who wants to know.

 

[maryjk]

4 hours a week are NOT immediately thrown at a returning Catholic. There is an 8 week catechesis (2 nights each week for ONE hour per session) that people are invited to.

As far as the “Come and see,” response you get when asking questions, I would say two things. First, I wouldn’t expect a regular person involved in the Neocatechumenal Way to give you a theological dissertation on it. Not saying you are, but some people who think they know a lot about the Catholic faith expect that. Second, many people on the NCW are there because they’ve had an EXPERIENCE of Jesus Christ, and hence you can’t really describe it well in words.** It’s like if you go on a fantastic Mediterranean vacation and you go and tell someone about it who wasn’t there. They won’t really appreciate the way you did because you experienced it, not them. ** What you’d probably say is, “Friend, if you can swing it, you must go and experience this trip sometime.” That’s why people say, “Come and see.” Not because of some secret.

By the way, the canonnically approved statutes of the Neocatechumenal Way are available on Amazon for anyone who wants to see them or on the official NCW website. They pretty much lay it out for anyone who wants to know.

This is sounding more and more like Cursillo. Someone here compared it to a trip to Disney.

Both sound secretive for the sake of being secretive. Kind of like those cliques of high school girls all whispering in the bathroom about a boy. :dts: Not interested.