Archdiocese’s vision plan to make disciples must be rooted in Eucharist, Archbishop Rozanski says
Jesus had just 12 apostles who brought His message of Good News to the world. Imagine the evangelization that could happen through the hundreds of people from the Archdiocese of St. Louis attending the National Eucharistic Congress.
That question was on Archbishop Mitchell T. Rozanski’s mind while in Indianapolis for the five-day congress, featuring liturgies, eucharistic adoration, speakers, activities for all ages and more. About 700 people from the Archdiocese of St. Louis are estimated to be in attendance.
“That’s very inspiring to me to know that so many would take the time and the effort to be here, to give honor to our eucharistic Lord, to be united in our faith, to be inspired by our faith and to be so committed to discipleship,” the archbishop said. “Imagine how many lives they can inspire by being disciples of Christ in our archdiocese?”
In January, Archbishop Rozanski released a new vision for the archdiocese called “Disciples Make Disciples.” This vision builds upon the All Things New strategic pastoral planning process, which restructured parishes throughout the archdiocese.
Accompanying the vision document is “The Way: A Journey Toward Renewal and Vitality,” an experience to guide parishes and ministries in formulating a clear vision rooted in evangelization and assist them in exploring diverse approaches to creating a path for discipleship. Eight parishes and one Catholic high school have formed the first two cohorts, which began meeting earlier this year.
Father Chris Martin, archdiocesan vicar for parish mission and vitality who is guiding the cohorts, said that while the end goal of any evangelization efforts is to draw others into full communion with the Church, “we’re also called to go out and create spaces for people who aren’t quite ready to be full participants in the eucharistic celebration.”
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that “the sacred liturgy does not exhaust the entire activity of the Church. It must be preceded by evangelization, faith and conversion. It can then produce its fruits in the lives of the faithful: new life in the Spirit, involvement in the mission of the Church and service to her unity” (CCC #1072).
“We can’t just open the doors of the church and expect people to go to Mass,” Father Martin said. “We need a eucharistic people to go out and encounter others and journey with them until they become full participants in the life of the Church. God’s grace takes time, and we need to be more intentional about how we are building these pathways to full communion.”
Making disciples must be centered on our belief in the Eucharist, Archbishop Rozanski added. Through that understanding, we must take seriously Jesus’ mandate that we are given in the Eucharist — to bring His presence to others, he said.
“The Eucharist is a foretaste here on earth of what we will receive in heaven in the fullness of Christ’s presence,” Archbishop Rozanski said. Inspired by a keynote talk from Cardinal Christophe Pierre, papal nuncio to the U.S., on the opening night of the congress, Archbishop Rozanski said that Jesus’ presence should impel us to look for Him in our encounters with others, especially with those with whom we would consider ourselves divided.
“From the energy, from the graces we receive from the Eucharist, we can bring that presence of Christ to others in our service, in our prayer life and how we reach out to others in Jesus’ love,” Archbishop Rozanski said. “That’s what we’re called to do, and that’s the reason why we’re here.”
So, what can Catholics do right now to reach out to others?
“Our faith is not based on being theologians or this total knowledge of every aspect of our faith,” he said. “Our faith is based in our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. It doesn’t take a theology degree. It doesn’t take a biblical scholar to be able to bring the faith to others. It takes the basic knowledge of salvation, it takes a prayer life, a commitment to the Lord Jesus — that is what we need to witness our faith to others.”
“Disciples Make Disciples” is a pastoral vision announced by Archbishop Mitchell T. Rozanski on Jan. 25. The document presents these five principles for renewed evangelization and discipleship:
- Vision and Leadership: Provide clarity in articulating the vision and mission of a parish, rooted in the divine commission to “go and make disciples,” ensuring alignment with the charism and needs of the community and efficiently allocating resources to support these goals;
- Listening and Building Community: Build an intentional community among more than half of the parish through relational ministry;
- Discernment: Enhance parish health by providing the pastor and key leaders with the necessary tools to embrace change and identify the best path forward;
- Evangelization: Transform the parish culture by providing a mechanism for disciples to make disciples within the parish community;
- Communion of Care: Transform the parish culture by creating a mechanism to serve and love those in need throughout the local community.
