by Dcn. Ralph Poyo

We are making an assumption that is incorrect and it is causing many to work really hard with very little results!

Parishes across the country are experiencing the radical decline of membership participation within their parishes. No one needs to tell them that their current efforts in attracting people to their programs are not meeting their expectations. They all see the decline of the importance of Faith within the culture and within their membership.

While some parishes are holding on to the last vestiges of the old “people attraction methods” (offering food), the rest have begun the struggle studying the problem and seeking ways to fix them. I see so many Priests and Parish Staff working really hard, only to feel deflated, disappointed and disillusioned when they are done.

Wisdom teaches us to work smarter, not harder.

At the heart of this entire struggle is one little assumption that most parishes are making. They assume that catechizing is evangelizing! So many people have thought that if they give their kids and adults the content of the Catholic Faith, they are evangelizing. This is not true. While catechizing is used in evangelizing, it is not a replacement for it.

Imagine that each one of your parishioners is a wood burning stove. When they are placed in a room and function properly, they change their environments. Let us assume that we have just installed a brand new stove in your living room. What will literally happen if I place 50 lbs of hardwood logs into the stove? …

It weighs down the stove. Let us not make the assumption that we have started the fire. Instead, I build a proper fire in the stove, being careful to build it up slowly. Once the fire is big enough to consume the logs, I can add more logs.

The logs represent the content of catechesis (or the substance of discipleship). The fire represents evangelization burning in the hearts of Catholics. If I start the fire, but do not eventually add the wood, the fire will go out. That is what happens when you do an evangelistic event and have no follow up to keep the fires of faith growing.

Even when we add great wood (content), our people will feel the weighty burden of rules and obligations. Isn’t that feeling of obligation how our parents and teens feel about getting the Sacraments? We must first light the fire, build it up intentionally and then add the logs.

When the Bishops call for the conversion of souls through Evangelization, they are talking about uniting hearts with the Holy Spirit. We must lead our religious education teachers to encounter Christ and then train them to lead others. Without the fire of Evangelization,  we will continue to push our people away.