We Are Church

A Reflection by Fred Schaeffer, OFS 

There is more to church than a building of stone. The purpose of this page is to bring people closer to the idea of community within the Church. The central focal point of the Roman Catholic Church is the celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Without the Holy Eucharist, there is no point in being Catholic. At the last supper, Jesus told his apostles, after breaking the bread, "This is my Body", "This is my Blood," he also said "Do this in memory of Me." That's important...at every Holy Mass, we ARE doing what He did, in His memory!

Someone said to me some time ago, I am not getting anything out of Holy Mass. Oh, how terrible. Here Jesus gave us this beautiful remembrance of Himself, the Son of God, and we are not getting anything out of it. This merits the question, what do I bring to Holy Mass, how do I contribute? We contribute to the celebration of the Holy Eucharist by being attentive. By getting to Church on time, being respectful and prayerful, and by listening to the readings, and the Gospel. By wishing to be present, rather than by going to Mass, "well, because I have to." People of God go to Holy Mass, because they desire to be there. They desire to be present because they love God and wish to be with fellow Catholics in the community of their Parish, the Church, to praise God and thank Him for all He does for us. They long for the next time they can be at Holy Mass, to again join hands in that celebration of Life. Because, remember, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day, and He is now, at the right hand of the Father. What did He do for us? His death gained us life. He redeemed our sins and atoned for our sins through His death on the Cross. So we have a lot to be thankful for and should enthusiastically go to Holy Mass, not because we have to, but because we want to with all our heart.

Holy Mass, the central focal point of the Church's liturgical life is the umbrella, if you will, that holds all other activities together because any activities and functions in the Church would be meaningless unless we make Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar the center of all our activity and endeavors.

What are these other activities? Well, there are some in some parishes, others in other parishes and a whole lot of them in bigger parishes. The activities ultimately benefit us because "We are Church" - we are a part of the whole. We are not in it as individuals, when we come to Church, but as a Church community. The Community of the Faithful.

Just as the Catholic Church has its clergy, that is, priests and deacons, its religious, namely monks, friars, sisters, and others who have dedicated their life in community to God in either a monastic or active Order of the Church, the laity which are not the minority but the majority of all Catholics, have a golden opportunity to assist the clergy and religious in being Church. If you are led in this direction, it takes a life of faith and a lot of prayer. Yes, members of the laity, "the Faithful," you can participate in the life of the Church but you cannot do this effectively without being a man or woman of prayer.

Father Mike Tschudi, of happy memory, remarked to me years ago, as I told him of my desire to get into religious life, "Fred, you can contribute just as much as an active member of the laity." I've often thought about that statement, particularly because I did enter religious life and I was with an order of monks until, for reasons of health, it became necessary to retire quietly to the life of a lay person. The 5 years spent as a monk were the best years of my life because for those years I felt God's presence on a daily basis and my love for God, for Jesus, for His mother, Mary, the Mother of God and the Church, is deep and will be forever. But Father Mike was right, as the Church has become my life, now as a lay person again. I've gone back to being an active member of the Secular Franciscan Order, an order of lay Franciscans, and my cup runneth over.

How can you contribute to Church, that is the community of the Faithful? First, of course, as already mentioned, you can step up your prayer life. "If you love God," said St. Bonaventure, a Doctor of the Church, "then you do not sin. If you still sin, then you do not love God enough." Stop and meditate a little on what this great saint said, for it is, to me, one of the most important ideas that drives me toward perfection. That is not to say that I am perfect. I am a sinner; only God is perfect... but we can and must emulate Jesus in the best way we can. If we do this, and if we love God 100%, then sin will be very distasteful to us, as it should be. But what I am trying to point out is that first, and foremost, we are Christians. That begs the question, how would Jesus Christ act, what would He do and say... and if you ask yourself this as you are about to do something, anything... then if you are honest with yourself, you will find the right answer.

So, in this prayerful setting, knowing that we do everything we do for and through Jesus Christ... with the assistance and intercession of the Blessed Virgin, we may feel drawn to the community of our Parish, keeping in mind that "We are Church!" - and thus we will seek participation in Parish activities. What are some of these activities?

The one committee a Parish must have is a "Finance Committee." If you are an accountant, perhaps that's a way you can contribute to the community of your parish. Often, parishes have a "Parish Council," and although anyone can ask to join this function, you will be assisting the pastor or administrator of your parish here. The Parish Council is an advisory committee. The Pastor or administrator makes the final decision. 

Take my parish, St. Helen Church, in Vero Beach, Florida. Their mission statement reads: "The mission of St. Helen Parish is to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ through a loving community which strives to meet the spiritual and physical needs of it's members."

"Through a loving community"- that's what this page is all about. We are Church! So what else can we do to help?

Many parishes, especially those with Elementary of other schools attached, will have various commissions. Often these are: Administrative, Education, Parish Life, Liturgical, Worship, and other commissions. Such commissions are made up of a chairperson and members of the Faithful, and often, the pastor or his designate will attend ex-officio, and anything these Commissions resolve will have to be reviewed by the Parish Council.

Mother Theresa said: "The biggest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis, but rather the feeling of being unwanted, uncared for and deserted by everybody. The greatest evil is the lack of love and charity, the terrible indifference towards one's neighbor who lives at the roadside assaulted by exploitation, corruption, poverty and disease."

Let us be a part of Church... so that we may go out and pray with, and assist our brothers and sister who feel they are part of the unwanted, uncared for and who have no hope. There are those who make things happen. There are those who watch things happen, and then there are those who wonder what happened. Let us be with those who make things happen!

Often, an Administrative Commission will have sub commissions or just one or two people assigned to make a Personnel Committee, Finance Committee, Future Planning, and Facilities department. The Education Commission make have a department for Adult Religious Education, a Youth Ministry, School (if there is one) and a department dealing with CCD.

Parish Life Commission is a big one. At St. Helen's we have a Neighborhood Apostolate Office, and they take care of Social Ministry (they feed the poor through collection of canned goods, for example), also, they are into Ecumenical activities, socials, and the administration of Eucharistic Ministers and scheduling. St. Helen is a large parish, and there are many Eucharistic Ministers needed to bring Jesus to nursing homes, hospital, and home-bounds. This takes lots of coordination. The people in our Neighborhood Apostolate do very well in making this all possible.

Most parishes have a Stewardship Commission. They takes care of the annual Parish census, Parish missions, the Annual Bishop's Appeal, Parish capital, various appeals, maybe a newsletter or two, memorial programs, planned giving, etc.

Then there is the Music Ministry. Again, in a large parish, there are usually several choirs, one for the main Mass(es) on Sundays and Holidays of Obligation, a choir for funerals and memorials, perhaps also a Children's Choir, and a Hispanic Choir for Masses celebrated in Spanish. There are usually one or two keyboards, piano, organ, etc., and people are motivated to learn how to contribute there. If you are a good pianist and you read musical notation fluently, please offer your services to your parish. They'd love to have you. Same with singers, who are able to sing Tenor, Soprano, Bass (Baritone), Alto, and particularly singers who read notes. Each parish needs a number of Cantors, people who intone and motivate the congregation in the pew to sing along.

In my parish of St. Helen, we have an Adult Choir, a Family Choir, the Resurrection Choir (funerals), a Handbell Choir, a Hispanic Choir and the Liturgical Ensemble, which is very special to us.

There are other functions, such as Lectors. These are men and women who read the readings. They don't just read them, they proclaim them. There's a big difference. There are Eucharistic Ministers who assist at Mass. Eucharistic Ministers generally grouped under "Special ministers of the Church" are those people who are good Catholics, try to live in an exemplary way, for they bring the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ to the congregation, and to hospitals, nursing homes, home-bounds, etc. "You are what you give" means, if you give Holy Communion to others, you better love God above all else, and love your brother and sister likewise.

Another function of the Neighborhood Apostolate is to have contact people in the various neighborhoods comprising the parish, to visit people, particularly those who are newly registered in the parish, to see what their needs are and to encourage them to be part of this great community, our Parish.

We have a Consolation Ministry to assist at Funerals, to help the bereaved through this difficult period and to be a source of strength and encouragement to the grieving.

There are a number of Support Groups in a parish, ranging from Substance Abuse Ministry, Alcoholics Anonymous, C.A.R.E. (Challenged Adults in Religious Education), RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults), Re-Membering (bringing 'lapsed' Catholics back to the fold), various Sacramental Programs, such as Baptism, First Reconciliation, First Holy Communion, Confirmation classes, preparation of Marriage. Then there are often Scripture study groups, etc.

Another area are parish organizations, such as Altar Servers. Charismatic Prayer Group in our Parish operates with Pastoral Approbation and encouragement. There is the Council of Catholic Women or in absence of that, perhaps the Ladies Guild. There's often, in various Churches, a Divorce Ministry, a Hispanic Apostolate, and a group that arranges some sort of annual festival.

But it doesn't end there, at least for our parish. They have a Men's Discipleship Group, another group catering to Mid-singles which is a social group. Then there is a Moms Group (short for "Meetings of Mothers!") There is the Nursery, and there's a Mother's Sharing Ministry. There is the Nocturnal Adoration Society, and there is a Prayer Ministry to heal and enrich individual lives... There are people who come together to make Rosaries, and the Forever Young Club. There are the Ushers.

There are a number of Diocesan Organizations. There us Cursillo/Ultreya. For those who have never heard of that, the Cursillo Movement is a continual encounter with Christ. Correctly applied and overseen, this movement and method can have very positive results in spiritual revitalization of society. The Christlikeness of a few people is contagious. The transference of Christ's values by word and example to others in one's family, school, workplace, and where one volunteers and socializes is the "Christianization of environments" that Cursillo promotes. There is small group sharing and the monthly meeting is known as the Ultreya. To become a Cursillista is a life-long commitment to Christ. Sounds like a tough thing but really it is not, and if you are looking for a way to serve God and his people in a positive way, ask your Parish coordinator if there is a Cursillo group and approach them to join. Sometimes they meet at parishes other than your own, but nearby, and will cover several parishes.

The Secular Franciscan Order is explained in great detail in this website on other pages. It was formerly called the Third Order of Saint Francis (of Assisi). There are Third Orders that are a part of the Augustinians, Carmelites, Dominicans, and Franciscans. Since there are about 400,000 (in 2003) lay Franciscans in the world and far fewer friars in the First Order, or sisters in the Second Order who might possibly be free to help give spiritual assistance to a Third Order group, the Vatican has, some 20 years ago allowed us to become somewhat independent of the friars. Thus we are now called the Secular Franciscans Order, which is the English translation of the Latin "Ordo Franciscanus Saecularis." (OFS)

Membership in the OFS is a life-long commitment but also, if one wishes to belong, he or she must have a vocation and discern this vocation (really rather like joining a religious order). Then there is a period of Postulancy (which we call Inquiry) for 6 months to a year, and a 18-months Novitiate, which may become two years. Being a Franciscan is serious business, but with lots of humor... one must be able to live in the shoes of those around us, our brothers and sisters in Christ. If you feel a vocation to join one of the Third Orders or the Secular Franciscan Order, again, talk to your confessor and ask advise, and where fraternities are located. The OFS, as far as the local parish goes, is not strictly a Diocesan Organization except that usually the local Ordinary (Bishop) would have to sign off on the Canonical Approbation for that fraternity. Local fraternities are under the general direction of a Regional Fraternity (usually a geographic area of one or more States (in the USA) or regions. The Regional Fraternities receive general direction from a National Fraternity, and ultimately, they are under the International Fraternity in Rome. We have an International Minister, who is designated the Minister General similar to other Orders of the Church. The Franciscan priests are very much involved in giving all fraternities spiritual assistance. Sometimes, in absence of Franciscan priests, diocesan priests and/or deacons may fulfill this function.

But that's not all... in our parish of St. Helen Church in Vero Beach, Florida, there is even more... we have Marriage Encounter, Respect Life. There is an AIDS support group that is part of the general community; there is a Center for Spiritual Care (Ecumenical), and there is even a Prayerful Knitting Group. And, let's not forget the Knights of Columbus who do a lot of good work in the community. Then there is the St. Vincent de Paul Society, and in your parish there may be some Scouting activity associated with or sponsored by the church.

Another group, who are instrumental in promoting vocations to the ministerial priesthood is the Serra Club. They meet at one of the local parishes. Then there are several ministries and apostolates that are separate but their philosophy and mission is very similar to that of the Catholic Church. And I probably forgot some...

This will give you a good idea that St. Helen Parish is a wonderful place of community. Vero Beach is a nice place to live and if you're ever thinking of retirement...check out the Parish in the town you investigate as a possible retirement town. There are, at present, three great parishes in Vero Beach, St. Helen's, Holy Cross, and St. John of the Cross.

WE ARE CHURCH! - There's room for everyone to become a part of the church community. You don't have to be in our parish or even in Florida. The parish you are a part of, no matter how few people are active... if you want to support your Church and ultimately, if you desire to become a friend of Jesus and Mary... go out there and volunteer. Evangelize the Church, and the love of Jesus Christ to your sisters and brothers. Be Christ to others. Lead by your example. Be one in a cast of thousands! God bless you!

Fred Schaeffer, OFS

2003, rev. 2020

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