How Schools, Parishes and Each of Us Must Contribute
“At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest,’”
Matthew 9, 36-38
It is not hard to see crowds and individuals today who are troubled and abandoned. They are our family, our friends and neighbors.
What might be hard to see is that it is the role of the baptized, in other words, all of us, to be moved with pity. We are the laborers for the harvest – the missionary disciples – to those around us. Our mission field is the rapidly increasing crowd who are leaving or not practicing faith, or who are professing no belief.
This call to be missionary disciples does not sit easily with most of us. We look for others to do it, sometimes because we feel inadequate, sometimes because of fear or even laziness, and sometimes because we just don’t understand it.
That is why this issue as well as the September issue of The Bishop’s Bulletin will be focusing on becoming missionary disciples. How do we understand it? How do we equip ourselves to live it? Who am I a disciple of, and to who am I a missionary? How do our parishes, schools and other institutions help us?
This month we will focus on our call to be missionary disciples, and we will consider how this is happening, particularly in educational settings.
The Call of the Baptized to be Missionary Disciples
In the post Vatican Council II world, Blessed Paul VI brought forward evangelization and the responsibility of the baptized for it in his 1975 Apostolic Exhortation on evangelization, Evangelii Nuntiandi. It opened with these words:
“There is no doubt that the effort to proclaim the Gospel to the people of today, who are buoyed up by hope but at the same time often oppressed by fear and distress, is a service rendered to the Christian community and also to the whole of humanity.”
The clarity of the Gospel in regard to baptism as the basis for our call to be missionary disciples has been particularly echoed by each pope since then.
For example, Pope Francis, in his Apostolic Exhortation, The Joy of the Gospel, said it this way:
“In virtue of their baptism, all the members of the People of God have become missionary disciples (cf. Mt 28:19). All the baptized, whatever their position in the Church or their level of instruction in the faith, are agents of evangelization, and it would be insufficient to envisage a plan of evangelization to be carried out by professionals while the rest of the faithful would simply be passive recipients. The new evangelization calls for personal involvement on the part of each of the baptized. Every Christian is challenged, here and now, to be actively engaged in evangelization; indeed, anyone who has truly experienced God’s saving love does not need much time or lengthy training to go out and proclaim that love. Every Christian is a missionary to the extent that he or she has encountered the love of God in Christ Jesus: we no longer say that we are “disciples” and “missionaries”, but rather that we are always “missionary disciples” (120).
The scripture is rich with images that help us understand this work.
Joe Rutten, director of the Benedictine Leadership Institute at Mount Mary College cites the Great Commission Christ gave the Apostles in Matthew’s Gospel following his resurrection.
“‘Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations’- for me this is the essence of missionary discipleship,” Rutten said.
“That passage could be called the ‘mission statement’ of Christianity and it’s a command by Christ to the Church to go on mission to the world, preach the Gospel, and invite all people to follow him, the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). To be a follower of someone is to be their disciple, hence, missionary disciples. We are followers of Jesus on mission to the world to tell the world all that Christ has revealed to us,” he said.
Dr. Chris Burgwald, director of Adult Discipleship and Evangelization for the Diocese of Sioux Falls said the earliest Christians on through today are meant to follow Jesus in an intentional and personal way.
“So even if we are born and baptized into the faith, we all have an obligation to make that faith our own as Catholics. Sometimes people think that discipleship is something that’s for converts, or for scholars, but not for them as a cradle Catholic,” he said.
“I hear this especially from Catholics who don’t have a dramatic conversion story; they have always been faithful in prayer, Mass attendance, etc., and they wonder if they are called to discipleship as well. Of course they are, and in many instances, they have already been living it! They simply didn’t refer to it in this manner,” said Burgwald.
Eric Gallagher, director of Youth Discipleship and Evangelization for the Diocese of Sioux Falls, said missionary discipleship at its core is following what Jesus did with his disciples.
“Using Jesus’ method, we are able to reach the masses by ‘investing in a few’,” he said.
“If we strive to really assist those following Jesus to follow Him more deeply, the fruit of discipleship will be what brings others back into or more deeply into the life of the Church.
“The invitation into discipleship is often perceived as simply ‘doing more’ or ‘getting more involved in the church’. But the invitation is really about allowing God to fulfill the deeper unfulfilled desires of your heart. As you begin to hand over these desires to God, he will call you closer to Him. As we respond to His ‘Come!’ we live more freely and become ‘missionary’ to those around us. God sends us in unique ways,” Gallagher said.
Taught or Caught?
To some degree, whether we acknowledge it or not, we are all life-long learners. By the same thought, we are also life-long teachers. Sometimes we teach by our inactivity. If being a missionary disciple begins at baptism, most Christians are learning and teaching all their lives.
“I think that young children can understand that because Jesus loves each of us, it’s our blessing to be able to invite others to know about Him and His Church,” said Kathy Engeman, who teaches religion to junior and senior high students at St. Mary, Dell Rapids.
“Students of all ages whether in public or Catholic schools have friends, relatives, neighbors who are unchurched, and often vulnerable. To brainstorm the positive outcomes of inviting a friend to dinner where the family prays before meals or to a sleepover where bedtime prayers are said before lights out shows that even the smallest actions can plant seeds,” she said.
“Inviting someone to Mass isn’t all that different from inviting a friend to experience a play, concert or sporting event that is new to them. If God is calling them, the Holy Spirit can be counted on to take the next steps,” said Engeman, who also works with young people through her parish, St. Michael, Sioux Falls.
Daryl Thuringer, director of Parish and School Services for the Dioceses of Sioux Falls, said missionary discipleship is fundamental to all Catholic schools.
“Catholic pre-schools, elementary, junior high and high schools as well as Catholic universities are called to bring their Catholic identity alive through discipleship efforts. Helping students encounter Jesus Christ and supporting them as they spread the word of God is what sets us apart. Being a missionary disciple is not just something we do, it is a calling, a way of life,” he said.
Sara Vetch serves as campus minister for Roncalli in Aberdeen and said schools are fertile ground for missionary discipleship.
‘Inviting Christ into all we do is appropriate at any age and stage of development. God is love, and that simple, powerful truth can be told to anyone,” she said.
“…It is all about meeting people, especially students where they are. Each day I have the honor of being with students as they navigate academic, social and spiritual challenges. I celebrate their victories and help them in their struggles, praying with them, affirming them, loving them for Christ,” she said.
“Students are bombarded by a culture that is neither loving nor life giving. They are faced with messages from social media that constantly have them comparing themselves to others. The struggle for a lot of them is seeing everyone else’s highlight reel being posted and wondering why their life isn’t as easy, glamorous, exciting, etc.
“It is especially powerful to be able to pray with a student that is struggling. There may be no easy answers to what they are going through. There may be no short term or quick fix, but by inviting Christ into the situation, the students know that they are loved, not just by me, but by their Lord and Savior and that is transformative,” Vetch said.
Brenda Mitzel, director of Instruction/Programs for the Sioux Falls Catholic School System said, “Missionary discipleship is a way of life. We call students to a relationship with Jesus through the ordinary, everyday events such as study, attending Mass, praying for each other and the world as well as community service. Through these events, one can joyfully experience and witness to the love of Jesus Christ.”
Rutten, who has taught at the high school level as well as adult classes through parishes, believes Catholic higher education (in the Diocese of Sioux Falls, Presentation College and Mount Marty, where he now teaches), is great for missionary discipleship, “because the entire life of the student is now embedded into the college community where they begin to form more mature and adult relationships with faculty and staff that are more bent toward a relationship that mentors and walks with the students in their life, not just in the class during the week.”
“If the institution takes its mission seriously in relationship to the mission of the Great Commission, then a Catholic college or university can be a perfect place for students to encounter Jesus Christ and learn to be his follower,” he said.
Martin Albl, a professor of religious studies at Presentation College recognizes the missionary aspect to his work.
“I am introducing students to a Christian worldview and values. Many of the students have grown up with no formal Christian education, or at most a very superficial one,” he said.
“One of our major goals is to help students to see that there is no contradiction between religious belief and using their intellect. Religion is not simply a matter of emotion or wishful, naïve thinking. The Catholic tradition has a long history of combining faith and reason, and it’s beneficial for students to know this tradition,” Albl said.
Each of the diocesan Newman Centers is alive with missionary discipleship activities, which Fr. Jordan Samson, who directs St. Thomas Aquinas Newman Center at Northern State University in Aberdeen, said is essential.
“For many students at the college level, this is the first time they’ve really exercised their freedom. It’s a vital point in their lives, and I think a great opportunity to engage this new found freedom with the proposal of Christianity and the true freedom it provides,” Fr. Samson said.
Engeman said students get constant reminders that they live in a world that rejects much of the moral law.
“There is a longing for unconditional love and acceptance that I think they diagnose as a desire for independence and notoriety,” she said.
“I want each of them to know that following Christ can transform their thinking, relationships and goals-and that God has bigger plans for their life than they do. To learn that Jesus suffers with them in the struggles that come from divorce, death, sickness, mental illness, high school drama, etc. and also that He loves them immeasurably just as they are is a message that many teens are desperate to hear,” Engeman said.
Fr. Samson agrees. “There is a great loneliness and isolation that is rampant amongst young people,” he said.
“I think our biggest successes come when we get out on campus and meet students face to face, develop authentic friendships and make the personal invitation to something more. Nothing can really replace that personal encounter. Yes, we use social media and other technologies to get the word out there, but at the end of the day it is that personal connection that all of us really hunger for and need,” he said.
Burgwald said schools and other church institutions clearly have a role to play in fostering missionary discipleship.
“While conversion — turning towards God, as we are called to do throughout our lives — is a very personal thing that cannot be orchestrated or programmed, it is possible to cultivate a rich soil which will foster that conversion and the missionary discipleship which flows from it,” he said.
“Because of our tendency to look to programs, there’s often a temptation to make discipleship into a program, perhaps centered on small groups, one-on-one mentoring, or any other format. But because discipleship is more basic or fundamental than a program, we need instead to evaluate how the programs that we are currently offering are deepening our missionary discipleship, and adjust course as needed. Certainly there is discipleship happening in our parishes and at the diocesan level, and in a variety of ways. The key is to always keep our eye on the goal and ensure that our programs are bearing that fruit,” Burgwald said.
Samples of what Missionary Discipleship Looks Like in School Settings
“I’m constantly reminded again and again that Christ is attractive. By this I mean students are hungering for something more and when we as Catholics live fully alive in Christ and present the simplicity of the Gospel message, students do respond,” said Fr. Samson.
“We’ve had a handful of non-baptized students take an interest in what is going on at the Newman Center. Their fresh perspective has reminded us as a staff that there really is something outside ourselves at work and that if we live out the fullness of the Gospel people are changed.
“It isn’t a formula, or a program, or the right pre-scripted conversation that reaches people, but a truly human encounter with Christ and an introduction to a way of life that is attractive” he said.
At Mount Marty, Rutten uses a range of tools in his teaching.
“I have them read the introduction of St. Augustine’s confession – it appeals to their own restless feeling as he speaks about what is in his heart. This is a real experience and internal movement that they can relate to. Then I simply invite them to discover the elixir to the restlessness in the same place that St. Augustine did, in a relationship to Jesus through the Word and Tradition of the Church,” Rutten said.
“I try to appeal to them through deeper questions about meaning and purpose in the world. I invite them to reflect upon their own experiences in life, their daily comings and goings, and help them reflect upon what they mean and how they add up to something worth living for. We all want to live for something! We all want to be loved and to love; we all want to be of value.
“The world isn’t meeting their needs and even if they don’t know it yet, I hope to plant seeds in them that bear fruit when the time is right, that offers them the proposal of Jesus Christ as the answer to all their needs and desires. This isn’t some magic pill, but is born of an encounter with the person of Christ in a meaningful way that changes the direction of how we live our lives,” he said.
Vetch said she is grateful for the opportunity her campus ministry provides Roncalli students.
“Having a place for students to come and grab a cup of coffee is a great way to form relationships that support intentional discipleship. It fills a niche that the teachers in the classroom aren’t able to. I don’t grade them, I don’t give assignments, I just love them for Christ,” she said.
Vetch said the stresses young people feel today simply because of social media complicates their lives.
“We have students with dual accounts: one for their friends, family and parents to see and a second one to “let loose” and share things they probably wouldn’t otherwise. That is why I am so passionate about sharing the good, true, powerful ways Christ has impacted my life with my students.
“We are all created with a desire for truth and beauty, we just need to find effective means to show students what that really means. Being intentionally present to them each day is one small way to show them how precious they are,” she said.
Mitzel provided a lengthy list of ways Sioux Falls Catholic schools at all age levels seek to infuse into students the sense of discipleship. On the list, a “senior prom” students put on for the elderly, student support for a teacher with cancer, valentines for shut-ins, support of several charities and a volunteer “grandparent” program at St. Katharine Drexel.
“The impact that the grandparents have reaches beyond the classroom walls; when the students see our grandparents, whether it’s in the hallway, lunchroom, church on the weekends, or even shopping at HyVee, their eyes light up. The positive influence these grandparents provide will last for years to come and we are grateful for that,” she said.
“Grandpa Jim (Jim Cannon), one of our most dedicated volunteers, brings joy to the St. Katharine Drexel students through his presence on a regular basis. Typically he can be found working one-on-one or in a small group with our K-1 students, completing a project with students in preschool plus, playing tag on the playground, or serving lunch with a smile. He is also always willing to jump in and assist when we have building needs and/or custodial work.
“Not only does Grandpa Jim serve as ‘jack of all trades’, but he is a missionary disciple,” Mitzel said.
“I have watched the students’ faith grow from the simple little prayers to the bigger understanding of who Jesus is in their life. The students are living lives of the virtues that they are taught,” said Cannon.
“Some of God’s greatest gifts are the smiles and laughter of children,” he said.
Next Month
That sense of joy is a critical aspect of missionary discipleship and it will be among the key topics at this year’s Discipleship Day – September 21-22.
To Do Your Will is My Delight is the theme.
More on that event, and a deeper exploration of our personal call to be missionary disciples, and examples of how it is being lived out around the diocese in the September edition.
Visit sfcatholic.org/discipleshipday for more information and to register.
