Inaugural Issue of The Catechetical Review

Feature
Creating Conditions that Favor
the Conversion of the Baptized
A Survey for Catechists
By Carole M. Brown
U.S. Marines have a code of honor: no one gets left
behind—not even the fallen on the battlefield.
They are bound together in brotherhood. Their
commitment to this code enables Marines to
act with courage and valor. Similarly, as baptized Catholics
we form a bond as God’s family and pledge to accompany
any child of God through conversion. In a culture hostile
to the faith, we must exercise Marine-strength courage to
remain vigilant for those who fall away.
How well are we keeping that pledge Admittedly, too
many baptized and confirmed Catholics fall away from the
faith without taking hold of the treasure of our faith and
its promise of eternal life. They are dying on the battlefield,
spiritually speaking. Statistics in this regard are nothing
short of alarming, with Catholics experiencing the greatest
net loss due to changes in affiliation. 1 An estimated
70% of young Catholics no longer practice their faith by
the time they reach adulthood. 2 Do we strategically think
about the way in which our “baptismal training” equips
people to survive spiritually in a toxic secular culture Are
we praying vigilantly for their return and going in search
of them
One of the reasons that many of our baptized people
do not survive with their faith intact is that “basic training”
for becoming a disciple—personal conversion to Jesus
Christ, personal relationship with him—is a neglected
dimension of Catholic formation. Children baptized in
infancy come to the parish for catechesis, and we work
hard to communicate the content of the faith; but we often
fail to put them in touch with—in intimacy with—the
person of Jesus Christ, which Pope St. John Paul II said
is the “definitive aim of catechesis.” 3 In our concern to
communicate Christian doctrine effectively, we sometimes
overlook the fact that baptized people may not yet know
Jesus Christ enough to care about what he taught.
In this article, I will set forth a small offering of some
principles and practices by which we can create conditions
that favor personal conversion amidst the secular culture.
This is less about developing new programs (though this
can be helpful) than about applying these principles and
practices in ministries that already exist. First, I will set forth
a number of principles drawn from the teaching of recent
popes, who are the architects of the New Evangelization.
These will be followed by four kinds of practice.
Principles of Initial Evangelization
1. The Holy Spirit is the principle agent of evangelization.
Foster devotion to him, and promote those
means that help people not only to know about
him but also to experience his power.
2. The Church exists to help people to find Jesus Christ.
Pope St. John Paul II wrote, “The Church wishes to
serve this single end: that each person may be able to
find Christ, in order that Christ may walk with each
person the path of life…” 4 That may seem obvious
at first glance, and yet statistics have shown that
only 60% of Catholics believe in a personal God. 5
In what ways is the energy of our parish directed to
bringing people into contact with God in a personal
way Just because people come to Church does not
mean that they have found Christ. Pope Francis has
cautioned us about being a self-referential church.
The goal is not just to get people in the Church
but also to help them to encounter Jesus Christ.
3. Faith in Jesus is both personal AND communal. We
have perhaps relied too much on the communal
dimension of faith, which becomes increasingly
more anemic as the personal aspect is neglected.
Personal faith in Jesus Christ does not replace communal
faith, but rather enlivens it. By the same
token, a community comprised of people who are
living in a continual personal relationship with Jesus
Christ will be most enriching to the persons who
associate themselves with that community. On the
other hand, a community comprised primarily of
people who do not experience their faith in Jesus
Christ in a personal way will tend to be impersonal,
lonely, superficial, anonymous—and boring.
4. Converting the culture begins by converting persons.
Every movement begins with a slow groundswell.
People whose lives have been touched by Jesus
Christ tend to recognize that other people need
to have this experience too, and look for ways and
14 THE CATECHETICAL REVIEW