By Deacon James N. Dunbar
FALL RIVER, Mass. — They have many titles, for instance — “Catholics Returning Home, “ “Catholics Come Home,” and “Return to Me With All Your Heart.”
Yet all the new evangelization outreach programs underway in several dioceses and archdioceses — as well as Christ the King Parish in Mashpee — have a similar goal: to reach out to Catholics who have drifted away from the practice of the faith, and lead them back to Christ and his Church.
And while the faith initiatives place their hope and strength in the powerful action of the Holy Spirit, they also point up the need on the human plane for prayerful action by clergy and laity in meeting their baptismal responsibilities to Jesus to be his prophets, priests and kings.
“There’s so much going on among diocesan ecclesial and parish groups and Catholic agencies in regard to this Year of Evangelization [in Rhode Island] that began last October, and while it is not headline material, it is wonderful and doing God’s work,” reported William Patenaude, chairman of the Diocesan Evangelization Committee of the Diocese of Providence, R.I.
“What’s exciting is seeing so many dedicated members of groups and organizations joining in this effort — actually bringing people together — in opposition to the work of Satan to keep people apart,” he added in an interview with The Anchor.
“At the core it is a parish-based initiative,” said Patenaude, who is at the helm of the bold, 16-month evangelization initiative “Return To Me With All Your Heart,” launched by Bishop Thomas Tobin last October and which began on the First Sunday of Advent in 2009.
Thanks to an anonymous $200,000 donation, the multi-faceted move to bring fallen-away Catholics back to the Church began with a unique, very public and quiet powerful presence.
Throughout Advent, Christmas and continuing all this month, television ads produced by CatholicsComeHome.org are filling the airwaves and reaching out to our lost brothers and sisters in Christ.
That advertising campaign that celebrates the history and achievements of the Catholic Church, and shares stories of former Catholics who have come home to the Church, features more than 1,100 commercials and is aimed at reaching 98 percent of all Rhode Islanders an average of 26 times.
”We’ve heard from so many people who think these are right on target for what we’re trying to do,” Patenaude added.
He said other dioceses that have run this campaign have seen a 20 percent increase in Mass attendance.
“The commercials’ power comes not just because of their beauty and design, filming or music,” he said. “They cause a reaction because they speak the truth — God’s truth, and the truth of and about his Church. Hearing this, our human nature, though fallen, nevertheless responds with hope, with longing.”
At the October kickoff held at Providence College, Bishop Tobin told a large group of representatives from all parishes that the Year of Evangelization “is by far one of the most important diocesan outreach efforts in recent history as we invite our neighbors back to Christ and his Church.”
He added, “This special year is an opportunity to renew and revitalize the faith and enthusiasm of every parish, school and organization of our diocesan Church, to reach out to inactive Catholics and to share the good news of the Catholic faith with the members of our community unfamiliar with the faith.”
Patenaude said, “It’s showing. One of the recent anecdotal stories is of a post abortion woman who had left the Church 20 years ago thinking she was no longer a member of the Church and that she was not welcome. Having seen the ads she met with the priest who was her pastor, went to confession, received the Eucharist and returned to the Church. It really shows the Holy Spirit in action.”
“It’s an exciting time in our diocese,” Patenaude said.
“There are many souls going about their business right now unaware of the life-changing events and messages that are in motion and coming their way.”
In Illinois, the tri-Diocesan (Chicago, Joliet and Rockford) Catholics Come Home evangelization initiative led by Cardinal Francis George, was launched on December 16, and for the five-and-a-half weeks since, presented approximately 2,000 television commercials in English, Spanish and Polish.
Three overlapping components beginning with “The Invitation” centering on the commercials; “The Welcome” by parishes as they received people who returned to the pews; and “The Accompaniment” as they returned to the sacraments, deepened the knowledge of those who came back to parish life and community.
“Christ has left us the command to go and make disciples everywhere, at all times,” Cardinal George said.
“He would have us call home those who were once disciples but who have lost contact with him and his Church. Your works and your prayers will all make the difference.”
All of the evangelical programs make it clear that the task does not require missionaries as such. Rather, because most families have a fallen away member in their midst, the job most frequently begins at home.
“Then it moves into the parish setting where coffee and pastries offered after Mass, special homilies, Religious Education, Adult Education, and parish societies and organizations demonstrate a welcome to reach out to those who come to Church infrequently — and even to make a one-on-one visit with others, inviting them to come back to the sacraments,” said Mrs. Penny Rinfret, director of Religious Education at Jesus Saviour Parish in Newport, R.I.
“Evangelization isn’t done by standing in front of the altar and waiting for the wayward to come back,” she asserted. “We have to make a personal outreach.”
The Rhode Island program keys on several approaches.
The Friendly Visitor Program seeks to provide newly-returned Catholics with a meaningful task of helping care for the sick, thereby finding a new vigor in their spiritual lives; using the cathedral in Providence as a center of faith and learning; using the “Leaving A Light On” program to promote opportunities for the sacrament of reconciliation; providing podcasts on diocesan websites; sponsoring civil debates on “hot-button” issues of the day; distributing invitation cards to lapsed Catholics providing local parish information and resources; using Franciscan-type “listening programs” that evolve into dialogue leading to Mass; and finally, making use of inspirational teachings that stem from being a stewardship parish.
At Christ the King Parish in Mashpee, pastor Msgr. Daniel F. Hoye, reported the Catholics Returning Home evangelization effort “by a mostly lay person team of our parish has been successful in bringing back several who had become alienated from the Church or just simply slipped away.”
He said the several sessions with educational and teaching formats during the past two years did not include TV or radio promotions, “although we possibly would include those in the future … definitely radio.”
One of the success stories, he said, includes Rick, a father with three children at home who had been away from the Church for approximately 25 years.
“When his 17-year-old son, Erik, an exceptional child — asked to be baptized and receive the Eucharist, a special teacher was found within our parish to teach Erik a sufficient grasp the faith. In recent weeks Erik was baptized and received first Eucharist at a weekday Mass. Rick is now back with us as well,” Msgr. Hoye related.
Loraine Hanley Duqin of Our Sunday Visitor offered 10 reasons that influenced the decision of many people to return to the practice of the faith and that might be used as a discerning guide for evangelists.
They are: because we hunger for the Eucharist; because we want to be part of a faith community; because we want to help other people; because we want our children to have a faith formation; because the Catholic Church has the fullness of truth and grace; because we want to be healed; because we need to forgive others; because we made mistakes; because childhood memories surface; and because we want meaning in our lives.
How do you begin the process of returning to the Church?
Your local parish is the best place to begin your process of returning to the Catholic Church. Contact a parish near you and let them know you would like to return. You could schedule an appointment to speak with the pastor, find out the times for Mass, inquire about the events and programs available for adults; Scripture study, men’s/women’s clubs, serve opportunities. You may want to ask about the parish schedule for the sacrament of reconciliation.