Lent

Spirituality groups should aid parish life

By Jackie Staley

	A Compass Lenten series

If you appreciate the adage, "Many hands make light work," you've probably volunteered for parish functions. When it comes to the mission of spiritual growth through one's parish, the opportunities through spirituality groups and organizations, like "many hands," seem boundless. Small group involvement can offer a person support, guidance, education and Christian love.

Recently I sought computer help and "Googled" the topics of Catholic spirituality organizations and Catholic spiritual growth groups and found scores I never knew existed. The reason for this research was a request from some parish leaders to look into the foundations and goals of certain organizations or spirituality groups. They were not familiar with several to which some parish members belonged. Some of the questions they raised were:

• Were these groups intent on contributing to the life and spiritual growth of their members within the parish community? Or were their goals centered on the group's guidance or spiritual growth apart from or indifferent to parish life?

	L e n t
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• Did the particular group's members use - or were they encouraged to use - their spiritual growth opportunities to benefit the life of the parish community? Or did they create their own communities that seemed separate and even aloof from parish liturgies, education and outreach services?

Not all spirituality groups need to be part of the parish organization. Catholics can and do invest themselves in a variety of national spiritual growth movements that they find beneficial and a blessing.

The question is, does a specific group cause a division within the parish? Is the value of unity and support being undermined?

The church document "On the Vocation and Mission of Lay Faithful in the Church and in the World" (Christifidelis Laici) of 1988 offers helpful criteria which can be summed up in the saying, "By their fruits you will know them." Among these fruits are "the renewed appreciation for prayer, contemplation, liturgical and sacramental life, ... a desire to be present as Christians in various settings of social life and the creation and awakening of charitable, cultural and spiritual work."

The obvious stress throughout the document is that lay groups should contribute to unity within the church and zeal for the mission of the church.

Recently a specific case in point was promulgated by the Vatican's Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments. Communities of the Neocatechumenal Way, a Catholic international spirituality organization, were directed to "join their entire parish at least once a month for Mass." They had been celebrating their small group Saturday evening liturgy apart from the parish community's Mass schedule. Some pastors saw this as divisive. The directive to the organization was interpreted as focusing on parish life and unity as well as upholding the right for a small group to foster spiritual growth.

If you belong to a small group focused on your spiritual growth as a Catholic, may the Holy Spirit continue to guide and support your quest. You might also ask yourself if your group fosters communion with and contributes to the life of your parish, the local church. Many hands do make for the lighter work of our spiritual growth, especially by contributing to the mission of the church to "build up the Body of Christ" within our parish communities.

(Staley is a member of Resurrection Parish, Green Bay, and a public speaker. She is a former diocesan consultant for evangelization. She also coordinated Renew 2000 for the diocese.)