Domestic Church”

THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA

The Discernment of Charism(s) as the Foundation for the Mission of the “Domestic Church”

A TREATISE

Submitted to the Faculty of the School of Theology and Religious Studies Of the Catholic University of America In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree Doctor of Ministry

By Rev. Christopher Martin

Washington, D.C.

2020 The Discernment of Charism(s) as the Foundation for the Mission of the “Domestic Church”

Rev. Christopher Martin D.Min.

Director: Rev. Raymond Studzinski, O.S.B., Ph.D.

This project in ministry focuses on how charisms are instrumental for the mission of families in the world. The term “domestic church” will be examined by exploring the sacramental foundation of marriage and the role of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the Church and of the believer. My hypothesis is that, by discerning and utilizing individual and corporate charisms, families can live out their prescribed mission in the world. Practically, I will review the six individual sessions held for 130 married participants that led them to create family mission statements. Finally, an examination of the survey results will evaluate the participants’ increased understanding of their identity and role as a “domestic church” and will demonstrate whether the project had any practical impact on their day-to-day lives.

This treatise by Rev. Christopher Martin fulfills the project in ministry requirement for the doctoral degree in ministry approved by Rev. Raymond Studzinski, O.S.B., Ph.D., as Director, and by Dr. Edward Hogan, Ph.D., reader.

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Rev. Raymond Studzinski, O.S.B., Ph.D., Director

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Dr. Edward Hogan, Ph.D., Reader

Table of Contents

Introduction………………………………………………………………………………..1 Purpose of the Project in Ministry………………………………………………… 2 Project Design and Implementation………………………………………………... 3 Evaluation of the Results…………………………………………………………... 3 Contribution to Ministry…………………………………………………………… 4 Theological Section……………………………………………………………………….. 5 Mystagogical Reflection on the Marriage Rite…………………………………….. 5 Pneumatological Foundation………………………………………….…………… 21 Spirituality of Charisms…………………………………………………………… 31 The Pastoral Sessions…………………………………………………………..………….47 The Session Process………………………………………………………………...47 First Session: The Sacramentality of Marriage……………………………………..47 Second Session: Marriage and the Eucharist………………………………………. 51 Third Session: The Family as the Domestic Church………………………………. 53 The Fourth Session: The Role of the Holy Spirit in Marriage…………………….. 56 The Fifth Session: Charisms in Marriage………………………………………….. 60 The Sixth Session: Marriage as Mission……………………………………………63 Evaluating the Effect of the Sessions……………………………………………………..65 Survey Measurements and the Impact of the Pastoral Sessions…………………… 67 The Impact of the Project on Participation………………………………………… 74 Conclusions……………………………………………………………………………….., 83 Unexpected Results…………………………………………………………………83 Potential Improvements to the Project……………………………………………... 84 The Success of the Project…………………………………………………………. 85 Appendix…………………………………………………………………………………... 87

Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………….118

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INTRODUCTION

Identification of an Issue in Ministry and Background Information

During the Second Vatican Council, Bishop Pietro Fiordelli of Prato, Italy, lobbied for a greater understanding of the family as a “small church” or “mini-church” within the larger local and universal ecclesial realities. Based soundly on the Church Fathers, and emphasizing the priestly and prophetic roles of parents within the family, the term “small church” was eventually revised to “domestic church” and was then repeated in subsequent documents, including in the

Decree on the Laity (Apostolicam Actuositatem), in St. John Paul II’s Apostolic Letter On the

Role of the Family in the Modern World (Familiaris Consortio), and in his Apostolic Exhortation

On the Vocation and the Mission of the Lay Faithful in the Church and in the World

(Christifideles Laici), making “domestic church” the common term used to describe the family.

St. Pope John Paul II reaffirmed the Second Vatican Council’s teaching that all the laity share in the universal call to holiness and have a missionary role in the Church and in the world.

This universal call to holiness is bestowed in baptism, in which every believer begins to participate in the priestly, prophetic, and kingly roles of Jesus Christ. Twenty-nine years later, the Synod of Bishops’ XIV Ordinary General Assembly on The Vocation and Mission of the

Family in the Church and in the Contemporary World examined the current context of family life, reinforced the dignity of family as revealed by God’s plan, and reaffirmed the missionary role the family plays in the Church and in the world.

Theologians such as Mary Anne Foley, Claire Wolfteich, and Joseph Atkinson seem currently to be caught up in the question of what exactly constitutes “family.” Concurrently, with

2 the publication of Amoris Laetitia, Pope Francis has shifted much of the conversation to center around how the Church can minister to families in “complex situations.” What seems to be lacking is a bridge between the identity of the family and its mission. While families are told that they are “domestic churches” called to mission in the world, there seems to be a lacuna in how to empower them to carry it out.

I propose that helping couples understand the sacramental foundations of their vocation and discerning the gifts that the Holy Spirit has bestowed upon them will help to fill this void.

With the renewal of The Order of Celebrating Matrimony published in 2016, there is an opportunity to take a fresh look at what the Church communicates to couples on their wedding day through the liturgy about their identity and mission. Called to be missionaries in the world who bring about the kingdom, couples will be better able to live out their missionary tasks if they discern what charisms God has given to them, both individually and jointly. This pneumatological foundation based on charisms will help provide the “how” for families to bridge the gap between their identity as domestic church and the accomplishment of their missions in the world.

The Purpose of the Project in Ministry

The purpose of this project is to develop and implement a catechetical and prayer experience that will strengthen families’ identity as domestic church and will guide their missionary activity through a “discernment of charism” exercise.

Project Design and Implementation

The plan for this project included having 20 to 25 married couples (40 to 50 individuals) in traditional marriages, with a variety of ages and family sizes represented. Participants were invited via personal invitation and through pulpit announcements, word of mouth, and an online sign up through the St. Clare of Assisi Parish website. Participation exceeded expectations, as over 60 couples signed up for the six-week course. Each session included 20 to 30 minutes of gathering time, followed by 30 to 40 minutes of catechesis and 10 to 20 minutes of discussion and reflection.

Evaluation of the Results

Two evaluation tools were utilized to measure how the participants understood their identity as the domestic church and how the discernment of charisms affects their missionary activity in the local church. Prior to the first session, participants were sent an anonymous electronic survey using Survey Monkey that asked them open-ended questions about their understanding of marriage as a sacrament, the domestic church, charism, and mission as well as questions concerning missionary activity. Following the sixth session, the same survey was sent out with an additional question designed to measure whether the participants now had a deeper experience of the Holy Spirit in their missionary activity and whether they experienced any changes in their missionary behavior as couples.

Contribution to Ministry

While there are many articles on the primary characteristics of the domestic church and many programs that have been developed for charism discernment, this project is unique in that it will facilitate a group discernment of charism(s) within the family that can guide parish involvement and missionary activity as domestic church based on individual and shared charisms.

As the Church begins the work of the new evangelization in the third millennium, much has been written on the family as the “domestic church.” Firmly rooted in the theology of St.

Paul and of Church Fathers such as St. John Chrysostom, the concept of empowering the lay faithful who have been called to the married life to embrace their dignity and mission in the world continues to gain urgency. Since the family is the fundamental building block of society, family identity, strength, and mission have a direct impact on the world.. The Church teaches these truths in her Liturgy and Magisterium. The theological aspect of this paper will examine three items: how the marriage rite liturgically reveals the mission of the family in the world; the pneumatological gestalt for the family as domestic church through Sacramental grace and charism; and the role of charism in mission. Through sacramental effect, the Holy Spirit provides a foundational identity for both the individual believer and the family, while through the gift of charism(s), the Spirit guides the mission of the domestic church in the world. The second part of this paper will examine the six sessions that took place with the couples and what was communicated to them. Finally, the third part of the paper will examine the goals and

5 expectations that were set for each session and analyze the feedback from the before and after surveys the participants filled out.

THEOLOGICAL SECTION

Part 1: Mystagogical Reflection on the Marriage Rite

In my first pastoral assignment, I worked with more than thirty couples each year in marriage preparation and so encountered firsthand a wide variety of couples, faith backgrounds, and levels of faith participation. Sadly, many of these couples did not know or could not articulate the teaching that marriage is a vocation from God. Many seemed unaware that they were being invited into a sacred moment and reality rather than into a mere blessing of their natural love for each other.

However, since the Second Vatican Council, there has been a renewed effort in the

Church to help couples to (re)discover the beauty and dignity of Christian marriage and the implications it has for the world. As the domestic church, families are the building block of society and the Universal Church. In the introduction to the new Rite of Matrimony produced by the U.S Bishops, we read:

The main elements of the celebration of Marriage are to stand out clearly, namely: the Liturgy of the Word, in which are expressed the importance of Christian Marriage in the history of salvation and the responsibilities and duties of Marriage to be attended to for the sanctification of the spouses and of their children; the consent of the contracting parties, which the person assisting asks for and receives; the venerable prayer by which the blessing of God is invoked upon the bride and bridegroom; finally, Eucharistic

Communion of both spouses and of others present, by which, above all, their charity is nurtured and they are raised up to communion with the Lord and with their neighbor.1 Familiaris Consortio goes on to say that there are four primary tasks for the family: forming a community of persons, serving life, participating in the development of society, and sharing in the life and mission of the Church.2 The Rite of Marriage within the context of the Mass highlights these tasks of married life and provides an opportunity for engaged couples, married couples, and all the faithful to enter more deeply into a contemplation of the dignity of marriage.

Introductory Rites: Joyful Welcome; From the Fount of Baptism to the Altar of Marriage;

Prayers for the Mission of the Couple

At the appointed time, the Priest, wearing an alb and a stole and chasuble of the color of the Mass to be celebrated, goes with the servers to the door of the church, receives the bridal party, and warmly greets them, showing that the Church shares in their joy.3

The Church invites the faithful to a mystagogical reflection on the nature of marriage before the rite even technically begins. In the first form of the introductory rites cited above, we see that the priest goes out to meet the couple at the entrance of the Church in order to make them feel welcome and express the Church’s joy on this occasion. Very often it seems that this is overlooked or skipped altogether at many Catholic weddings, in which the bride and bridesmaids are cloistered somewhere in the back of church while the groom and groomsmen are lounging

1. The Order of Celebrating Matrimony, English Translation According to the Second Typical Edition, no. 22. https://litpress.org/Products/GetSample/4641/9780814646410. 2. John Paul II Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio[On the Role of the Christian Family in the Modern World], no. 17. November 22, 1981. Accessed July 18, 2018 at http://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul- ii/en/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_jp-ii_exh_19811122_familiaris-consortio.html 3. Order of Celebrating Matrimony, no. 45.

7 around in the back sacristy or some other designated place. The first option can also include a liturgical procession, similar to what would be done at the Sunday liturgy, demonstrating how the Rite of Marriage is connected to, rather than separate from, the “ordinary” Eucharistic celebration.

The second option for the entrance rite is what is most commonly practiced. The priest and the altar servers go to the place prepared in the sanctuary for them and greet the bride and groom at the altar after they have processed up. This form of the entrance rite, while still emphasizing the welcome and joy to be expressed by the priest on behalf of the Church,4 points to the reality that the bride and the groom are the primary ministers of the Sacrament of

Marriage, which is witnessed and blessed by the priest. While there are obviously some cultural traditions that remain common (for example, the custom of the father of the bride escorting her down the aisle and literally giving her hand to the groom), there are also some important liturgical points here that should not be overlooked.

The priest is vested in the appropriate attire for celebrating the Eucharist, while the bride processes in typically clothed in white, which culturally was intended to represent sexual purity, but liturgically has always represented the purity given in baptism and having “put on Christ.”

The link between Baptism and Marriage is so strong that the latter cannot be considered a

Sacrament without the former. Marriage is the vehicle by which spouses fulfill the priestly,

4. In fact, the new translation of the Marriage Rite has two options of greetings that are to precede the Gloria and the opening prayer.

8 prophetic, and kingly offices bestowed upon them in Baptism and live out the gifts of the Spirit given in Confirmation.

One of the first aspects of Baptism the Church comments on is the name itself. To be baptized means to be immersed in, or plunged into, the death of Christ in order to share in his resurrection. Confirmation and the Sacrament of Marriage can both be interpreted as a further plunge into death to self in order to share in the life of Christ. St. Paul refers to this love as kenosis, the self-emptying love of Jesus that we are called to imitate. The Holy Spirit is the one who both invites and deepens this outpouring of self that is very easily understood in the inter- personal relationships of the family. As Marc Cardinal Ouellet explains in his book Divine

Likeness: Toward a Trinitarian Anthropology of the Family, family life is based on a complete gift of one person to another. Through this complete gift of self, the family doesn’t just resemble

Trinitarian life, but actually “sacramentalizes” the gift of the Divine Persons in the world. This gift of self, or kenosis, is a primary focal point of the spiritual life of the family as domestic church.5 In this light, we can infer that the relationship itself between husband and wife, the corporate reality, receives grace as much as the individuals within it. Husband and wife receive the grace necessary to pour themselves out as individuals, and the couple receives grace to evangelize as a unit, just as Jesus was never separate from the Father, but always acting out of a unity of their wills (John 14:9).

5. Marc Cardinal Ouellet, Divine Likeness: Toward a Trinitarian Anthropology of the Family, trans. Philip Milligan and Linda C. Cicone (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2006), Loc. 705, 770. Kindle.

The Catechism also calls Baptism the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy

Spirit. Here we see the invitation to be made new, to be re-created, and to find a new sense of being. Confirmation opens the believer up to a fuller outpouring of the Holy Spirit that reminds us that we have been raised up to a new dignity. Building on this two-fold foundation, Marriage is no longer just a part of the natural order, but by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit it is now supernatural in the sense that the couple becomes a new creation by the exchange and consummation of their wedding vows. The Holy Spirit seals the conjugal love of spouses, providing them with a supernatural end of participating in the very life of the Trinity and in the eschatological marriage of Jesus and His bride, the Church.6

The Sacrament of Baptism is also referred to as a means of enlightenment; not only in the sense that the catechetical preparation prior to receiving the Sacrament enlightens the intellect

(speaking of adult baptisms), but also in the sense that, through Baptism, the believer becomes enlightened in his very spirit, becoming united with Christ who is God from God, Light from

Light. In the Latin Church, where Confirmation has been separated from the Sacrament of

Baptism, there is another catechetical period during which the individual becomes enlightened intellectually, followed by a rekindling of the Spirit within the believer that comes with the anointing within the Sacrament. In Marriage, it is the period of catechetical preparation that helps the couple to be enlightened (to a greater or lesser degree) regarding the dignity and mission of the Sacrament into which they are about to enter. Within marriage and family life itself, the

6. Ouellet, Divine Likeness, Loc. 973, 980, 1144. Kindle.

10 couple is “taught” by the Holy Spirit to see God in the other and to live a life of faith and communion that views the world through the lens of Jesus’ own life and mission.7

The aspect of Baptism that is renewed in Confirmation and that is perhaps the most frequently referenced in relationship to the Sacrament of Marriage is the chrismation of the believer, who becomes another “anointed one,” another Christ, or Christian. Through this chrismation and upon entering into marriage, couples are called to share in Jesus’ priestly, prophetic, and kingly offices. Sharing in the priestly office of Jesus calls the believer to be a man or woman of prayer and sacrifice. Within the family, this priestly dynamic both focuses on the domestic unit itself and overflows to the greater community. Husbands and wives are called to pray together and to pray for one another, for their children, and for their communities. The call to sacrifice is inherent in the relationship between spouses and the family unit, as all members realize that they are now part of something greater than themselves and that the individual want or need is often sacrificed on the altar of the greater good. To be prophetic in the midst of family requires the individual believer to witness to the truth in both word and deed. The prophetic office is again practiced both within the family itself as well as being oriented outward to society at large.

Finally, there is the kingly office in which families share in the dominion of Jesus who reigns. The primary way that individuals share in Jesus’ dominion is the dominion within. The spouses and family members are called to properly order their passions and desires towards

7. Ouellet, Divine Likeness, Loc. 1178. Kindle.

11 virtue. Developing the habitual disposition toward what is best is something that spouses can draw out of each other as well as develop together as a missionary unit.8

Before the first reading is even given, the Church reminds us that wedding days don’t just happen but are rather the unfolding of grace that has begun in the lives of the bride and the groom from the time of their baptisms. Their vocation is the fruit of the corporate mission of the

Church in the world. As they enter into marriage, husbands’ and wives’ individual identities and charisms still exist but are now grafted into a corporate reality. “I” becomes “we.” As the rite indicates:

Through Baptism, which is the Sacrament of faith, a man and a woman are once and for all incorporated into the covenant of Christ with the Church in such a way that their conjugal community is assumed into Christ’s charity and is enriched by the power of his Sacrifice. From this new condition it follows that a valid Marriage between the baptized is always a Sacrament. By the Sacrament of Matrimony Christian spouses signify and participate in the mystery of unity and fruitful love between Christ and the Church; therefore, both in embracing conjugal life and in accepting and educating their children, they help one another to become holy and have their own place and particular gift among the People of God. Through this Sacrament the Holy Spirit brings it about that, just as Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her, Christian spouses also strive to nurture and foster their union in equal dignity, mutual giving, and the undivided love that flows from the divine font of charity.9

The liturgical procession and opening rites that begin at the baptismal font and lead to the altar are concluded with the opening prayer that reveals the Sacrament of Marriage to be a sacrament of service to the Church. This prayer shows that marriage is not just a sharing in the love of

Christ but a sharing in his mission to the world as well. This central theme is iterated to the

8. John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Christifideles Laici [On the Vocation and the Mission of the Lay Faithful in the Church and in the World], December 30, 1988, no. 14, Holy See, accessed July 15, 2017, http://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_jp-ii_exh_30121988_christifideles- laici.html. 9. Order of Celebrating Matrimony, nos. 7-9.

12 couple and those in attendance as the Church prays for them “as you make their love fruitful, they may become, by your grace, witnesses to charity itself” as well that “what they have received in faith they may live out in deeds.”10

Liturgy of the Word: Marriage Rooted in the Word of Creation, the Prophets, and the

Gospel

A Liturgy of the Word adapted for the celebration of Marriage has a great impact in the handing on of catechesis about the Sacrament itself and about the duties of the spouses…the Liturgy of the Word, in which are expressed the importance of Christian Marriage in the history of salvation and the responsibilities and duties of Marriage to be attended to for the sanctification of the spouses and their children…11 Notice that the Church says that the readings for the Rite of Marriage are a catechetical moment. Very often when dealing with couples they may look over the readings and decide which one(s) they like the best based on a variety of factors, but seldom is there a fine discernment about ‘what we need to hear’ about marriage. The readings that are suggested by the

Church for the celebration of Marriage really focus on three primary themes: the primordial goodness of marriage, the Christian call to charity, and, finally, Christ the Bridegroom. As the

Rite of Marriage states:

The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish a lifelong partnership between themselves, derives its force and strength from creation, but for the Christian faithful it is also raised up to a higher dignity, since it is numbered among the Sacraments of the new covenant.12 The good of marriage is on display from the very beginning of God’s creation. The suggested readings we find from the book of Genesis reveal that human beings are by our very nature

10. Order of Celebrating Matrimony, nos. 7-9. 11. Order of Celebrating Matrimony, nos.34-35. 12. Order of Celebrating Matrimony, no. 1.

13 called to communion. The male body makes no sense without the female body and vice versa.

Thus, marriage is a way in which humans can come to know a bit about the Divine Communion that exists between the Persons of the Trinity and into which God invites us through His Son.

Marriage is also shown as the metaphor God uses to describe His love for His people, His beloved (Jer. 31, Song of Sol. 2 RNAB). Therefore husbands and wives are drawn into the mystery not only of the sacredness of their own married love, but of how that love has been elevated by the love of God. The responsorial psalms that are suggested for the marriage ceremony begin with psalms that point out the goodness of God’s creation (Pss. 33,34), God’s mercy (Pss. 103, 145), and the life of the blessed who praise God in their lives (Pss. 112, 128,

148).

The New Testament readings that are suggested for the Rite of Marriage also lend themselves to a strong catechesis on how the encounter we have with God leads us to go out and encounter others with that same love, and on how marriage is a vehicle for both the former and latter. St. Paul’s letter to the Romans admonishes believers to embrace the reality that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ and that as Christ has welcomed us, we need to welcome one another (Rom 8, 15). The suggested readings from Corinthians, Ephesians, and Colossians remind us that charity is the greatest of gifts and the bond which holds us together (1 Cor. 12,

Eph. 5, Col. 3). This love then is called to overflow from the couple to the greater community and ultimately point towards the eschatological wedding feast of the lamb (1 Pet. 3, 1 John 3,

Rev. 19).

But as in all liturgies, the Word finds its perfect expression in the life and ministry of

Jesus, who invites couples to enter more deeply into his life of the beatitudes, a life rooted in a love of God so deep that it ultimately lends itself to giving witness by laying down one’s own life for another. Pope Francis speaks about how entry into the kerygma must be the central focus of married love if it is going to be what God intends:

In and among families, the Gospel message should always resound; the core of that message, the kerygma, is what is “most beautiful, most excellent, most appealing and at the same time most necessary”. This message “has to occupy the center of all evangelizing activity”. It is the first and most important proclamation, “which we must hear again and again in different ways, and which we must always announce in one form or another”. Indeed, “nothing is more solid, profound, secure, meaningful and wise than that message”. In effect, “all Christian formation consists of entering more deeply into the kerygma.” Our teaching on marriage and the family cannot fail to be inspired and transformed by this message of love and tenderness; otherwise, it becomes nothing more than the defense of a dry and lifeless doctrine. The mystery of the Christian family can be fully understood only in the light of the Father’s infinite love revealed in Christ, who gave himself up for our sake and who continues to dwell in our midst.13 The Church then says that a homily should follow the proclamation of the Gospel in which the topics of the mystery of Christian marriage, the dignity of conjugal love, the grace of the

Sacrament, and the responsibilities of married couples should be expounded upon.14 This in a way is the last catechetical preparation before the couple actually enters into the marriage covenant, bringing to conclusion all catechesis they have received in their lives up to this point in order to enter fully into a vocation in Christ.

13. Francis, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia [On Love in the Family], Mar. 19, 2016, no. 85, Holy See, https://w2.vatican.va/content/dam/francesco/pdf/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione- ap_20160319_amoris-laetitia_en.pdf. 14. Rite of Matrimony no. 90.

Forming a Community of Persons---the Wedding Vows Dearly beloved, you have come together into the house of the Church, so that in the presence of the Church’s minister and the community your intention to enter into Marriage may be strengthened by the Lord with a sacred seal.15 Elevated by the love of God, Christian marriage is no longer just a part of the natural order, but, by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, it is now supernatural in the sense that the couple becomes a new creation by the exchange and consummation of their wedding vows. Just as Jesus freely laid down his life out of love for his bride the Church, husband and wife on their wedding day by the exchange of their vows profess a free, total, faithful, and fruitful love to each other.

The Holy Spirit seals the conjugal love of spouses, providing them with a supernatural end of participating in the very life of the Trinity and in the eschatological marriage of Jesus and His bride, the Church.16 Not only does the couple become a new creation, but the wedding vows look towards the future when they will become co-creators with God by bringing children into the world, sharing the faith with them, and forming a “domestic church” that is nourished by and comes to the aid of the Universal Church. St. John Paul II commenting on this mystery states:

Like each of the seven sacraments, so also marriage is a real symbol of the event of salvation, but in its own way. "The spouses participate in it as spouses, together, as a couple, so that the first and immediate effect of marriage (res et sacramentum) is not supernatural grace itself, but the Christian conjugal bond, a typically Christian communion of two persons because it represents the mystery of Christ's incarnation and the mystery of His covenant. The content of participation in Christ's life is also specific: conjugal love involves a totality, in which all the elements of the person enter- appeal of the body and instinct, power of feeling and affectivity, aspiration of the spirit and of will. It aims at a deeply personal unity, the unity that, beyond union in one flesh, leads to forming one heart and soul; it demands indissolubility and faithfulness in definitive mutual giving; and it is open to fertility (cf Humanae vitae, 9). In a word it is a question of the normal characteristics of all-natural conjugal love, but with a new significance which not only

15. Rite of Matrimony no. 93. 16. Ouellet, Divine Likeness, Loc. 973, 980, 1144. Kindle.

purifies and strengthens them but raises them to the extent of making them the expression of specifically Christian values."17 The Rite of Marriage conveys that, through the grace bestowed on them by God, the original holiness of marriage is not only restored but is now elevated to mirror the relationship between

Christ and the Church.18 In fact, if we are to look for an image of the love that God has for us, we are told to look at the spousal love that exists between husband and wife at this moment and to be reminded of the great love story of salvation history in which we exist.19

However, just because their love is supported by grace and has taken on a sacramental character does not mean that this love will be easy. Truly, just as the love that Christ had for the

Church was difficult and painful at times (even to the death), husbands and wives are called to grow daily in holiness through the love and sacrifice in their newly formed family community.

This love not only exists within the home but extends outward as well. Donnell Kirchner puts it this way:

The sacrament of matrimony, therefore, should give the married couple the graces to not be selfish, to be ready to give and share life with others, to make sacrifices and to renounce immediate pleasure in benefit of the good of others. Parents begin this mission by shepherding their children to discover and love the Lord. By living in a Christian community, one learns to forgive, to heal hurts and pains, to be willing to forego one’s preferences so that others might benefit. The Christian couple will find themselves being drawn, according to their circumstances, to helping beyond the four walls of their own home and immediate family. Time, talents, capacity, etc. will dictate what, where and with whom, but because of the power of the Eucharist and their sacrament of matrimony, this couple will be open to giving of their love to those who

17. John Paul II Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio[On the Role of the Christian Family in the Modern World] no. 13. November 22, 1981. Accessed July 18, 2018 at http://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul- ii/en/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_jp-ii_exh_19811122_familiaris-consortio.html. 18. Rite of Matrimony no. 5. 19. Pope Francis states that “Each marriage is a kind of “salvation history”, which from fragile beginnings – thanks to God’s gift and a creative and generous response on our part – grows 168 over time into something precious and enduring.” Post-Synodic Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia, no. 221.

are lonely, abandoned, scarred, bruised or hurt by life’s evil ways. Whatever the situation, there is always someone to love and serve.20 By the exchange of their vows, not only is the couple celebrating how their love has led them to this moment, but even more importantly are opening themselves up to the future possibilities of where this love will lead them. The intercessions offered on behalf of the couple at the end of the Liturgy of the Word focus on the twofold dynamic of love for each other that is continually renewed and strengthened but also overflows into the larger church community.

Eucharistic Celebration---Preparation of the Gifts, Priestly Offering, Unity in Christ Each one of these ritual actions is moving and beautiful, but the Church presents the couple with

one more rite by which they might express the sealing of their marriage bond most perfectly. In

the nuptial Mass they offer themselves together in Christ to God the Father, fully realizing that

the commandment of the New Covenant—love one another—from that moment will take on a new

meaning for them. In receiving holy communion, they will share the bread and chalice as a sign

that Christ has come to them to bind them together in a new life of shared grace.

It seems that out of a desire to get as many friends and family members involved in the liturgy as possible, seldom do the bride and groom participate in bringing the gifts forward to the altar.

However, this is what the Church recommends, as the presentation of the bread and wine represent the offering made by the husband and wife to one another and to God.21 At every Mass, the presentation of the gifts is an exercise of the baptismal priesthood of the faithful where they make an offering to be consecrated by God. During the wedding liturgy this takes on a much

20. Donnell Kirchner, “Making Couples Missionary: Make Human and Christian Values Present and Visible,” The Priest (May 2014): 70(5):43. Available from: ATLA Catholic Periodical and Literature Index, Ipswich, MA. Accessed May 25, 2018. 21. Rite of Matrimony no. 70.

18 deeper meaning, as one wedding feast is being drawn into another. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI wrote:

The transformation of the gifts, which ought to be extended to include us…must become a process of complete alteration of our selves: from narrow self-will into unity with the will of God…Bodies, that means embodied persons who become Eucharist, no longer stand next to one another, but rather become one with and in the one Body, and in the one living Christ.22 When the couple has made the offering of bread and wine representing themselves, the faithful reflect on how the bride and groom, like the bread and wine, have been transformed into a new reality: the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ, the husband and wife into the

Body of Christ present in the Church. There is a new “fusion” of existence between the husband and wife, their relationship as a couple to God, and their witness to the world. Benedict continues:

To receive the Eucharist means, according to this text (1 Cor 6:12-19), the fusion of existences, a highly spiritual analogy to what happens when man and wife become one on the physical/psychological/spiritual levels…the eros of the creature is overtaken by the agape of the Creator and so come to that overwhelming, holy embrace.23…In the Eucharist, the Church is built, indeed, the Church is Eucharist. To take communion means to become Church, since it means: to become one body with him. Of course, this being-one-body is to be conceived in the way man and wife become one: one flesh and yet two, two and yet one. The difference is not cancelled but taken up into a higher unity.24

Sharing in the Life and Mission of the Church----the Nuptial Blessing May these your servants hold fast to the faith and keep your commandments; made one in the flesh, may they be blameless in all they do; and with the strength that comes from the Gospel,

22. Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, “Eucharist and Mission,” Irish Theological Quarterly 65, no. 3: 261. 23. Ratzinger, “Eucharist and Mission,”. 251. 24. Ratzinger, “Eucharist and Mission,” 252.

19 may they bear true witness to Christ before all.25 The Rite of Marriage pauses during the Liturgy of the Eucharist to bestow a special nuptial blessing upon the couple, empowering them for the mission ahead by an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. As a newly formed domestic church, husband and wife are called to participate in the missionary activity of the Church by acting as a leaven in society: in their workplaces, communities, parishes, and schools. Lumen Gentium makes it clear that:

…the laity, by their very vocation, seek the kingdom of God by engaging in temporal affairs and

by ordering them according to the plan of God. They live in the world, that is, in each and in all

of the secular professions and occupations. They live in the ordinary circumstances of family and

social life, from which the very web of their existence is woven. They are called there by God

that by exercising their proper function and led by the spirit of the Gospel they may work for the

sanctification of the world from within as a leaven. In this way they may make Christ known to

others, especially by the testimony of a life resplendent in faith, hope and charity. Therefore,

since they are tightly bound up in all types of temporal affairs it is their special task to order and

to throw light upon these affairs in such a way that they may come into being and then

continually increase according to Christ to the praise of the Creator and the Redeemer.26

It is from the heart of the Church that married couples and families are sent out to evangelize the world through their daily activities. The life of the home then becomes one with the missionary activity of the Church by being a place of catechesis, evangelization, and service.

25. Nuptial Blessing, Rite of Matrimony no. 74. 26. Second Vatican Council, Decree on the Church Lumen Gentium, Nov. 21, 1964, no. 31, http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen- gentium_en.html.

The nuptial blessing asks that the bride live her life in imitation of the women whose praises are sung in scriptures and that the husband love her as Christ loves the Church. Together, they become a “small church” where the poor, the lonely, and the marginalized find in them a sanctuary of God’s compassion.

The married couple in a way experiences a new Pentecost during their wedding ceremony, where through the prayers of the Church and the outpouring of God’s grace, they are given the necessary gifts of the Spirit to live out their vocations vibrantly and faithfully. Once again Pope Benedict XVI reminds us that:

Precisely then, when the Eucharist is rightly celebrated ‘in the Upper Room’, in the interior space of reverent faith, without any other intention apart from pleasing God, faith springs up from it. It is that faith, which is the dynamic well-spring of mission, in which the world is changed into a living sacrificial offering –into the Holy City.27 The Eucharistic celebration ends with the couple being sent forth into the world as a new creation, to continue the work of recreating society according to God’s plan.

Conclusion From the moment that bride and groom are greeted at the Church to the final dismissal, the Rite of Marriage is full of images, prayers, and catechetical moments that clearly point to the mission of the family in the modern world. The love that they have for each other is elevated and united with the love of Christ for the Church as the couple bears witness to the world of a free, total, faithful, and fruitful love animated by the Holy Spirit for the building up of God’s kingdom. I’ll conclude by once again quoting from the Rite of Marriage itself, which beautifully

27. Ratzinger, “Eucharist and Mission,”264.

21 sums up the reality of marriage desired for the faithful but often obscured by sentimentality and a strictly human, rather than divine, understanding:

For God, who has called the couple to Marriage, continues to call them to Marriage. Those who marry in Christ are able, with faith in the Word of God, to celebrate fruitfully the mystery of the union of Christ and the Church, to live it rightly, and to bear witness to it publicly before all. A Marriage that is desired, prepared for, celebrated, and lived daily in the light of faith is that which is “joined by the Church, strengthened by a sacrificial offering, sealed by a blessing, announced by Angels, and ratified by the Father. . . . How wonderful the bond of the two believers: one in hope, one in vow, one in discipline, one in the same service! They are both children of one Father and servants of the same Master, with no separation of spirit and flesh. Indeed, they are two in one flesh; where there is one flesh, there is also one spirit.”28

Through a deeper appreciation and understanding of what the Church communicates through the

Marriage Rite, may we discover anew the great call to holiness and mission that is contained within the Sacrament of Marriage.

Part 2: The Pneumatological Foundation

An examination of the pneumatological effects of the Sacrament of Confirmation will provide a structured approach for couples and families to establish a sound foundation regarding their identity as the domestic church. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states the following regarding the effects of the Sacrament of Confirmation:

From this fact, Confirmation brings an increase and deepening of baptismal grace: - it roots us more deeply in the divine filiation which makes us cry, "Abba! Father!:" - it unites us more firmly to Christ; - it increases the gifts of the Holy Spirit in us; - it renders our bond with the Church more perfect; - it gives us a special strength of the Holy Spirit to spread and defend the faith by word

28. Rite of Matrimony no. 5.

and action as true witnesses of Christ, to confess the name of Christ boldly, and never to be ashamed of the Cross.29 Examination of each of these effects reveals a pneumatological foundation that both benefits the catechesis that takes place during marriage preparation and serves as a reference point for married couples and families as they continue to grow in their faith lives and live out their mission in the Church and the world.

The Gift of the Spirit Deepens Baptismal Grace

The Sacrament of Baptism, as the introduction into the life of Christ and union with the

Church, serves as the sacramental foundation for the Christian life. It would make sense, then, that the Sacraments of both Confirmation and Marriage could refer to Baptism as a foundation upon which these Sacraments deepen the life of grace within the believer and prepare him or her for their vocation to one another and their joint mission in the Church. This was dealt with extensively in the first section of this paper, so I will move on to the next effect.

The Holy Spirit Roots Us More Deeply in Divine Filiation

The second pneumatological effect of the Sacraments that builds a foundation for identity as the domestic church is a greater rootedness in divine filiation. An analogous adjective that also applies and that has been used since St. Paul is the term “belovedness.” Divine filiation, that is, becoming a beloved son or daughter of God the Father, is a dignity that is bestowed on the

29. Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 1303.

23 individual believer in baptism. This fundamental identity is constantly under attack in the life of believers and needs both safeguarding and nurturing throughout life.

To live out our missions in life rooted in our identity as beloved children rather than as slaves or foreigners provides a familial gestalt from which apostolic activity can spring. Spouses cooperate in reminding each other of their belovedness. By freely choosing to lay down their lives for the sake of the other, spouses enter into a lived, sacramental participation in the love of

God who chooses to lay down his life for us, his beloved. Further, in their married lives together, the experience of forgiveness, reconciliation, and unconditional love all reinforce the fundamental truth of each spouse’s beloved nature.

Perhaps the most obvious way in which the family as the domestic church gives witness to the deepening identity of divine filiation is through the love of the parents for their children.

By receiving their children as gifts from God and bringing them up according to the law of

Christ and his Church, mothers and fathers become in a way a sacramental image of God’s love for their children. Helping them to grow in age and wisdom while also helping them overcome their faults and shortcomings are aspects of the domestic church that should be evident as the felt experience of being a beloved son or daughter. This is carried out both individually as father and mother, but also corporately as the parental unit, like the Church who nurtures her children.

Wendy M. Wright, in her article “The Charism of Parenting,” comments on the dynamic of belovedness in family life when writing:

To welcome a child is to have your heart stretched, made capable of loving in a new and unrepeatable way. To love in this way is quite different from the love elicited by a beloved, a spouse or a friend. Each of these loves too has its heart-stretching capacity, but

they tend more to equality and mutuality, to the alignment of interest and point of view. They involve companionship, partnership, and the convergence of experiences. A parent’s love is different. It opens places in the heart that have never been exposed before. It awakens inexpressible tenderness, the awareness of the extraordinary beauty and terrifying fragility of human life. It calls forth hope, the almost giddy consciousness of the promise of what might be.30

As we see, through the gift of the Holy Spirit in Marriage, parents share in the love of the Father as they allow their hearts to be opened in a new way. This is the same love the Church has for her children. While this isn’t ever perfectly lived out and there are many situations in which the beloved identity can be attacked (abuse, neglect, abandonment, death), it remains, nonetheless, a marker for couples and families to use while living out their identity as the domestic church.

The Holy Spirit Unites Us More Firmly to Christ

Through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, God more firmly unites believers to Himself.

The domestic church, filled with an outpouring of the Spirit, is fundamentally Christo-centric.

Cardinal Ouellet comments that:

The Holy Spirit also stirs up a love lived in faith, namely the response to the gift received in Baptism. Two baptized persons cannot separate their love for one another from their belonging to Christ. Assumed by Christ as members of his body, they are already marked with his seal and made participants in his life and mission. Therefore, faith in Christ requires the baptized person to offer Christ the love received from the Creator Father. Thus, the Holy Spirit guards the Christocentric sense of conjugal love, calling the couple to invoke God’s blessing upon their love, inspiring them to be faithful to the Father’s will, and moving them to consecrate their marital life to Christ.31

30. Wendy M. Wright, “The Charism of Parenting,” in Retrieving Charisms for the Twenty-First Century, ed. Doris Donnelly (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1999), 90. 31. Ouellet, Divine Likeness, Loc 1095. Kindle.

In speaking about the Church as the Body of Christ, the Catechism states that through the gift of the Holy Spirit, union with Jesus actually becomes more intense than the union his disciples enjoyed during his public ministry on earth.32 It goes on to say that there are three aspects of the

Body of Christ that, I suggest, can also be applied to the family as the domestic church: the unity of all her members with each other as a result of their union with Christ; Christ as the head of the body; and the Church as the bride of Christ.33 Unity, or a call to communion, permeates every aspect of married and familial life. Husbands and wives are called to become no longer two, but one flesh (Matt. 19:6 RNAB) and to be of one heart, one mind, and one Spirit in Christ ( Phil. 2:2). St.

Paul’s famous admonition in Ephesians calls for husbands to lay down their lives for their brides and to love them as their own bodies. Wives are called to subordinate themselves to the kenotic love of their husbands and the shared mission of the family (Eph. 5:22-28). Children are called to respect their parents, and fathers are encouraged not to provoke their sons ( Eph. 6:1-4). It is the work of the Holy Spirit within the family that brings this unity about. The gift of the Spirit also enables the spiritual life of the couple and family to mirror that of the Church by accepting Jesus as the head of the household. The mission flows from Jesus, apart from whom we can do nothing

(Jn. 15:5). Devotional practices such as the Enthronement of the Sacred Heart where the entire family, led by their parents, enshrine an image of Jesus and profess familial faith and obedience to him provide a sacramental expression of this reality. Finally, as the bride of Christ, the Church receives the Word in its fullness from her divine spouse who is always faithful. So too, through the gift of the Spirit, husbands and wives mutually give to and receive from each other a love

32. Catechism of the Catholic Church, no 788. 33. Catechism of the Catholic Church, no 789.

26 that is faithful in good times and in bad. Further, the family is called to mirror the Church as the bride of Christ in her disposition of receptivity to the Word of God and the promptings of the

Holy Spirit who bestows divine life upon believers and guides their daily activities.

The Holy Spirit Strengthens Our Bond with the Church

The gift of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer, and by extension in the life of the family as the domestic church, increases the bond with the Church Universal. As St. Paul says, there is only one Spirit who guides both the life of the universal Church and the life of the individual believer simultaneously (Eph. 4:4-6). Here we begin to discover the reciprocal relationship the Spirit creates between the Church in her domestic and Universal forms. In relationship to the family, the Church aids parents in their mission of ministry to their children, assisting them in building up the Church and helping them and their children discover their God- given vocations.34 The Church looks to faithful families and encourages them in the testimony that they offer to the world. The Church is a family of families. In the reciprocal relationship that exists between the Church, who nourishes, and the family, who witnesses, the Church is good for families and families are good for the Church.35 Through the shared moments of life with all of its joys, sorrows, and many stages, the Church remains both a safe harbor that provides grace and encouragement for families and the recipient of the unique and irreplaceable fruits of family life.36

34. Francis, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia, no. 85. 35. Francis, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia, 87. 36. Francis, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia, 88.

The Holy Spirit Associates Us More Closely with the Church’s Mission

Perhaps the most frequently written about aspect of the domestic church in recent documents is the call for couples and families to participate in the missionary activity of the

Church by acting as a leaven in society: in their workplaces, in their communities, in their parishes, and in their schools. It is from the heart of the Church that married couples and families are sent out to evangelize the world through their daily activities. The life of the home then becomes one with the missionary activity of the Church by being a place of catechesis, evangelization, and service. The Second Vatican Council speaks to this Spirit-driven mission in

Apostolicam Actuositatem:

…incorporated into Christ's Mystical Body through Baptism and strengthened by the power of the Holy Spirit through Confirmation, they are assigned to the apostolate by the Lord Himself. They are consecrated for the royal priesthood and the holy people (cf. 1 Peter 2:4-10) not only that they may offer spiritual sacrifices in everything they do but also that they may witness to Christ throughout the world...One engages in the apostolate through the faith, hope, and charity which the Holy Spirit diffuses in the hearts of all members of the Church. Indeed, by the precept of charity, which is the Lord's greatest commandment, all the faithful are impelled to promote the glory of God through the coming of His kingdom…37

Every aspect of the daily life of the family as domestic church is united to the mission of the

Church Universal which is sent out into the world to proclaim the coming of God’s kingdom.

37. Second Vatican Council, Pastoral Constitution Apostolicam Actuositatem [Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity], Nov. 18, 1965, no. 3, accessed July 15, 2017, http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vatii_decree_19651118_apostolicam- actuositatem_en.html.

Charisms for Mission

In addition to the pneumatological foundation given to believers in the domestic church through the Sacraments, the Holy Spirit also gives believers, spouses, and families individual gifts for the building up of the kingdom and the fulfillment of their missions in life. The word charism is used in many different ways in the Church and in society today, but for the sake of this conversation we will refer to the classic definition of charismata used by St. Paul in

Corinthians that denotes charism as a free gift of the Spirit intended for the building up of the

Church, the Body of Christ, which is also marked by a joy that comes from setting free forces within the individual for the service of God.38 There is also a distinction between graces, actual or Sacramental, and charisms. While both are technically gifts from God, graces are given for the sanctification of the individual, while charisms are given to equip the individual for some service, regardless of vocation or status in life.39

There are several lists given by St. Paul in his letters describing charisms he observed in the early Church. To the Church in Corinth, he mentions the different gifts given for some benefit to the community. He includes words of wisdom and knowledge, faith, healing, mighty deeds, prophecy, discernment, tongues, and interpretation of tongues (1 Cor. 12:4-10). He goes on to talk about the Spirit “designating” individuals for roles in the Church through an outpouring of

38. Rene Laurentin, “Charisms: Terminological Precision,” in Charisms in the Church, ed. Christian Duquoc and Casiano Floristan (New York: Seabury Press, 1978), 8-10. 39. Avery Cardinal Dulles, “The Charism of the New Evangelizer,” in Retrieving Charisms for the Twenty- First Century, ed. Doris Donnelly (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1999), 34.

29 gifts, including apostles, prophets, teachers, administrators, deacons, evangelists, pastors, and assistants (1 Cor. 12:28; Rom. 12:6-8; Eph. 4:11).

Just as there are a variety of charisms within the Church, so too, as the domestic church, the family can manifest a variety of gifts. Not only do individual members of the family have their own charisms, but God has given them corporate charisms that belong to the couple. For example, the gift of hospitality, with which a couple or family is able to evangelize through the art of welcoming, is something that they cannot accomplish as fruitfully as individuals. No matter what the gift, however, there ought to be a harmony between the movement of the Holy

Spirit within the life of the individual believer and family, and that of the whole Church. To put it another way, the Holy Spirit would not create contradiction or confusion by revealing something to be true to the Church or individual while simultaneously revealing it as false to the other, or to one spouse but not the other in the context of marriage. Individual and corporate gifts should exist in harmony and even complement each other. As John Haughey, S.J., says:

…charisms are not peripheral to the life of the Church but more like the yeast that makes the Church a Church. Still there is something deliciously unpredictable about the Spirit, while there is something predictably institutional about the Church within which the Spirit works through the charisms of its members. The charisms functioning independently of the structures of the institution would be chaos, while the institution without the charisms would be monotonous, uniform, lifeless. So, each needs the other.40

40. John C. Haughey, S.J., “Charisms: An Ecclesiological Exploration,” in Retrieving Charisms for the Twenty-First Century, ed. Doris Donnelly, (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1999), 5.

This reciprocal relationship between the hierarchical Church allows the Church to receive the benefits of the outpouring of the Spirit in the individual believer or family’s life, while providing them a voice of discernment as to the authenticity of charism and how it can be used for mission.

However, some theologians feel that there is room for development in the area of reciprocity when it comes to Magisterial teaching and the Sensus Fidelium. While recognizing the need for ecclesial authority to safeguard and define the deposit of the faith, the task of discerning the truth of the faith is given to the Church as a whole. If the Holy Spirit truly is alive and active in bestowing charisms upon the faithful, some see a need for greater dialogue and experimentation in the Church.41

The Church, for her part, in the pastoral letter Iuvenescit Ecclesia (Regarding the

Relationship Between Hierarchical and Charismatic Gifts in the Life and Mission of the

Church), gives benchmarks for discerning authentic charisms. First, there should be an increase in the faith and charity of the believer who receives the gift, as all gifts of the Spirit are oriented ultimately towards Christian charity. Authentic charisms should reveal a commitment to evangelization that is rooted in and faithful to the Magisterium of the Church and gives witness to communion with the local bishop and the Pope. As gifts do not compete with one another, authentic gifts are complimentary to other gifts and are integrated harmoniously with the other

41. Pamela McCann, “Karl Rahner and the Sensus Fidelium,” in The Sensus Fidelium and Moral Theology, ed. Charles E. Curran and Lisa A. Fullam (New York: Paulist Press, 2017), 185-186.

31 gifts of the Church. Finally, authentic gifts give witness to Christian suffering, reveal the fruits of the Spirit, and are oriented towards the good of the other.42

In conclusion, this pneumatological gestalt affords a greater understanding of the family as a domestic church. The Holy Spirit provides foundational gifts to believers through the

Sacraments that ought to be found and nurtured within the relationship between spouses as well as in the relationship between parents and their children. Building on this foundation, families can also discern what charisms might be present for them to fulfill their apostolic mission in the world. The individual and corporate charismatic gifts of the Spirit that reside in the family are essential for the Church’s mission. Fostering a greater reciprocity between the hierarchical gifts of the institutional Church and the charismatic gifts of the family as domestic church will be vital for the Church to be effective in evangelization in the third millennium

PART 3: The Spirituality of Charisms

The phrase “charismatic renewal” carries with it a lot of connotations in today’s Church.

Very often charismatic prayer groups, Masses, or gatherings are considered somewhat “fringe”

Catholic experiences. Speaking in tongues, gifts of healing, prophecy, etc. can seem as though they are gifts suited for a different age than our own. However, by examining the history and theology of charisms, it will be easy to see that being charismatic is anything but “fringe.”

42. Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Iuvenescit Ecclesia [Regarding the Relationship between the Hierarchical and Charismatic Gifts in the Life and the Mission of the Church], May 15, 2016, no. 18, accessed on July 15, 2017,http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20160516_iuvenescit- ecclesia_en.html#_ftn85.

Rather, every believer is called to be charismatic in his or her own way, manifesting the gifts that

God has given to all and to each in order to share in the life of Christ and to fulfill our mission in the world. I will briefly explore the history of charisms from creation to modern day, the theology of the Holy Spirit and how charisms flow from a sacramental foundation and are always in communion with the mission of the universal Church, and the dynamics of how charisms ought to be discerned and lived out in the life of the individual believer.

Historical Approach to Charism of the Holy Spirit

To begin, we can examine the activity of the Holy Spirit as presented in the Old

Testament. The term “spirit” comes from the Latin word spiritus meaning “breath.” In the Greek

New Testament, the word used is pneuma, while in Hebrew it is ruah. Thus, we can look to ways in which the breath of God was active in the Old Covenant. The first place that the Holy Spirit is referred to, even if indirectly, is in the creation account. First, we see that there was a “mighty wind” that was sweeping over the waters preceding creation (Gen 1:1-2). In the second chapter of Genesis we see the Lord forming man out of the clay and blowing the breath (ruah) of life into his nostrils (Gen 2:7). Both narrations point to the creative and life-giving properties of the

Holy Spirit, who will come again on the day of Pentecost as a strong driving wind, re-creating the Apostles. Then, Jesus Himself breathes on them, saying “receive the Holy Spirit.” But the primary role of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament was not one of creation, but one of prophesy. Max Turner writes:

The most typical gifts anticipated from the Spirit were accordingly various types of charismatic revelation, charismatic wisdom, and invasive charismatic speech…The Spirit’s revelatory and wisdom-granting roles were understood (in many quarters) as transformative, and thus as potentially soteriological. In several of the messianic figures anticipated the one Spirit of prophecy was simultaneously to be the radically ethically-oriented Spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord, and the Spirit of wisdom and might to rule.43 This notion of the Spirit of God as primarily prophecy, wisdom, and leadership (although not to the exclusion of mighty deeds) is how the Holy Spirit is usually depicted in the synoptic Gospels in the life of Jesus Christ. Luke begins his Gospel narrative with the account of the Annunciation in which Mary is told that the

Holy Spirit will come down upon her and that the child to be born of her will be called holy, the

Son of God. The next reference we see to the Spirit is at the Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan by

John, where the Spirit descends upon Jesus and animates his three-year earthly ministry. Turner concludes that “the Gospels were more interested in assuring their readers that Jesus was the expected Messiah of the Spirit and that he was so empowered for his mission than they were in explaining what Jesus’ endowment at the Jordan contributed to his own life before God.”44 At the Last Supper discourse, Jesus tells His disciples that He must return to the Father so that they may receive the Advocate who will remind them of everything He said and did. After the resurrection, He breathes on them and tells them that whatever they now bind on earth is bound in heaven, and what is loosed on earth is loosed in heaven. This empowerment of the Holy Spirit is clearly a participation in the life and ministry of Jesus that will now be carried out in his

43. Max Turner, The Holy Spirit and Spiritual Gifts (Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers Inc., 2005), 20. 44. Turner, The Holy Spirit and Spiritual Gifts, 35.

Church. Through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, Jesus gives his disciples a share in his

Divinity. His nature now becomes our gift. From Pentecost on, the Scriptures report that the

Apostles were now manifesting supernatural gifts of speaking foreign languages, being transported from one place to another, healing the sick, and even raising the dead as Jesus had done.

This leads us to the letters of St. Paul, who is credited with being the first person to use the word charism in reference to the action of the Holy Spirit. James Pedlar, in his book

Division, Diversity, and Unity; A Theology of Ecclesial Charisms, writes that the word charisma is rooted in charis meaning “gift” and –ma referring to its effects. So, a charism is the result of a gift from God. Paul uses the term charisma seventeen times in his letters and in various ways.

Paul uses the term to describe any gift of God bestowed upon his people, the gift of salvation given to believers, communal gifts and vocation,45 and, finally, the individual manifestations of

God’s grace in the life of the believer.46 To put it another way, we must consider first the corporate work of the Holy Spirit, i.e., how the Spirit works in the life of the Church as a whole, before we can fully understand and discern how the individual gifts play their parts.

Through the first several centuries, it seemed to be the expectation that believers would be manifesting gifts of the Holy Spirit as a natural part of their Christian lives. Raniero

45. James Pedlar, Division, Diversity, and Unity: A Theology of Ecclesial Charisms (New York: Peter Lang Publishing, 2015), 28. Here Pedlar diverges from Turner in reference to the Old Testament. Whereas Turner was focused primarily on the gift of prophecy, Pedlar argues that the gifts of office (Priestly, Prophetic, and Kingly) were the primary “charisma” of the Old Testament, perfected in Christ, the “pneumatological man,” and bestowed upon the Church. 46. Pedlar Division, Diversity, and Unity, ,13-16.

Cantalamessa in his book Sober Intoxication of the Spirit asserts that the outpouring of the Holy

Spirit is something that is not the privilege of the few, but the expectation for all who have entered into the life of faith. He cites St. Augustine who counseled the newly baptized on Easter:

The Holy Spirit has come to abide in you; do not make him withdraw; do not exclude him from your heart in anyway. He is a good guest; He found you empty and He filled you; He found you hungry and He satisfied you; He found you thirsty and He has intoxicated you. May He truly intoxicate you! The Apostle said, “Do not be drunk with wine which leads to debauchery.” Then, as if to clarify what we should be intoxicated with, he adds, “But be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart.” Doesn’t a person who rejoices in the Lord and sings to Him exuberantly seem like a person who is drunk? I like this kind of intoxication. The Spirit of God is both drink and light.47

In the centuries that followed, there doesn’t seem to be as much of an emphasis on the individual manifestation of charisms in the life of the believer. Sacramental grace and a communal (or corporate) interpretation of charism(s) begins to take precedence. The renewal of the Church that took place in the thirteenth century with great saints such as Francis, Dominic, and Aquinas gave witness within the Church and to the world of the Spirit “rebuilding” the

Church through communal charisms of poverty and preaching, accompanied by great theological clarification. In the sixteenth century the Council of Trent emphasized the role of the Holy Spirit in guiding the Church from heresy, but with little to no mention of the manifestation of the

Spirit’s gifts in individual believers’ lives. As Protestantism began to spread through the centuries, different denominations de-emphasized the corporate role of the Spirit and instead emphasized the individual experience. It was finally in the twentieth century, following the

47. St. Augustine, Easter Homily, quoted by Raniero Cantalamessa in Sober Intoxication of the Spirit: Filled with the Fullness of God (Cincinnati, St. Anthony Messenger Press, 2005), 4. Kindle.

Second Vatican Council, that the role of the Spirit in the life of the believer was reaffirmed, and the “charismatic movement” within the Church was rediscovered. In particular, the Second

Vatican Council’s document Lumen Gentium speaks of the role of charisms on several occasions.

Affirming the complimentary role between hierarchical and individual gifts that bring vitality to the Church in the world, we read:

The Spirit dwells in the Church and in the hearts of the faithful, as in a temple. In them He prays on their behalf and bears witness to the fact that they are adopted sons. The Church, which the Spirit guides in way of all truth and which He unified in communion and in works of ministry, He both equips and directs with hierarchical and charismatic gifts and adorns with His fruits. By the power of the Gospel He makes the Church keep the freshness of youth. Uninterruptedly He renews it and leads it to perfect union with its Spouse. The Spirit and the Bride both say to Jesus, the Lord, "Come!"48

I emphasize the term “rediscovered” when discussing the charismatic movement because it is clear that the Church has from its foundation been charismatic, as the Spirit in every age has guided the Church universal and her members. When people speak of the charismatic movement, it is often as a fringe group, rather than with the understanding that every believer is called to be

“moved charismatically” in his or her mission in the world.

Charisms of the Holy Spirit --Theological Section One cannot discuss the charismata of the Holy Spirit without understanding the Church’s belief about the Holy Spirit’s role in salvation history, in relationship to Jesus Christ, to the

Church, and finally to the individual believer. The Holy Spirit is God, so when we speak about a spirituality of the Holy Spirit, we are actually talking about a relationship with a person of the

48. Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium 4.

Trinity rather than about a particular school of spirituality. The Catechism of the Catholic

Church is helpful in providing a theological framework in this regard. First, we believe that the

Holy Spirit is consubstantial with the Father and the Son and has always been at work in the divine economy of salvation.49 Not only as a corporate body, but even as individual believers, we come to know the Holy Spirit primarily by His effects. Living now in the “end times” between

Jesus’ Ascension and his return in glory, the Holy Spirit makes Himself known:

-in the Scriptures he inspired -in the Tradition, to which the Church Fathers are always timely witnesses -in the Church’s Magisterium, which He assists -in the sacramental liturgy, through its words and symbols, in which the Holy Spirit puts us into communion with Christ -in prayer, wherein He intercedes for us -in the charisms and ministries by which the Church is built up -in the signs of apostolic and missionary life -in the witness of the saints through whom He manifests His holiness and continues the work of salvation50

All the works of the Holy Spirit are united to one another, and one gift or action of the Spirit never contradicts another. Therefore, as we profess that Scripture and Tradition do not contradict, but rather compliment and enliven one another, so too would we say that any charism given will be in harmony with all the other works that the Spirit accomplishes. For the sake of discussion around charisms, I think it is important to focus on a couple of these markers. First, the individual believer encounters the Holy Spirit through the sacraments. In the Sacrament of

Baptism, we are anointed in the same way Jesus was anointed by the Spirit to share in his priestly, prophetic, and kingly offices. This reaffirms what Turner and Pedlar assert about the

49. Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 685. 50. Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 688.

38 role of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament and in the life of Jesus. Everything that a baptized believer does, every charism given, will flow from the baptismal grace of giving witness as a prophet, offering prayer and sacrifice as a priest, or in exercising dominion as a king.

In the Sacrament of Confirmation, there is a fuller outpouring of the Holy Spirit with which we are “sealed.” Through this sacramental encounter, the Church teaches us that each individual believer experiences a series of relational effects; we are able to cry out “Abba,

Father,” in the midst of the Church. Confirmation unites us more firmly to Christ, increases the gift of the Holy Spirit within us, strengthens our bond with the Church, and prepares us for mission in the world.51 Here we see a deepening of the relational aspect of the Christian life. Just as every gift of the Spirit is united to the threefold office of Jesus, so too, every gift also deepens the relationship or strengthens the bond between the believer and each member of the Trinity.

Identity as a beloved child of God, a brother of Jesus, and a temple of the Spirit allows the believer to navigate his or her mission in the world without seeking identity in worldly things.

Likewise, as believers are drawn into the same relationship with the Father, Son, and Spirit, their relationship with one another deepens and the communion of saints grows. Therefore, any gift of the Spirit that leads to division instead of unity, or rejects what has been revealed to the

Universal Church as a whole, is a false gift.

The Church speaks about the traditional seven gifts of Wisdom, Knowledge,

Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Piety and Fear of the Lord. These are gifts that are active in

51. Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 1303.

39 the life of every believer. So how are they distinguished from the “charismata?” The Catherine of

Sienna Institute draws the distinction in this way:

There are gifts of the Holy Spirit that we are given to keep and gifts we are given to give away. The traditional "seven gifts of the Holy Spirit" and the "fruits" of the Spirit are gifts given to us to keep. They are part of our inner transformation as Christians and provide the inner "Christlikeness" necessary for the effective use of our charisms (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1830-1832). Charisms, on the other hand, are given to us to give away, and are one of the ways God continues to enter the world through our assent and cooperation. They always benefit other people.52 Charisms can then be seen as gifts flowing from the sacramental grace the believer is given through Baptism and Confirmation, providing office and identity, but ultimately oriented towards building up the life of the Church through apostolic and missionary activity. Lumen

Gentium puts it this way:

It is not only through the sacraments and the ministries of the Church that the Holy Spirit sanctifies and leads the people of God and enriches it with virtues, but, "allotting his gifts to everyone according as He wills, He distributes special graces among the faithful of every rank. By these gifts He makes them fit and ready to undertake the various tasks and offices which contribute toward the renewal and building up of the Church, according to the words of the Apostle: "The manifestation of the Spirit is given to everyone for profit". These charisms, whether they be the more outstanding or the more simple and widely diffused, are to be received with thanksgiving and consolation for they are perfectly suited to and useful for the needs of the Church.53

Charisms should be distinguished from universal gifts such as sanctifying grace, faith, hope, and love. While these are indispensable for every Christian, when we speak of charisms,

52. Catherine of Sienna Institute, “What Is the Difference Between the Traditional Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit, Fruits of the Holy Spirit, and Charisms?” accessed July 10, 2018, https://siena.org/charisms-faq.

53. Second Vatican Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium no. 12.

40 we are speaking about individual gifts given for the good of the entire body, but not necessarily given to all.54 As the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith states:

The charismatic gifts, therefore, are freely distributed by the Holy Spirit, so that sacramental grace may be fruitful in Christian life in different ways and at every level. Because these charisms “are perfectly suited to and useful for the needs of the Church”, through their diverse richness, the People of God are able fully to live their evangelical mission, discerning the signs of the times and interpreting them in the light of the Gospel. The charismatic gifts, in fact, enable the faithful to respond to the gift of salvation in complete freedom and in a way suited to the times. In this way, they themselves become a gift of love for others and authentic witnesses to the Gospel before all mankind.55

Classical Charisms Scripture provides us with a few lists of charisms that are not meant to be exhaustive but do reveal to us what was considered to be a charismatic gift by the early Church. In his letter to the Romans, St. Paul exhorts the members of the church of Rome to offer themselves as living sacrifices to God and to put their charisms at the service of one another. Here he mentions prophecy, ministry, teaching, exhortation, contribution, administration, and acts of mercy (Rom.

12:6-8). Prophecy could be understood to be speaking on behalf of God, sharing what has been revealed for the good of the community. Ministry reveals a gift at the service of the community in worshipping God. Teaching and exhortation driven by the Spirit allow for a “baptized” version of the Rabbinical tradition of interpreting scripture. Generosity, the administration of

54. Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, Letter to Bishops Iuvenescit Ecclesia [The Church Rejuvenates] May 15, 2016, no. 4, accessed July 10, 2018, 55. Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, Letter to Bishops Iuvenescit Ecclesia, no. 15, http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20160516_iuvenescit- ecclesia_en.html.

41 goods, and acts of mercy reveal that some have gifts specifically oriented towards the community at large.

In his First Letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul provides us with two more lists, although they contain some overlapping examples. He mentions a charismatic gift of wisdom, the capacity to a divine understanding of a particular situation; knowledge that appears to be of divine, not human origin; and the charismatic gifts of faith, healing, mighty deeds, prophecy, discernment of spirits, tongues, and interpretation of tongues. St. Paul seems to make reference to the fact that these gifts were not necessarily unheard of in pagan worship, but that their origin could be discerned if they flowed from or led to a profession of faith that Jesus is Lord (1 Cor. 12:2-3). Biblical experts comment that Paul was concerned that an overemphasis on extraordinary gifts (especially that of tongues) was leading to disruption in the community. Paul urges them to remember that all charismatic gifts lead to unity and service, not to division. The USCCB’s footnote on this passage reads:

There are some features common to all charisms, despite their diversity: all are gifts (charismata), grace from outside ourselves; all are forms of service (diakoniai), an expression of their purpose and effect; and all are workings (energēmata), in which God is at work.56

Gift, service, and divine working become the common thread in Paul’s theology of charisms. He goes on further in the same letter to speak of specific roles such as apostles, prophets, and

56. USCCB NAB footnote to 1 Corinthians 12, found at http://www.usccb.org/bible/1corinthians/12.

42 teachers, as he did in his letter to the Romans. Hence, the many gifts of the body lead to a corporate act of love, without which no charism carries meaning (1 Cor. 12:28, 13).

As mentioned before, nowhere does the Church teach that the lists of charismatic gifts given by St. Paul were meant to be exhaustive. Other gifts that have come to be recognized include celibacy, craftsmanship, encouragement, evangelism, hospitality, intercessory prayer, missionary spirit, music, pastoring, voluntary poverty, and writing.57 Since the Church is a dynamic entity, it shouldn’t surprise us that various charisms manifest themselves at different times in history. Likewise, we should also anticipate that different charisms might manifest themselves at different times in individuals’ lives as they are guided by the Spirit.

Anthropological Approach

We now turn to the individual experience of charisms and how to discern what is and isn’t a charism. It is important to recognize the difference between a natural talent and a charism of the Holy Spirit. The first distinguishing mark is that of origin. Charisms are not something that we inherit from our parents, like natural talents. The Holy Spirit that was poured out in Baptism and Confirmation is the origin of charism in the life of the believer. This doesn’t mean that talents and charisms can’t complement each other, but they are distinct. The second mark of a charism is that it is supernatural; it surpasses what the individual could achieve or accomplish through the normal use of talent or skill. Finally, unlike skills or talents that can be misused for selfish or even evil purposes, charisms can only be used for the betterment of others and the

57. Catherine of Siena Institute, “Called and Gifted Charism Summary Guide,” May 5, 2016, accessed July 10, 2018, at https://oll.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Called-and-Gifted-Charism-Summary-Guide.pdf.

43 glory of God.58 This does not mean that vices such as pride or sloth could not grow simultaneously within the heart of the individual, leading to a charismatic jerk, but the charism itself is a pure gift from God that bears good fruit.

Cantalamessa makes the point that a sure sign of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer is that a conversion to Christ has taken place. To be a righteous person in the Old Covenant meant that you were abiding by the Mosaic Law. But now, through the gift of faith, the first sign of the Spirit’s movement in someone’s life is dedication to Christ. He explains:

Prior to Jesus’ teaching, “to convert” usually meant to change one’s life, to change one’s conduct, to “prepare the way of the Lord, / make his paths straight” (Matthew 3: 3), so that the Lord could come to an individual. In other words, to convert meant to merit salvation, to hasten salvation; it had an ascetic and moral meaning. This conversion primarily involved the faithful observance of the law through one’s own strength. The law held the highest place, at least in the minds of the people (scribes, Pharisees) with whom Jesus dealt. With Jesus, that dynamic is now turned upside down. Conversion and salvation have changed places: Conversion is no longer first, followed by salvation, but, on the contrary, salvation comes first, and then conversion. “To convert” now means to believe the good news (“gospel”) that salvation is offered to people as the free gift of God; it means seizing the kingdom that has come and leaving everything else behind in exchange for it. Therefore, in Jesus’ preaching, “to convert” means “to make a decision,” and it is a “decisive choice” because everything depends on it.59

Cantalamessa proposes that the gift of faith precedes all other charisms. The Holy Spirit blows where he wills, over believers and non-believers alike. In the life of the non-believer all

58. Catherine of Siena Institute “How Do Charisms Differ From Talents?” accessed July 10, 2018, https://siena.org/charisms-faq. 59. Raniero Cantalamessa, Sober Intoxication of the Spirit Part Two: Born Again of Water and the Spirit (Cincinnati, Servant Books, 2012), 2-3. Kindle

44 movement would be towards having faith in Christ, and in the life of the believer, charisms are oriented towards mission in the world.

Sherry Weddell, the associate director of the Catherine of Siena Institute, points out that there are three typical signs that accompany the exercise of a charism: renewed energy, satisfaction, and joy.60 Unlike exercising a talent, which can be easier for some than for others but is still draining, typically when someone is exercising a charism it brings them energy in the moment. For example, as Christians we are all called to exercise hospitality. For a natural introvert who does not have a charism for hospitality, he or she may still be good at it, but it is a taxing exercise of Christian charity. On the other hand, for someone who has a charism for hospitality, he or she is enlivened when welcoming a stranger or hosting an event in the home.

Far from feeling drained, he or she feels more alive at that moment. This doesn’t mean that energy won’t be drained or that any sign of fatigue means there isn’t a charism; after all, even

Jesus had to rest. But generally, in the moment of experience,there is a great sense of vitality.

Satisfaction in the exercise of a charism is measured both in the experience of the believer and in those who are being ministered to. If someone believes that his gift of prophecy is effective, but others are turned away from the faith by it, or if someone professes to have a gift of spiritual healing but others are worse instead of better after praying with him, this is probably a sign that it isn’t an authentic charism. Finally, the gift of joy usually accompanies the exercise of a

60. Sherry Weddell, “Three Basic Signs of a Charism,” in Charisms, ed. Mary Ann Schaenzer (Virginia, Catholic Charismatic Renewal National Service Committee, 2009), 19.

45 charism. As the first fruit of the spirit (Gal. 5), joy in the heart of the believer and the one being ministered to is an important accompanying sign that it is God who is at work.

However, the Church also has her own criteria for discerning authentic charisms from false ones. In the recent letter “Iuvenescit Ecclesia,” the Congregation for the Doctrine of the

Faith gives eight criteria for discerning whether a charism is authentic:

• Primacy of the call to holiness

• Commitment to spreading the Gospel • Profession of the Catholic Faith • Witness to a full communion with the Church • Recognition and esteem for the complementarity of other charisms in the Church • Acceptance of trial in discerning the exercise of charisms • Presence of spiritual fruits • Social dimension of evangelization61 These criteria obviously highlight the fact that the exercise of a charism is not about the person who has it, but rather is about the building up of the kingdom of God. Any sort of rift with the

Tradition and Magisterium of the Church is a certain sign that an individual is in some way falling into the trap of seeking glory for himself instead of God. Further, as previously mentioned, the lack of the spiritual fruits in the lives of others also indicates that a charism is not at work.

In conclusion, when we speak about the Charismatic Renewal and encourage people to pray for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in their lives, we’re really not doing anything new.

61. Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, “Iuvenescit Ecclesia.,” no. 17.

Rather, we are rediscovering the long tradition of the Church which from its conception has been pneumatologically inspired and motivated. As we have seen, the Holy Spirit has been active since creation, has inspired the prophets and judges of the Old Testament, and was fully present in the life and ministry of Jesus. As the first gift given to the Church, the Holy Spirit came down upon the Apostles in order that they might fulfil the Great Commission to go and make disciples of all nations. St. Paul refers to the charismata that manifested in all the local churches, and the apostolic fathers down through Augustine presumed that members of the Church would manifest various charisms.

Today the Church professes that there is a harmony between the work of the Holy Spirit in the Universal Magisterium and the individual believer. Calling all to a conversion of faith, the

Holy Spirit bestows upon every believer the threefold office of Christ in Baptism and strengthens communion with the Trinity and the Church in Confirmation. As with the early church, the Holy

Spirit continues to bestow various gifts, or charisms, upon believers that are oriented towards mission in the world and bear not only good fruit in the life of the believer, but more importantly good fruit in the lives of those they minister to. Encouraging people to discover and pray for their charisms within this framework is vital for the New Evangelization if we, like all those who have come before us, are to be able to fulfill the divine commission in our own day and age.

MARRIAGE AS MISSION: THE PASTORAL SESSIONS The Session Process Invitations to participate in the pastoral project were included 1 in the parish bulletin, on the parish website, and in pulpit announcements at St. Clare of Assisi Parish in Ellisville,

Missouri, where I was installed as pastor in August of 2018. News of the project also spread by word of mouth. Ultimately 58 couples registered for the project, with one third of the couples coming from outside the parish.

Each of the pastoral sessions was held in the cafeteria of St. Clare of Assisi Parish in

Ellisville, Missouri, in the Archdiocese of St. Louis. Babysitting was provided for those who needed it. When couples arrived, they were checked in and given the chance to socialize over wine and cheese for the first twenty minutes. After this time of fellowship, couples were seated at tables of eight for the presentation and individual couple discussion time. Following the discussion, the session was concluded with a prayer and the couples were then free to leave or to stay and continue to socialize and process the information they had received. Each session averaged slightly more than 100 participants, (50 couples).

The First Session: The Sacramentality of Marriage

Session one of the pastoral project was a mystagogical reflection on the Introductory

Rites and the Liturgy of the Word in the new translation of the Rite of Marriage. The goals of the evening were: to deepen couples’ understanding of marriage as a sacrament rather than merely a human institution; to explain the symbolism of the liturgy in the Rite of Marriage; to explain the

1. See Appendix. 47

48 connection between the Sacrament of Baptism and the Sacrament of Marriage; and to give examples from the Liturgy of the Word that point to the identity and mission of married life.

The presentation began by looking at some of the verbiage from the new translation of the Rite of Marriage which states that:

[T]he main elements of the celebration of Marriage are to stand out clearly, namely: the Liturgy of the Word, in which are expressed the importance of Christian Marriage in the history of salvation and the responsibilities and duties of Marriage to be attended to for the sanctification of the spouses and their children.

Marriage is thus presented as a reality that transcends the human relationship between husband and wife because it participates in the Divine Economy in which God reveals his own identity, the dignity of humanity, and the plan of salvation. Marriage becomes the primary image that God uses to describe the relationship between divinity and humanity. Thus, as a couple grow in knowledge, love, and communion with each other, they can see humanity’s invitation to grow in knowledge, love, and communion with God.

Further, we see articulated by the Church the idea that there are “duties to be attended to for the sanctification of the spouses and their children,” which I contend points to the mission of the family in the world. By cooperating with God’s grace and utilizing the gifts that they have received, spouses help to spread the kingdom of God first within the home and then to the world at large. As I noted in Part 1, this notion is further developed in Familiaris Consortio, which defines the four primary tasks of the family as: forming a community of persons, serving life, participating in the development of society, and sharing in the life and the mission of the Church.

With the context thus set, the presentation then flowed into a mystagogical reflection on the beginning of the marriage ceremony. The first aspect that was highlighted for the couples was that the Church greets them with joy at the entrance of the church (or after they have processed in). This highlights that marriage is not just a private matter, but a communal celebration that elicits joy in the entire Body of Christ as a man and a woman enter more deeply into the Christian mystery by laying down their lives for one another and becoming a new creation in Christ.

Next, this session invited participants to reflect on the baptismal imagery that permeates the beginning of the marriage ceremony. We see that the couple (or the bride accompanied by her father in many circumstances) processes from the baptistry to the altar. Here we see a sacramental representation of the couple’s life journey thus far. Claimed as adopted children of

God in Baptism, the bride and groom have “processed” through their lives to this moment where, united with the offering of Christ on the altar, they make an offering of themselves. Marriage is therefore revealed very simply to be a sacrament that flows from the fount of Baptism. The symbolism of the white garment worn by the bride culturally can symbolize sexually purity, but in a greater sense it points back to the baptismal garment worn when the believer “puts on

Christ” and is invited to keep this dignity unstained until heaven. The baptismal root of Marriage also emphasizes that husband and wife are participating in the kenosis, or self-emptying love, that Jesus revealed in the Paschal Mystery. In Baptism and again in Marriage, the believers become a “new creation” and are enlightened by Christ in order to shine brightly before others.

An essential part of the theology of Baptism that comes to life in the marriage covenant is the effects of chrismation. When a believer is baptized and anointed with the sacred chrism on the crown of the head, that individual is invited to share in the priestly, prophetic, and kingly offices of Christ. Within the home, the newly married couple will be able to offer prayers and sacrifices for one another (priestly office), to bear witness to the Gospel in word and deed

(prophetic office), and to share in Christ’s dominion by having rightly ordered hearts, souls, and home (kingly office).

The presentation then moved on to examine some of the texts that are offered for the celebration of Marriage. It was pointed out that Marriage is a sacrament of service, in which the couple is called to live out in deeds what they have received from God in faith2. The Liturgy of the Word communicates to the couples being married three primary themes regarding the sacrament: that there is a primordial goodness of marriage, that there exists within marriage the call to Christian charity, and that they participate in a new way in the love of Christ the

Bridegroom.

After having received the above information, couples were given time to discuss with each other the following reflection questions:

How do you see the promises made to you at Baptism being fulfilled in your marriage?

What does it mean for you to be a priest in the home?

2. Opening prayer option.

What does it mean for you to be a prophet in the home?

What does it mean to share in dominion in your home?

How does God’s Word nourish and speak to your marriage today?

The Second Session: Marriage and the Eucharist Session two of the pastoral project continued the mystagogical reflection from session one. Session one made the connection between the Sacraments of Baptism and Matrimony and examined how the Liturgy of the Word expresses the transcendent realities of marriage, while session two turned the participant’s attention towards the Marriage Rite itself within the context of the Eucharistic celebration. The goals of the session were that couples would deepen their knowledge of the link that exists between the Rite of Marriage and the Liturgy of the Eucharist and that they would have a deeper understanding of how baptismal priesthood is exercised in both Marriage and the Eucharist.

The session began by looking over the Marriage Rite within the context of the Mass. It was observed that, following the homily, the priest states that the couple’s intention to enter into

Marriage is strengthened by the Lord with a special seal.3 The priest then proceeds to question the couple about their disposition to enter into Marriage. They are asked if they have come freely and without coercion to enter into Marriage, whether they intend to be faithful to each other for

3. “Dearly beloved, you have come together into the house of the Church, so that in the presence of Church’s minister and the community your intention to enter into Marriage may be strengthened by the Lord with a sacred seal.” Rite of Marriage, no. 59.

52 their entire lives, and whether they will accept children lovingly from the Lord and bring them up according to the law of Christ and His Church. In answering positively to each of these questions, the couple reveals that they are participating in the free, total, faithful, and fruitful love of Christ the Bridegroom. This is what St. John Paul II referred to as the Theology of the

Body. In their married love for each other, the bride and groom become a sacramental image of the love that Jesus has for the Church. In His perfect High Priesthood, Jesus makes a complete offering of Himself that brings life into the world. This kenosis of priesthood becomes the foundation of the marriage covenant between husband and wife as they lay down their lives for each other. Through the exchange of vows, not only does the couple become a new creation, but the wedding vows themselves look toward the future when the couple will become co-creators with God by bringing children into the world, sharing the faith with them, and forming a

“domestic church” that is nourished by, and to the aid of, the Universal Church.

Following the examination of the wedding vows, the session continued the mystagogical reflection by looking at how the baptismal priesthood of the couple is exercised in offering the prayers of the faithful for the good of the couple and the Universal Church. Even more importantly, the rite recommends that the new husband and wife present the offering of bread and wine to be used in the Eucharistic celebration. The faithful then can reflect on how the bride and groom, like the bread and wine, have been transformed into a new reality; the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ, the husband and wife into the Body of Christ present in the Church. There is a new fusion of existence between the husband and wife, their relationship as a couple to God, and their witness to the world. The session concluded by looking at how the

53 nuptial blessing not only asks that the couple be strengthened in their love for each other but that, beyond themselves, they may bear Christ’s love to the world.

Couples were then given time to reflect on the following questions:

What aspects of the Eucharistic celebration stand out the most to you in relationship to

your marriage, i.e., offering, sacrifice, unity, mission?

How can you make this come more alive for your marriage when you come to Mass?

The Third Session: The Family as Domestic Church The first two sessions of the pastoral project provided a mystagogical reflection on the

Rite of Marriage. Building on that foundation, session three invited participants to grow in their understanding of the Church’s teaching on the family as the domestic church. The goal of the session was not only to help each couple understand its identity as a domestic church, but to contemplate the missionary implications that go along with it. Admittedly this was a “document heavy” session that exposed the participants to scriptural references, quotations from the saints, and a fifty-year overview of the development of the theme “domestic church,” beginning with the Second Vatican Council and continuing through the recent writings of Pope Francis.

The first part of the presentation focused on the scriptural references and themes of the home functioning as a domestic church. In his letter to the Romans, St. Paul sends “(his) greetings to the church that meets at their house” (Rom. 16:5). In the First Letter to the

Corinthians, St. Paul states that “The Churches of Asia send their greetings, Aquila and Prisca send their best wishes in the Lord, together with the church that meets at their house” (1 Cor.

16:19). And finally, in his Letter to the Colossians, Paul writes “Please give my greetings to the brothers at Laodocia and to Nympha and to the church that meets at her house” (Col. 4:5).

Couples were invited to reflect on the historical fact that, before great cathedrals or parish churches were constructed, it was the home that often served as the communal worship place.

From this biblical and historical recap, the presentation moved forward all the way to the discussions and documents of the Second Vatican Council that focused on the “rediscovery” of the identity of the family as a domestic church and the mission that families play in evangelizing the world. Of particular note was the influence of Bishop Pietro Fiordelli of Patro, Italy, who sparked what would become a renaissance in the theology of marriage and family life. It is in the debates of Vatican II, rather than in the actual documents, that we find the seminal ideas which have informed and structured the renewal of the theology of the family:

In his second speech, Fiordelli, surprisingly, yet logically, laid bare the theological structure of the family: "It seems to me that this would be the true structure of the Church of Christ. Is the parish the ultimate division of the Church? No. The parish is further divided into so many holy cells, which are Christian families, which we can call, following the example of the Holy Fathers, tiny churches.”4

The documents Lumen Gentium and Apostolicam Actuositatem that flowed from the council were both very clear and strong in speaking about the role of the family in evangelizing the world. In particular, the participants of this project were exposed to numbers 11, 31, and 35 of

Lumen Gentium that define the family as a domestic church which is called to build up the

4. Joseph C. Atkinson, “Family as Domestic Church: Developmental Trajectory, Legitimacy, and Problems of Appropriation,” Theological Studies (Sept. 2005): 596.

55 kingdom of God both within the home and in society at large.5 Highlights from Apostolicam

Actuositatem numbers 4, 11, and 30 were then shared, which illuminated the Church’s teaching on how the daily life of the home is a vehicle that unites families to the work of God in the world, provided examples of how families become a light to the world through charitable deeds, and reminded couples that all of family life is a training ground for apostolic mission in the world.6

From there the discussion moved onto the writings of St. John Paul II and Pope Francis.

Of note were the documents Familiaris Consortio and Amoris Laetitia. St. John Paul II in his writings reminded couples that family life has an ecclesiological nature consisting of four constitutive aspects: (1) forming a community of persons, (2) serving life, (3) participating in the development of society, and (4) sharing in the life and mission of the Church. Further, he reminds us once again that marriage flows from the three-fold office of Christ as priest, prophet, and king, which are each exercised in their own ways within the home.7 The writings of Pope

Francis build on this theological foundation and point out that charity towards others (mission) is the fruit of the communion that is experienced in the home.8

Couples were then invited to spend a few minutes reflecting on the following scripture passages in relationship to their own married lives:

Brothers and sisters: Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect hospitality, for through it some have unknowingly entertained angels. Be mindful of prisoners as if sharing their imprisonment, and of the ill-treated as of yourselves,

5. See Appendix, Session Three PowerPoint, slides 7-9. 6. See Appendix, Session Three PowerPoint, slides 10-16. 7. John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio, nos. 17, 51. 8. Francis, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia, nos. 182, 183.

for you also are in the body. Let marriage be honored among all and the marriage bed be kept undefiled. Let your life be free from love of money but be content with what you have, for he has said, I will never forsake you or abandon you. Thus, we may say with confidence: The Lord is my helper, and I will not be afraid (Heb. 13:1-4a, 5-6b).

And

Jesus said to his disciples: “You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lamp stand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father” (Matt. 5:13-16).

Following this time of scripture reflection, the session concluded by having couples discuss the questions:

• What does it mean to you personally and practically to be a domestic church at home?

• What does it mean to you personally and practically to be on a “mission” as a couple?

The Fourth Session: The Role of the Holy Spirit in Marriage Once participants had gone through a mystagogical reflection on the Rite of Marriage in sessions one and two and an explanation of the Church’s teaching on the identity and mission of the family in the world in session three, the goal of session four was to deepen the participants’ knowledge and understanding of the role of the Holy Spirit in the mission of the Universal

Church and in the life of the individual believer. The objectives of the session were to provide an overview of scriptural references to the Holy Spirit, to examine the Church documents Dominum

57 et Vivificantem and Iuvenescit Ecclesia, and to lead the participants in a prayer for a renewal of the Holy Spirit in their lives.

The session began with a brief lectio of the third chapter of St. Paul’s Letter to the

Ephesians where he writes:

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that he may grant you in accord with the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner self, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to accomplish far more than all we ask or imagine, by the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen (Eph. 3:14-21).

It was discussed that St. Paul’s notion of “being strengthened with power through his Spirit” is the result of an ongoing understanding of the work of the Holy Spirit that was revealed by God gradually throughout salvation history. We hear of the life-giving “breath,” or ruah, of God in the Book of Genesis, translated as pneuma in Greek and spiritus in Latin. From this creative, life-giving role, the Holy Spirit is next recognized as inspiring the work of the great prophets, priests, and kings of the Old Covenant. The synoptic Gospels share a common theme of Jesus performing His great works and prayers by the power of the Spirit. Following Pentecost, the

Apostles were empowered by the Holy Spirit to carry out the divine commission of Jesus in the world. Finally, St. Paul uses the word charism to describe the gifts that believers receive in order to spread the kingdom of God. Thus, we see that the Holy Spirit is not only the foundation of the

58 priestly, prophetic, and kingly offices of believers, but that he also bestows charisms on us to carry out our missions in the world.

From this scriptural foundation, the participants then examined what Tradition has revealed about the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church and in the life of the individual believer. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that the Holy Spirit has been known throughout history by the following effects:

• in the Scriptures he inspired

• in the Tradition, to which the Church Fathers are always timely witnesses

• in the Church’s Magisterium, which he assists

• in the sacramental liturgy, through its words and symbols, in which the Holy Spirit puts

us into communion with Christ

• in prayer, wherein he intercedes for us

• in the charisms and ministries by which the Church is built up

• in the signs of apostolic and missionary life

• in the witness of the saints through whom he manifests his holiness and continues the

work of salvation9

9. Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 688.

Further, in the teaching surrounding the effects of the Sacrament of Confirmation, the Church tells us that we are more firmly united with each member of the Holy Trinity, our bond with the

Church is strengthened, and we are prepared for mission in the world.10

The church document Dominum et Vivificantem, the fifth encyclical written by St. John

Paul II, illustrates how the Holy Spirit is central to the faith life of every believer. Of particular note is paragraph 67, in which he states:

The Holy Spirit, in his mysterious bond of divine communion with the Redeemer of man, is the one who brings about the continuity of his work: he takes from Christ and transmits to all, unceasingly entering into the history of the world through the heart of man. Here he becomes-as the liturgical Sequence of the Solemnity of Pentecost proclaims-the true "father of the poor, giver of gifts, light of hearts"; he becomes the "sweet guest of the soul," whom the Church unceasingly greets on the threshold of the inmost sanctuary of every human being. For he brings "rest and relief" in the midst of toil, in the midst of the work of human hands and minds; he brings "rest" and "ease" in the midst of the heat of the day, in the midst of the anxieties, struggles and perils of every age; he brings "consolation," when the human heart grieves and is tempted to despair.11 But the Holy Spirit is not just a consolation given to believers; he is also the agent of mission in the world. The more recent letter Iuvenescit Ecclesia explains how individual gifts are given to believers to help spread the Gospel in the world. We hear:

10. Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 1303. 11. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Dominum et Vivificantem [On the Holy Spirit], May 18, 1986, no. 67, Holy See, accessed February 15, 2019, http://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul- ii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_18051986_dominum-et-vivificantem.html.

themselves become a gift of love for others and authentic witnesses to the Gospel before all mankind.12 Finally, the couples were asked to reflect and share with one another their responses to the following questions:

• Where do you feel the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life as a married couple?

• Where do you feel a lack of the Holy Spirit in your life as a couple?

• What activities do you participate in or volunteer for that do or don’t feel like they bear

the fruits of the Holy Spirit? (Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness,

Generosity, Faithfulness, Self-Control)

The evening was concluded with a prayer invoking the Holy Spirit to renew each participant’s identity and to strengthen them for mission in the world.

The Fifth Session: Charisms in Marriage Through the first four sessions, participants in the pastoral project experienced a two-part mystagogical reflection on the Rite of Marriage, learned about the family’s identity as a

“domestic church” and the call to mission in the world, and were exposed to the role of the Holy

Spirit in the mission of the Church and the life of the individual believer. Session five then focused on providing the participants an opportunity to discern what charisms they might have.

12. Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Iuvenescit Ecclesia, no.15.

The first distinction that was made was the difference between the role of the seven traditional gifts of the Holy Spirit, the nine traditional fruits of the Holy Spirit, and the role of charisms. The Catherine of Siena Institute writes that:

There are gifts of the Holy Spirit that we are given to keep and gifts we are given to give away. The traditional “seven gifts of the Holy Spirit” and the “fruits” of the Spirit are gifts given to us to keep. They are part of our inner transformation as Christians and provide the inner “Christlikeness” necessary for the effective use of our charisms (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1830-1832). Charisms, on the other hand, are given to us to give away, and are one of the ways God continues to enter the world through our assent and cooperation. They always benefit other people.13

Charisms, it was explained, are those gifts that, when exercised, bring life both to the individual using the gift and to the person who receives it. Scripture contains a few different lists that provide examples of some charisms:

 Romans 12:6-8:

Prophecy, Ministry, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Administration, Mercy

 1 Corinthians 12:7-11:

Wisdom, Knowledge, Faith, Healing, Mighty Deeds, Prophecy, Discernment of Spirits, Tongues,

Interpretation of Tongues

 1 Corinthians 12:28:

Apostles, Prophets, teachers, mighty deeds, healing, administration, varieties of tongues

13. “Charisms FAQ,” Catherine of Sienna Institute, accessed January 15, 2019, https://siena.org/charisms- faq.

It was noted that the Church document Iuvenescit Ecclesia points out that there are certain criteria that help an individual to discern whether or not a particular “gift” has the Holy Spirit as its origin. Every authentic charism should show the following:

• Primacy of the call to holiness

• Commitment to spreading the Gospel

• Profession of the Catholic Faith

• Witness to a full communion with the Church

• Recognition and esteem for the complementarity of other charisms in the Church

• Acceptance of trial in discerning charisms

• Presence of spiritual fruits

• Social dimension of evangelization14

With this information in hand, the participants were then able to fill out a survey provided from the Ministry Tools Resource Center.15 After answering 100 questions, with responses on a continuum of “almost always true, sometimes true, almost never true, no desire towards it,” the participants were able to self-score the survey and see which of the following 20 charisms they might have:

14. Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Iuvenescit Ecclesia, no. 18. 15. See Appendix, Ministry Tools’ 20 Spiritual Gifts Test.

Administration, Knowledge, Apostle, Leadership, Discernment, Mercy, Evangelist,

Miracles, Exhortation, Missionary, Faith, Pastor, Giving, Prophecy, Healings, Service,

Helps, Teaching, Hospitality, Wisdom

After taking time to fill out and self-score the survey, couples were able to share with each other their results and discuss the following questions:

• What Charism(s) do you have?

• What Charism(s) do you share with your spouse, if any?

• What activities do you participate in that exercise your charisms? Which do not?

The Sixth Session: Marriage as Mission Session six was designed to serve as a synthesis, providing participants with a brief overview and recap of the information that they had received over the past five sessions. The goal was that the couples would apply their charisms as the primary way to live out their mission as the domestic church. This led up to the formulation of a family “mission” statement that highlighted the priestly, prophetic, and kingly roles in the home as well as putting charisms to use in the world.

The participants were reminded that the home is the primary place where the baptismal offices of Christ are manifested. Baptismal priesthood is exercised by praying with and for one another, blessing their children, and interceding for the community. As prophets, they are called to witness to Gospel charity to one another in word and deed. And through their participation in

64 the dominion of Christ, they are called to have homes that are “rightly ordered” by serving God first, serving one another, and then serving the world at large. Charisms, since they are primarily gifts for others, are the gifts that animate the mission of the family to the world.

Couples were then given time to create a mission statement for themselves, modeled after the following example:

Recognizing that as a couple we are called to be a “domestic church,” we will exercise our priestly office by…., our prophetic office by……, and our kingly office by….in the home. In our service to the Church and our mission in the world, we recognize that we have the charisms of….. and will strive to participate in activities that utilize these gifts, while limiting our involvement in those that we do not.

The participants were then given some guidelines to evaluate whether or not the activities that they participate in are charism-based. Specifically, they were given the fruits of the Holy Spirit as listed by St. Paul in his letter to the Galatians: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, faithfulness, and self-control (Gal. 5:12). The final piece of the project that the couples were tasked to do on their own was to consider changing some of the activities that they participate in based on this evaluation. It was hoped that they might stop participating in activities that they have no charism for and begin new ones that they are gifted for. This would lead to greater fruitfulness both in the activities themselves, and within the marriage.

UNDERSTANDING THE MISSION: THE EFFECT OF THE PASTORAL SESSIONS

Participants Were Already Fairly Involved

Fifty-six couples signed up to participate in the pastoral project. Thankfully each participant filled out the initial survey, providing a total of 102 survey responses. The survey was anonymous so that I could not access which participants had completed the survey or compare individual before and after responses. Unfortunately, only 69 participants filled out the follow-up survey. Therefore, in my evaluation of the data, I compare percentages of the total responses in order to measure change after the pastoral sessions.

Part of determining whether the program had any practical effect on participants’ lives was to measure the change in their participation in various activities. The question designed to measure this change also revealed something about the demographic that was participating in the project. What we saw, illustrated on the bar chart below, was that 62 percent of the participants not only attend Sunday Mass but are also involved in three or more charitable activities per month. An additional 11 percent participate in two or more per month. That is, 73 percent of the participants were already very active in their communities even before they attended the pastoral sessions.1 Helping these already active participants understand why they have chosen their particular activities and whether, given their new understanding of their charisms, they should alter those activities, will be one of the true benefits of the project.

1. See chart on following page. 65

Marriage and Mission SurveyMonkey

Q4 Apart from Sunday Mass, how often to do you participate in Church activities or other activities of service or charitable nature in a normal month/year?

Answered: 102 Skipped: 0

3 or more times a month

2 times a month

1 time a month

5-6 times a year

3-4 times a year

1-2 times a year

Once a year

Nothing beyond participatio...

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

ANSWER CHOICES RESPONSES

3 or more times a month 62.75% 64

2 times a month 10.78% 11

1 time a month 4.90% 5

5-6 times a year 5.88% 6

3-4 times a year 8.82% 9

1-2 times a year 3.92% 4

Once a year 0.00% 0

Nothing beyond participation at Sunday Mass 2.94% 3

TOTAL 102

Survey Measurements and The Impact of the Pastoral Sessions

The stated goal of the first pastoral session was to deepen the participants’ understanding of Marriage as a sacrament, though sessions one and two both dealt with defining Marriage as a sacrament related to Baptism and to the Eucharist. The first two questions of the survey were designed to measure the participants’ level of understanding of this concept.

The first question of both surveys was “I understand the term sacrament to mean….” In the original survey, 41 of 102 respondents used the term “grace” in their responses. In the follow-up survey, 35 of 69 respondents used the term “grace” in their responses. This shows an increase from 40 percent to 51 percent of responses that include an understanding that a sacrament is a vehicle of God’s grace to us. Of similar note, in the original survey, 5 percent of respondents mentioned the terms “Christ” or “God” in their answers, while 72 percent used the same terms in the follow-up survey. A few notable responses were:

A tangible way to receive God’s Grace

The Catholic definition we have learned is that a Sacrament is an outward sign of an inward grace instituted by Christ to symbolize or give grace. In the context of this course on 'Marriage as Sacrament’, we have come to believe that we as husband and wife are the outward sign of our Sacrament of Matrimony lived out daily.2 The data seem to suggest that the pastoral sessions were effective in at least developing, if not introducing for the first time, the understanding that a sacrament is a sign or symbol that brings about that which it symbolizes, namely, the grace of God into our lives.

2. Respondents 8, 31 in Question 1, Survey 2.

The second survey question asked the couples to complete this statement: “I understand the term marriage to mean….” In the first set of responses, the most common answers involved variations of the union of man and woman. Terms such as “husband and wife,” “union,”

“united,” and “joined” were used in over 63 percent of the responses. However, “God” was mentioned in only 28 percent of the responses, and the term “sacrament” was used in only 11 percent of the responses. The follow-up saw some variances in the use of terms. Over 73 percent of the responses mentioned the union of husband and wife,3 but the term “God” was only used in only 20 percent of the answers (down from the 28 percent found in the original survey.)

However, in the follow-up survey, the term “sacrament” was used in 20 percent of the responses.

As the responses to survey question 1 revealed, there exists a connection between the terms

“God” and “sacrament” in the minds of 73 percent of the respondents. So, the data suggest not that there was a decrease in the understanding that God is active in marriage, but that a higher percentage of participants could now better articulate that God’s involvement in marriage is sacramental. Some participants displayed a fuller understanding than others, giving responses such as:

A sacrament where a man and woman come together to share their lives. It mirrors Jesus relationship to the church

The sacramental commitment of a man and a woman to join the spouses physically, emotionally, and spiritually for lifetime unity and their mutual salvation, and promote creation and nurturing of the next generation of our universal Christian family.4

3. Other responses revealed some conceptual knowledge but did not use the exact terms. See respondents 18,19,23,37,49,57,67. 4. Respondents 60, 25.

While not showing an overwhelming statistical difference, the data do suggest that there was an increase in the understanding of Marriage as a sacrament, which achieves the stated goals for the first two sessions.

The stated goal of session three was twofold: That participants would deepen both their knowledge of the Church’s teaching on the family as the domestic church and their knowledge about their call to mission in the world. Question 3 of the survey asked, “I understand the term domestic church to mean….” In the first survey, 43 percent of respondents used the term

“family” in their answers, and 24 percent used the term “home.” Five percent of respondents said they had “no idea” what the term meant. In the follow-up survey, 63 percent of responses contained the term “family,” showing a 20 percent increase. Fifty percent of the answers to the follow-up survey contained both “church” and “home” in their responses, while this was only the case in about 30 percent of the responses to the first survey. In this case, a few noticeable responses include:

Holy family life, not perfect, but working together to further the Kingdom in little ways and A "little church." The "church" of the home. The place where the work of sanctity is most often accomplished.5

The data reveal that there were a substantial number of participants who came into the survey with at least a rudimentary knowledge of the term “domestic church” and that this understanding was developed dramatically through participation in the project.

5. Respondents 34, 50.

The stated goal of the fourth session was for participants to deepen their knowledge of the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church. The presentation was focused both on how the Holy Spirit guides the work of the Universal Church and also on how it manifests in the life of the believer through the seven traditional gifts and the nine fruits listed in Scripture.

Additionally, the participants were led to understand what the term charism means and how it points toward gifts given specifically for mission in the world. Question 10 asked, “I understand the role of charism in my family mission to mean….” Of particular note: in the first survey, only

20 percent of respondents used the word “gift” to describe charisms, while 59 percent of respondents in the follow-up survey did, including this response:

Identifying through questioning and prayer the place where God has gifted me and where I am, in turn, called to use those gifts in different capacities!6

Only 7 percent explicitly spoke of serving others in the first survey, while 16 percent mentioned it in the follow-up. Similarly, only 9 percent of participants in the initial survey mentioned the

Holy Spirit in their answers, but 16 percent of participants in the second survey did. For example:

Gifts of the Holy Spirit bestowed on us to become gifts of love for others as we live out our Sacramental call to mission.7

6. Respondent 15. 7. Respondent 31.

The simple goal of the fifth session was to have the participants take part in an activity that would help them discern what charisms they possess. After completing the survey8, spouses shared with each other what charisms each of them possessed and which, if any, they shared with each other. Question 9 of the survey asked, “How familiar are you with your gifts and talents?”

In the first survey, only 26 percent responded that they were “very familiar” and 46 percent replied “familiar.” In the follow-up survey, there was a dramatic increase in the “very familiar” to 45 percent while 45 percent replied “familiar.” That is, there was an increase from 72 percent to 90 percent of participants being either “very familiar” or “familiar” with their gifts and talents.

8. Ministry Tools Resource Center, “Everybody has a part: Spiritual Gifts Tests Resource,” accessed and paid for February 2, 2019, http://MinTools.com.

The Impact of the Project on Participation

While each of the teaching goals of the project seemed to be met, with participants showing increases in understanding of the sacramentality of marriage, of the family as the domestic church, of the couple’s call to mission in the world, and of the nature and role of charisms, the question of the overarching goal of the project remained. This goal was more than a teaching goal. Rather, it is directed toward action on the part of the participants. Specifically, once couples came to understand their charisms, this new understanding would affect the way in which they chose to participate in activities. This might lead to participating in fewer activities, in more activities, or even in different activities altogether, depending on how the Holy Spirit led them.

The data, however, revealed only a slight upward change, following the pastoral sessions, in the number of charitable activities participants reported they or their spouses participate in individually. The initial survey showed that 73 percent of participants reported that they are active in two or more charitable activities per month (with 62 percent reporting three or more).

Participants in the program also reported that their spouses were active in two or more charitable activities per month, a rate of 66 percent. The follow-up survey revealed that, after the program,

80 percent self-reported participating in at least two or more charitable activities monthly, while

76 percent of their spouses did. This indicates a 7 percent increase in the first group (the survey respondents) and a 10 percent increase in their spouses.

More significantly, when asked how often couples participated in charitable activities together, the numbers showed a significant increase. The first survey revealed that 34 percent of couples were active together in two or more works of charity per month, while an additional 15 percent were active once a month together. The follow-up survey showed an increase to 51 percent in the first category, and to 17 percent in the second, for an overall increase from 49 percent to 68 percent of couples participating jointly in at least one act of service per month.

Question 11 of the follow-up survey was open-ended, inquiring, “Since completing the program, has your lived experience of mission in the Church as a family been affected? If so, how?” Admittedly, 16 respondents indicated that there was no significant effect. However, 80 percent of the responses indicated that there was an impact of some sort on the couple. The positive responses range from having a better understanding of the meaning of marriage, praying together more frequently, having an increased awareness of their mission in the Church, and developing a charism-based discernment process for which activities they participate in. A few examples are:

Yes. We are more aware of our strengths and abilities, as well as our charisms. We focus a great deal more on Christ’s dominion in our home, what that means, and how we live that out. We can better pray and discern what is best for our marriage, family and parish by taking into account what charisms the Holy Spirit has endowed us with.

Yes. We are trying to make (even if it’s ever so slight) a more concerted effort at being aware of our own mission statement and implementing it into our daily/weekly lives. Trying to bring ourselves, each other and others closer to God/holiness

Yes. We definitely are more intentional about prayer. And are praying and talking about where our gifts can be used together in the church9

Finally, participants were asked a related question: “What changes, if any, have you made in your involvement in Church/faith-based activities based on your participation in the program?” While “none” seemed to be the most significant answer, there were a variety of other notable responses highlighted in the survey responses. This seems to reflect that, while couples

9. Respondents 8, 35, 61.

83 may have grown in their overall understanding of the connections between family, charisms, and mission, the implementation of change within the home seems to be more immediate than change to mission outside of the home. However, some responses revealed that a few participants stepped back from some activities that they were previously involved in, some participants have begun to reevaluate activities that they are currently participating in, and still other participants are beginning new ministries, both as couples and as individuals, based on charisms and mission statements. For example:

I have actually pulled back from some things, realizing I wasn’t called to them now, and taken more time to discern where God wants me and taken active steps to pursue that. After establishing a mission statement for our family, there is a level of accountability that it holds us to. In finding ways to serve within the Church community, we have noted that we need to use our identified strengths so that we are able to contribute in ways that are positive for our family as well as within the church community. We have evaluated our purpose in our ministries and how it affects our family life and its mission.10 These types of responses encapsulate what the overall intent of this pastoral project was.

CONCLUSIONS

Some Unexpected Results

During the project and while evaluating the results, I experienced two disconcerting and two encouraging surprises. The first disappointing realization was the general lack of ability of couples to articulate the sacramental nature of marriage. If a couple does not understand that their marriage is a vocation and that they play a pivotal role in salvation history, they may not be

10. Respondents 9, 38, 67.

84 open to receive or to utilize fully the charisms God bestows upon them. The second negative surprise was the sense I got of the lack of prayer in the home. As a domestic church, the home should be a sanctuary where prayer is a normative part of life. Many couples seemed to have individual prayer lives, but without group prayer in the home.

On the positive side, I was happily surprised by the joy expressed by the couples when coming to understand charisms. This led to a lot of “a-ha” moments, in which couples were able to affirm what gifts they saw in each other, as well as understand why many of them participated in the activities that they did. The final happy surprise came about organically through the process of the program, when couples were asked to create mission statements that incorporated the priestly, prophetic, and kingly offices as well as charisms. Couples really seemed to enjoy

“putting flesh on the bone” of what charisms they had received and making it applicable to their daily lived experiences.

Potential Improvements to the Project

Having executed the project, I now have a few ideas on how it could be improved. From a theological perspective, I think the project could have benefited from a fuller exploration of corporate charisms, particularly making a distinction between these and individual charisms.

Whereas my project focused on whether husbands and wives had any similar individual charisms, I did not find a good way to access whether or not they could discern a charism that manifested only when they were together. If I were to do this again, not only would I have individuals use an instrument to help them discern charisms, but I would also have them answer the same questions as a couple and evaluate any differences.

From a practical perspective, I would spread the sessions out over a longer period. There was so much foundational information for the participants to process that they needed more time to integrate it into their lives. Having sessions monthly instead of weekly might have allowed the couples more time to take in the information. In addition, having a lot more time (maybe even six months) between the end of the sessions and the follow up survey that assessed changed behavior might have proven beneficial. My data seems to reflect in many cases an intention to change behavior, but not any actual change yet. The couples may have needed the extra months to begin to act on what they learned and implement some of their plans using the learnings.

Finally, I think that having the same couples go through the discernment exercise again, after a significant number of years have passed, could be very helpful to them. They might see if charisms, or at least their manifestations, change with time. I would imagine that a young couple with small children might be gifted with hospitality, but that charism might look a very different with a full house than it will when that same couple becomes empty nesters. Perhaps the charism manifests differently at different stages of life (being a member of the hospitality committee vs inviting people into your home), or perhaps a charism lies “dormant” for a time while others are more prominent.

The Success of the Project

I would posit that the pastoral project was successful in various ways as well as on multiple levels. The overarching goal was to have couples modify their behavior, based on their shared charisms. This happened fully in only a few cases. However, almost every couple moved along the spectrum in a positive direction, from having a partial to having a more full

86 understanding of marriage as a sacrament, of what it means to be a domestic church, of the family’s mission in the world, and of how charisms function, both in the individual’s life and in the relationship of the couple.

The most notable, practical change, however, was an increase of prayer in the home. I would argue that in many ways this kind of prayer is a pre-requisite to mission and that couples that pray together will open themselves up more fully to receive charisms and to opportunities to evangelize.

Finally, overall the project was well received by all the participants and seen as something that built community and fostered conversation and discernment about the mission of marriage for couples. Whether charisms will be more fully utilized is up to God and them.

APPENDIX

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