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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. ________________________________________ Rev. Raymond Studzinski, O.S.B., Ph.D., Director ________________________________________ Dr. Edward Hogan, Ph.D., Reader ii 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 iii 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 1 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. 3 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. 4 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
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