Parish missions: Yesterday, today, tomorrow

Evangelizing "event"

We offer a full "traditional" mission. Of course there have been adaptations to meet current needs. But we are consciously attempting to be faithful to the essence of the tradition of parish missions. Our topics focus on the basics. We believe a mission is evangelizing in the strict sense. Even good Catholics have be be evangelized! We still hope to reach those who have "fallen away" from Christ and the sacraments. But we are not deterred by the criticism that missions today are "saving the saved." Because we know that EVERY Catholic has need for a "vigorous and periodic renewal of Christian life," as Our Holy Father puts it. Our emphasis is most definitely on the preached Word of God. But we also have worked hard to create a truly devotional atmosphere, with fervent prayer and hearty singing.

We have come up with a 48-page Mission Booklet that contains many beautiful prayers, some hymns hard to come by today (including the Latin "O Salutaris" and "Tantum Ergo"!), and some reflections on the themes of the mission. We ask people, if possible, to come out twice a day. We offer an early morning service, and one later in the morning, too. The early service is somewhat special to us. When we first introduced it, some thought we were "crazy," No one will come out that early anymore! But, to our surprise, we find it a perfect time for those going off to work and for kids before school. In the larger parishes, we expect several hundred. This past Lent, in almost every mission we had between 400-500 each morning. The second morning service is geared in particular to mothers, the elderly, and those on shift work.

Focus on basics

The main service of the day is the evening service, which usually lasts about an hour and fifteen minutes. It is a time for prayer, preaching, and (usually) Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. We begin with prayers of intercession for special intentions, with a decade of the Rosary, the Memorare, and a prayer for vocations. How fervently the people pray at this time! By the end of the mission we notice that many of the people, including some of the young people, no longer need to read the Memorare from the Mission Booklet. We have heard of so many answers to these prayers.

The sermon is usually about 35 minutes long or so - and we find the people so receptive and open. We find there is a deep hunger in our people for "solid food." We make a conscious effort to present, clearly and without compromise, the full teaching of the Catholic Church. In fact, one of the most frequent remarks we hear is: "Father, how good it is to hear the word 'Catholic' again!" We find that the perfect conclusion to the evening is Benediction. It brings everything to a climax of adoration of Our Lord. Benediction is such a lovely service with style and grace. It involves all the senses. And we consider it important in a mission to appeal not just to the mind, but to the imagination and senses and heart as well. In a spirit of the beauty of holiness and the holiness of beauty.

True devotional atmosphere

Sometimes I wish those who feel our Catholic tradition is so outdated and irrelevant to our times could come and join us for one of these services. To see a packed church, filled with so many younger people praying their hearts out, singing their lungs out, eagerly listening to the Word of God, meeting Christ in the sacrament of penance, is to know that the Catholic tradition still has the power to touch hearts, and minds. We have learned by happy experience that when the whole mission speaks of the vitality and joy - and beauty - of the Catholic faith for today - and tomorrow - the response is so upbeat. We are quite aware that a mission is not THE answer to the problems besetting the Church today; but we KNOW that it is one means the Lord is using to pour out abundant graces on his people.

The Redemption Continued

We have confirmed by our own experience what the Church has always taught about a mission: that it is a continuation of the redemptive work and mission of our Lord, a mission entrusted to his Church and his apostles, a mission carried on, through the centuries, by evangelists and those sent by the Church in his Name.

This "authority" from the Lord in His Church is what gives the mission its POWER. When we first began our work, we found that confessions were relatively light, reflecting the general situation in the Church. But another inspiring development of these past years has been to see growing numbers receive the sacrament of Penance. Now we expect the vast majority of those making the mission to approach Christ in the sacrament of his mercy. We have developed a special Wednesday evening Penance Service. It is a truly prayerful preparation for confession. We bring in as many extra confessors as possible. What outpourings of grace we have seen! In some missions we have almost twenty confessors and in some we all hear confessions for almost two hours. On one mission, the pastor estimates that we heard over 900 confessions on this night alone!

And we are noticing a marked increase of those going who have been away for twenty years or more. We also hear confessions throughout the entire week and people seem to respond to the ample opportunities offered to them. We also urge those making the mission to get back to more regular and frequent confession. We truly believe that this sacrament is. one of the great means of growing in the grace of God and in real holiness. For us, too, there is perhaps no greater joy than being able to speak the word of Christ's forgiveness over so many repentant sinners so many times. And perhaps our greatest inspiration comes from the humble confessions of so many sinners--and saints!

Surrounded with Prayer

As we have been overwhelmed by the measure of success granted us by the Lord (and aware that we are still far away from our ideals) we try to reflect on the reasons people respond so well. Again, it is a work of grace, first and last. We magnify the goodness of the Lord. We can identify some factors that have helped our missions. For one thing, knowing our own limitations and weaknesses, we have surrounded the missions with prayer, each step of the way. We have a small circle of "Co-Workers" who commit themselves to daily prayer for the missions. We ask parishes to pray, at every opportunity, for God's blessing on the mission. Most pray a special mission prayer at all Masses prior to the mission. We also hold a 24 hour Vigil of Adoration before the Blessed Sacrament just before the mission opens. This prayer, continuous from morning throughout the night to the next morning brings down untold blessings. it also captures imaginations, we are convinced. It is a truly inspiring part of the whole mission experience.

From Heart of Parish

We believe, too, that a parish has to prepare and promote the mission. The mission must flow from the very heart of the parish, be an expression of the parish's mission to bring souls to Jesus Christ. The parish must take "ownership" of the mission. We usually quote, at an important Pre-Mission Meeting, the words of a local pastor: "If the church is not filled the first night, the pastor should be fired! If it's not filled the last night, the missionaries should be fired!" Point made! We stress that the parish can hardly overdo the promotion of the mission; and we have been delighted by the creative approaches some of the parishes have taken.

Piety, and Pizzaz

This parish involvement makes a difference--usually the difference between a good mission and a GREAT mission. And in this age of noise and sensation we know, too, that it's not easy to capture people's attention. The mission must be wrapped in enthusiasm and even some "pizzaz."

Another "plus" is that we try to be "popular." In fact, in some sections of the world the missions are called the "Popular Missions," meaning missions for ALL the people. Many of the renewal programs and movements of these days appeal to the committed few. And these certainly have their place. But a mission traditionally has been for everyone: the saint and sinner, the regular and irregular, the young and old, liberal and conservative. We work hard (as do other mission teams) to reach out to the whole parish. Before the mission we always spend time visiting the sick and home-bound; we try to reach all the young people of the parish (and we have a ball with the kids).

We want every Catholic to make the mission. Of course we always fail; but we "hitch our wagon to a star" and keep working for the ideal. And the enthusiasm is catching. While we are still far away from our ideal: a Mission for every Catholic, we are still in awe at the numbers and variety of those who do respond. We have been blessed to draw a real cross-section of the people and are able to touch a significant proportion of the parish population.

Catholic Loyalty

As "popular" preachers we try to plug into the "Catholic sense" of our people. We feel an attraction for the mission as our clear affirmation of Catholic identity. We love the Church, and are so proud to be Catholic. We are in awe at the rich heritage that is ours. We yearn that this treasure, this "pearl of great price" be passed on, pure and burning, to the coming generations. We express our appreciation of Catholic parents, and the great hope we place in them. We appeal to the young to be grateful for this gift of faith and to know that the Lord is counting on them to pass it on to those yet to come. How good it has been to hear from so many that the mission was a real renewal of faith for the whole family. How exciting, too, to be told that the kids (even teenagers) dragged the parents to the mission. It's our experience that a fully Catholic mission is indeed "popular."

The kind of missions we preach fills a gap in the life of many Catholics. For all the excellent changes in the liturgy of the Church (and some real losses as well), there has not been much room for the "popular devotions." These touched hearts in a deep way, and gave a sense of God's presence and love. They spoke to the Lord as if he was really listening! They gave a sense of God's involvement in daily life. They awakened a lively appreciation of the intercession of the Blessed Mother, and of the saints - a fleshed-out expression of the doctrine of the Mystical Body. By attempting to make our missions devotional we seem to have touched a real soft spot in the hearts of so many. Devotion is alive and well in our Church today - and, God knows, what good could be accomplished if this were tapped more. Again we are amazed at how receptive the young are to what so many "experts" seem to think outdated. We give out to all the kids a holy picture of Our Mother of Perpetual Help. Incredible to see its impact on them, and on their families as they bring it home and explain it to their elders.

A Grace for Tomorrow

I could go on and on; my enthusiasm keeps growing. But perhaps it's impossible to convey the "electricity" of a parish mission with pen and paper. It is a saving event that has to be experienced. It is work of the Holy Spirit of God in the souls of our people. But I decided to share some good news about missions in the hopes of stirring up more interest, and to encourage others to take up the work. When Our Holy Father speaks the praise of the "traditional parish missions" he knows of what he speaks. Through the mighty grace of God, I can testify to "what we have seen and heard." Others involved in this work add their testimony as well. The parish mission can indeed be "effective, today as yesterday." I would add just one phrase to these words of Pope John Paul. They can be, and, God willing, will be effective tomorrow, too! Come, Holy Spirit!

Originally published in The Homiletic and Pastoral Review, April 1985

"O my God, make me a saint"
St Alphonsus Mary Liguori

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