Anita Draper
Catholic Herald staff
“A radical reorientation of the whole life away from sin and evil, and toward God,” is the Catechism of the Catholic Church’s definition of “conversion” – a concept that covers both the ongoing spiritual development of Catholics and the formal commitment of would-be Catholics through the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults.
Part of the effort to bring an evangelizing mindset and mission-focused alignment to parishes across the Diocese of Superior, a virtual, OCIA-themed vision formation gathering for Parish Evangelization Teams took place March 4.
Parish Evangelization Teams, or PETs, are a new requirement for all parishes in the diocese. Bishop James P. Powers’ Maintenance to Mission Pastoral Plan, launched in February, specifies that each parish or cluster should form a PET aimed at revitalizing the faith of the people in the pews and in the community beyond.
This was the diocese’s third vision formation gathering. The topic was “making OCIA missional,” and the speaker was Peter Andrastek, a senior consultant with Evangelical Catholic, an advisory organization that promotes evangelization.
“Begin with the end in mind,” Andrastek led off. The point of everything we do in the Catholic Church is to help people “share in God’s blessing.”
“If you don’t see a target, you’re not going to hit it,” he explained. The goal of Christian life is to become a “mystic” – to achieve immersion in the mystery of Christ himself, which should result in the ordinary flowering of Christian life.
“Can you separate Jesus’ mission from his identity?” Andrastek asked, then noted the inseparability of Jesus’ holiness from his mission. Our goal, he said, is to “become a raging hot fire that warms others around us,” to achieve Christian maturity and help others get there.
OCIA, the church’s formal conversion process, is the mechanism by which new members are received into Catholicism. Studying conversion – the goal of OCIA as well as of the wider church – through the lens of causality, Andrastek delved into metaphysics.
Conversion, or communion with Christ, is the goal, the final cause that sets everything else in motion, Andrastek explained. The efficient cause, or the agent that brings about change, is God, because the end has to be proportionate to the agent, and humans are incapable of supernatural change. Therefore, communion with God is disproportionate to our existence.
“We are completely impotent to do this,” both for ourselves and others, he repeated.
The formal cause of something, an abstract notion, is the organizing principle. In this case, the formal cause of conversion is grace, the means by which God infuses life into us, becoming the “soul of our soul.” As humans, we are merely the material cause – a person disposed – and the subject who is being acted upon is the cooperating cause.
“God will not save us without us,” Andrastek added. You cannot train people into zeal or conversion; “That’s reducing evangelization and holiness to the manipulation of human skills and techniques.”
OCIA is not simply “teaching people and expecting them to do the things.” Training is not the efficient cause, he said. “It’s instrumental cause. Trainings are instruments.”
“When you really start contemplating the reality of grace … God is doing all this stuff,” Andrastek said. “He’s the final cause, the efficient cause, his life is the formal cause – it’s all God.”
Viewing conversion as a state of mind, a disposition of will, Andrastek said those who come to know and see God this way live a life of continual conversion. Mary, therefore, exemplifies “ever more profound and radical movement toward God.” Our relationship with God goes up and down, but hers always increased.
Conversion is a work of the grace of God and the most concrete manifestation of the work of God in our lives. Missionary work, he said, is just love.
“You can’t evangelize what you don’t love,” he continued, and encouraged his listeners to think about their disposition toward someone who annoys them, or their bosses, or those with conflicting views or lifestyles.
Catechists and evangelists are “disposing causes,” according to Andrastek – they prepare people to be receptive to God through witness, accompaniment, help around obstacles and more. The role is critical, he said, citing the example of preparing soil to plant crops.
The best teachers and coaches don’t “make” students learn, he observed. They facilitate education through various tactics, giving the witness of their own lives and making learning fun.
So, how do we dispose others to conversion?
First, Andrastek said, we participate in the “divine impotence” of God. A theme of writings by both Pope St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, the phrase means that God gives us free will and, in doing so, renounces some of his power.
Andrastek offered his experience of trying to emphasize the importance of pursuing brotherhood to seminarians – feeling perhaps they would not retain the message – and added, “Don’t be surprised when you feel an invitation by our Lord to participate in his impotence.”
The role of a teacher or catechist is to serve as a witness, to serve as external exemplary causes that “enflesh the final cause.” To many people, Jesus seems historical and God seems abstract, Andrastek said, “but if we show them a life changed, it makes them real.”
“A supernatural tone” resulting from the teacher’s personal conversion – a sense of peace and joy – “will make the life of faith attractive,” he added. “You will mess with people’s definition of happiness.”
Andrastek quoted his professor: “The battle over souls is waged over the correct definition of happiness.” Happiness comes in a range of levels, he said, from pizza at the low end to personal health and love of another person on a higher level. Love of God is the highest level.
He introduced the notion of “good Christian scheming” – brainstorming how to involve people in faith, to help them feel loved. A meal train is one way to show support, for example, but it needs to be done in a higher way, he advised, “not just casseroles.”
Catechesis is “an apprenticeship of the entire Christian life”; one way to grow in faith is to grow in practices, Andrastek said, which encompasses a rule of life, habits and formation. Doctrines are really important, “but we can’t stop there.” Knowing one’s faith really well is not the same as living it.
As they live out their own continual conversion, catechists should assess their own prayer habits so they can help others develop a rule of life, something Andrastek feels should be a bigger part of OCIA. Evangelical Catholic, for example, promotes a rule of life including personal prayer, doctrinal formation, moral formation, sacraments, community and mission.
Nearing the end of his presentation, Andrastek said the first step in renewing a parish is to forget about the parish part and focus on “your circle of influence.” The secret of renewal is not starting with everyone, he said. It’s starting with people you can influence.
The backbone of fostering a community of prayer is one-on-one communication, he concluded. In OCIA, “we tend to err on the side of doctrine and teachings and not on the side of practices,” he added. Calling himself “not an expert,” Andrastek wondered what would happen if catechists were to flip that order, “get them locked into a life of prayer, knowing that the sacraments of initiation provide the grace of their formation.”
Andrastek’s talk can be viewed at www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZBkc_TekDI.
