Each Thanksgiving week for the past 20 years, I have received a note of appreciation from a woman in Columbia County who returned to the practice of the faith as a result of the "Always His People" TV retreat I conducted in 1979.
She keeps me updated on her own life's journey and that of her family, but the prime purpose of her annual correspondence is to give thanks for the retreat that inspired her return to the Church.
As I stand on the threshold of another TV retreat next week, after a 20-year hiatus, and wonder whether the expenditure of time and resources is justified, my correspondent's annual note of gratitude for the grace of the initial retreat gives me reassurance that a venture of this nature is worthwhile.
Theme 2000
The 1979 retreat was focused on the theme of reconciliation, inviting all the members of our Catholic community either to deepen their commitment to God and the Church, or to be reunited with the Church after a period of alienation, stemming from misunderstandings, feelings of rejection by the Church, disagreement with official teaching, indifference or neglect.
The theme of next week's retreat is "Disciples, Together in Faith." During the Great Jubilee 2000 commemorating the birth of Christianity two millennia ago, I will reflect upon:
* what it means to be a follower of Jesus,
* ways to nourish our relationship and intimacy with Him, and,
* how we are called to discipleship in a community of believers that nourishes our living out this relationship of discipleship in our contemporary society.
I will be joined by a number of members from our diocesan family -- youth and adults, married and single, lay, vowed and ordained -- who will illustrate by their own faith stories and spiritual insights what this journey of discipleship entails.
Reflection questions have been made available to our parishes, schools and this newspaper (see page 15) to encourage further discernment upon and discussion about the themes of discipleship in the home, Renew or Follow Me groups, and religion classes. Also accessible will be tapes of the retreat for further use on other occasions.
Prayer
The first night of the retreat is designed to underscore that discipleship is not primarily about dogmatic creeds, moral codes, and rules and regulations to be observed, important as those are, but about coming to know and love the person of Jesus Christ. And the foremost way to foster this relationship is through prayer, which is the language of discipleship.
I seek to emphasize this point, because while many today appear hungry and thirsty for spirituality, too often we have lost the love for prayer and facility in it. During my 36 years of priestly ministry, I have found two obstacles to prayer which are quite prevalent in the contemporary milieu. The first barrier, unfortunately, arises from some of the books written on prayer or talks given on prayer which create the impression that we can pray only by placing ourselves in the most difficult position possible, using the most rhetorical language imaginable and thinking the loftiest thoughts conceivable.
To so cast prayer does a great disservice to one who seeks to pray. For prayer, quite simply, is conversation: conversation with one we love and who loves us in return; conversation with one we trust and with whom we can share our innermost thoughts, desires and feelings. This is something each of us can do. We need only find out what facilitates such a conversation: our daily life experiences, reading the Scriptures or some spiritual book, communing with nature or reflecting upon the rich prayers of the church and the great saints.
Time for God
The second obstacle to prayer is kind of a by-product of the high-tech, scientific age in which we find ourselves: Many people today have been led to believe that since we can place people on the moon, create life in a test tube, determine sex and genetic characteristics, and even preserve life through transplants and artificial organs, then we no longer need to rely upon God's intervention. We can be the master of our destiny; we can work out things for ourselves.
But Scripture has revealed and history has taught us repeatedly that without reliance upon God, without the spiritual nourishment and life-giving strength derived from a relationship with Jesus, fostered by meaningful prayer, we become like the branches severed from a tree and will quickly wither and die.
Yes, without trust in the Lord and reliance upon God's providence, we come to be like ships without a rudder or a car without an engine; and the journey of discipleship will become sterile, purposeless and meaningless.
Active disciples
The second night of the retreat is designed to focus on the activities to which disciples of Jesus are called. In particular, given the trend today for people to seek spiritual fulfillment through self-help books, internet searches and personal meditation, I will stress that discipleship is not meant to be a solitary adventure, but a communal one.
Jesus calls us to faith, but faith lived in community. Indeed, it is only through contact with the Word of God, the sacraments (especially the Eucharist) and other disciples' experience in the community of the Church that we can find the food and nourishment we need for the journey of discipleship. In other words, we must walk the road of discipleship not as "lone rangers," but as pilgrims journeying together and sustaining one another along the way.
Yes, the purpose of discipleship is not purely for one's own spiritual growth and development but also for striving to imitate Jesus' self-giving by loving God above all else and loving all others as God loves them.
During His earthly sojourn, Jesus revealed this love in a variety of ways, most especially by His ministry as an evangelizer, servant, community-builder and sanctifier. And today we must exercise those same roles if we are to be faithful disciples. The retreat will offer concrete and specific examples of how we can do this as bearers of Christ's mission and ministry entering the Third Millennium.
Daily disciples
The final night of the retreat will focus on those qualities of discipleship each of us must develop and integrate in our daily living if we are to be faithful to our baptismal call to holiness and ministry.
I cite ten characteristics of discipleship which, I believe, to be especially relevant for us today:
* the external qualities of vision, flexibility and civility;
* the interior dispositions of joy, trust in God's providence and acceptance of the cross; and
* the spiritual activities of caring for others, exercising healing and reconciliation and evangelical daring.
All of these qualities of discipleship, of course, must be rooted in our life of prayer.
I hope that you will join with me for this three-night spiritual experience. Hopefully, the presentations will serve to stimulate personal reflection, family discussion, and parish and school dialogue, all leading to a deeper, richer and fuller relationship with Jesus our brother, our friend, our savior, and with one another.