Slow Church

[Stone holm]

I understand the slow food movement, I think, but having a little difficulty with Pope Francis reference to the slow church movement. It seems utterly foreign to Mormonism.

[Calm]

References or at least an explanation.

[EllenMaksoud]

I understand the slow food movement, I think, but having a little difficulty with Pope Francis reference to the slow church movement. It seems utterly foreign to Mormonism.

HUH? I don't know what either is.

[ERayR]

I understand the slow food movement, I think, but having a little difficulty with Pope Francis reference to the slow church movement. It seems utterly foreign to Mormonism.

Huh.

[Ran]

Pope Francis' ecclesiological vision has been described as a blueprint for a "Slow Church" movement. From his meeting with the Catholic bishops of Brazil (emphasis mine)—

Before all else, we must not yield to the fear once expressed by Blessed John Henry Newman: “… the Christian world is gradually becoming barren and effete, as land which has been worked out and is become sand”. We must not yield to disillusionment, discouragement and complaint. We have laboured greatly and, at times, we see what appear to be failures. We feel like those who must tally up a losing season as we consider those who have left us or no longer consider us credible or relevant.

Let us read once again, in this light, the story of Emmaus (cf. Lk 24:13-15). The two disciples have left Jerusalem. They are leaving behind the “nakedness” of God. They are scandalized by the failure of the Messiah in whom they had hoped and who now appeared utterly vanquished, humiliated, even after the third day (vv. 17-21). Here we have to face the difficult mystery of those people who leave the Church, who, under the illusion of alternative ideas, now think that the Church – their Jerusalem – can no longer offer them anything meaningful and important. So they set off on the road alone, with their disappointment. Perhaps the Church appeared too weak, perhaps too distant from their needs, perhaps too poor to respond to their concerns, perhaps too cold, perhaps too caught up with itself, perhaps a prisoner of its own rigid formulas, perhaps the world seems to have made the Church a relic of the past, unfit for new questions; perhaps the Church could speak to people in their infancy but not to those come of age. It is a fact that nowadays there are many people like the two disciples of Emmaus; not only those looking for answers in the new religious groups that are sprouting up, but also those who already seem godless, both in theory and in practice.

Faced with this situation, what are we to do?

We need a Church unafraid of going forth into their night. We need a Church capable of meeting them on their way. We need a Church capable of entering into their conversation. We need a Church able to dialogue with those disciples who, having left Jerusalem behind, are wandering aimlessly, alone, with their own disappointment, disillusioned by a Christianity now considered barren, fruitless soil, incapable of generating meaning.

A relentless process of globalization, an often uncontrolled process of intense urbanization, has promised great things. Many people have been captivated by their potential, which of course contains positive elements as, for example, the shortening of distance, the drawing closer of peoples and cultures, the diffusion of information and of services. On the other hand, however, many are living the negative effects of these realities without realizing how they affect a proper vision of man and of the world. This generates enormous confusion and an emptiness which people are unable to explain, regarding the purpose of life, personal disintegration, the loss of the experience of belonging to a “home” and the absence of personal space and strong personal ties.

And since there is no one to accompany them or to show them with his or her own life the true way, many have sought shortcuts, because the standards set by Mother Church seem to be asking too much. There are also those who recognize the ideal of man and of life as proposed by the Church, but they do not have the audacity to embrace it. They think that this ideal is too lofty for them, that it is beyond their abilities, and that the goal the Church sets is unattainable. Nonetheless they cannot live without having at least something, even a poor imitation of what seems too grand and distant. With disappointed hearts, they then go off in search of something which will lead them even further astray, or which brings them to a partial belonging that, ultimately, does not fulfill their lives.

The great sense of abandonment and solitude, of not even belonging to oneself, which often results from this situation, is too painful to hide. Some kind of release is necessary. There is always the option of complaining. But even complaint acts like a boomerang; it comes back and ends up increasing one’s unhappiness. Few people are still capable of hearing the voice of pain; the best we can do is to anaesthetize it.

From this point of view, we need a Church capable of walking at people’s side, of doing more than simply listening to them; a Church which accompanies them on their journey; a Church able to make sense of the “night” contained in the flight of so many of our brothers and sisters from Jerusalem; a Church which realizes that the reasons why people leave also contain reasons why they can eventually return. But we need to know how to interpret, with courage, the larger picture. Jesus warmed the hearts of the disciples of Emmaus.

I would like all of us to ask ourselves today: are we still a Church capable of warming hearts? A Church capable of leading people back to Jerusalem? Of bringing them home? Jerusalem is where our roots are: Scripture, catechesis, sacraments, community, friendship with the Lord, Mary and the apostles… Are we still able to speak of these roots in a way that will revive a sense of wonder at their beauty?

Many people have left because they were promised something more lofty, more powerful, and faster.

But what is more lofty than the love revealed in Jerusalem? Nothing is more lofty than the abasement of the Cross, since there we truly approach the height of love! Are we still capable of demonstrating this truth to those who think that the apex of life is to be found elsewhere?

Do we know anything more powerful than the strength hidden within the weakness of love, goodness, truth and beauty?

People today are attracted by things that are faster and faster: rapid Internet connections, speedy cars and planes, instant relationships. But at the same time we see a desperate need for calmness, I would even say slowness. Is the Church still able to move slowly: to take the time to listen, to have the patience to mend and reassemble? Or is the Church herself caught up in the frantic pursuit of efficiency? Dear brothers, let us recover the calm to be able to walk at the same pace as our pilgrims, keeping alongside them, remaining close to them, enabling them to speak of the disappointments present in their hearts and to let us address them. They want to forget Jerusalem, where they have their sources, but eventually they will experience thirst. We need a Church capable of accompanying them on the road back to Jerusalem! A Church capable of helping them to rediscover the glorious and joyful things that are spoken of Jerusalem, and to understand that she is my Mother, our Mother, and that we are not orphans! We were born in her. Where is our Jerusalem, where were we born? In Baptism, in the first encounter of love, in our calling, in vocation. We need a Church that kindles hearts and warms them.

We need a Church capable of restoring citizenship to her many children who are journeying, as it were, in an exodus.

[Alan]

Excellent observations by Pope Francis, and relevant to our church too.

We leave too many people behind.

[boulder257]

He is a wise man and an inspired choice to lead the Catholic Church.

[thesometimesaint]

I thought it was Fast Sunday.

[Stone holm]

I can understand why a Mormon would never have heard of the Slow Church movement, not exactly sure why no one had heard of the Slow Food Movement

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_Movement

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_Food

[CV75]

I understand the slow food movement, I think, but having a little difficulty with Pope Francis reference to the slow church movement. It seems utterly foreign to Mormonism.

I’m not sure if the Pope is making a political appeal in all this, but what do you think is he saying that seems foreign to Mormonism?

“We are impatient, anxious to see the whole picture, but God lets us see things slowly, quietly. The Church also has to learn how to wait.”

“People today are attracted by things that are faster and faster: rapid Internet connections, speedy cars and planes, instant relationships. But at the same time we see a desperate need for calmness, I would even say slowness. Is the Church still able to move slowly: to take the time to listen, to have the patience to mend and reassemble? Or is the Church herself caught up in the frantic pursuit of efficiency?”

Depending on what he means by “Church” (overall membership, or the priesthood hierarchy that holds and operates the keys, or both), I can say that I’ve heard similar messages from our own leaders both in General Conference and leadership training.

And as far as going slowly, isn’t that often levied against the Church as a major criticism?

[cinepro]

Excellent observations by Pope Francis, and relevant to our church too.

We leave too many people behind.

The caravan moves on.

[Stone holm]

I’m not sure if the Pope is making a political appeal in all this, but what do you think is he saying that seems foreign to Mormonism?

“We are impatient, anxious to see the whole picture, but God lets us see things slowly, quietly. The Church also has to learn how to wait.”

“People today are attracted by things that are faster and faster: rapid Internet connections, speedy cars and planes, instant relationships. But at the same time we see a desperate need for calmness, I would even say slowness. Is the Church still able to move slowly: to take the time to listen, to have the patience to mend and reassemble? Or is the Church herself caught up in the frantic pursuit of efficiency?”

Depending on what he means by “Church” (overall membership, or the priesthood hierarchy that holds and operates the keys, or both), I can say that I’ve heard similar messages from our own leaders both in General Conference and leadership training.

And as far as going slowly, isn’t that often levied against the Church as a major criticism?

The Church emphasizes being busily engaged, efficiently magnifying our callings, Pres. Hinckley used to encourage Bishops and Stake Presidents to "use up" their counselors and then appoint new ones in order to push the program along. We constantly hear messages that time is growing short, etc. etc.

[Ahab]

I understand the slow food movement, I think, but having a little difficulty with Pope Francis reference to the slow church movement. It seems utterly foreign to Mormonism.

I think his point was that people are sometimes in so much of a hurry that they don't slow down to have a nice long talk with a neighbor or friend about something that is bothering them, or even to notice that something is wrong. It's more and more a world where people say "I only have a few minutes" and "I've gotta go", with sound bites and short messages on message boards instead of slow casual long conversations. I mean, come on, when is the last time any one of you have had a nice long casual conversation with your spouse, or one of your children, or a neighbor? Or they with you? Don't you often feel like you are in a hurry and you have lots to do? Sometimes we do need to slow down and take more time to notice things we can do something about if we will just take a little more time to do them. But not now. I have a lot of other things that I have to do now, and I've gotta go.

[Stone holm]

He is a wise man and an inspired choice to lead the Catholic Church.

Have to admit, that although I don't agree with their doctrines of Deity, etc., and although I don't agree with their stance on legislative regulation of marriage, that I have to admire the Catholic Church's current level of engagement and current understanding of social issues. I suspect it is because they are not dominated by Americans.

[Stone holm]

I think his point was that people are sometimes in so much of a hurry that they don't slow down to have a nice long talk with a neighbor or friend about something that is bothering them, or even to notice that something is wrong. It's more and more a world where people say "I only have a few minutes" and "I've gotta go", with sound bites and short messages on message boards instead of slow casual long conversations. I mean, come on, when is the last time any one of you have had a nice long casual conversation with your spouse, or one of your children, or a neighbor? Or they with you? Don't you often feel like you are in a hurry and you have lots to do? Sometimes we do need to slow down and take more time to notice things we can do something about if we will just take a little more time to do them. But not now. I have a lot of other things that I have to do now, and I've gotta go.

Yeah, kind of like that song, "Cat's in the Cradle..."

[cdowis]

He is a wise man and an inspired choice to lead the Catholic Church.

He has obviously listened to General Conference talks.

[The Nehor]

The Church emphasizes being busily engaged, efficiently magnifying our callings, Pres. Hinckley used to encourage Bishops and Stake Presidents to "use up" their counselors and then appoint new ones in order to push the program along. We constantly hear messages that time is growing short, etc. etc.

If God wanted me to work harder he would have given me a body less vulnerable to fatigue, a mind less prone to wander, and a spirit less prone to calm and stillness.

[CV75]

The Church emphasizes being busily engaged, efficiently magnifying our callings, Pres. Hinckley used to encourage Bishops and Stake Presidents to "use up" their counselors and then appoint new ones in order to push the program along. We constantly hear messages that time is growing short, etc. etc.

It does that too, but all with proper focus, in proper context, etc. And some hear what they want to hear; some hear what they need to hear; some just can't or won't hear.

Is that really all you've heard President Hinckley say in relation to how to apply the Gospel?

Plus, have you ever heard a Church leader promote impatience and anxiety; frantic pursuits; not to listen, mend or reassemble; or to keep going faster and faster for the sake of getting information, getting places or forming relationships? Can't say that I have!

Edited August 9, 2013 by CV75

[savedbygrace]

I suppose the Holy Father is saying we don't take time to love our neighbour as ourselves, which as stated above may simply a case of stopping to listen. Or being willing to give of ourselves.

[mfbukowski]

All that's needed is a way of thinking about religion for grown-ups and for children as well.

We have that- the only problem is that many of us get hung up in the children part and never get over it.

Take the story of the three bears as an analogy.

As children we heard the story of the three bears one way, but as adults it is possible to understand it as a story which teaches that trespassing and vandalism is wrong, and that one can find contentment in one's own back yard, both of which are valuable principles.

Is the story "true"? It certainly teaches true principles!

But should we throw it out because bears don't talk? No more than throwing out the bible because donkeys don't talk!

We need to think like grown ups!

[Stone holm]

All that's needed is a way of thinking about religion for grown-ups and for children as well.

We have that- the only problem is that many of us get hung up in the children part and never get over it.

Take the story of the three bears as an analogy.

As children we heard the story of the three bears one way, but as adults it is possible to understand it as a story which teaches that trespassing and vandalism is wrong, and that one can find contentment in one's own back yard, both of which are valuable principles.

Is the story "true"? It certainly teaches true principles!

But should we throw it out because bears don't talk? No more than throwing out the bible because donkeys don't talk!

We need to think like grown ups!

Growing up is so overrated.

[3DOP]

There is one common denominator regarding every single Catholic who has left the Church that the pope's non-Catholic promoters don't seem to recognize. They have stopped believing the teachings of the Catholic Church. This kind of talk doesn't make anybody have a reconversion and never will. It will be as ineffective and forgotten in twenty years as John Paul II's "Springtime of Evangelization". All this slow, soft, sentimental slop does is make non-Catholics hope the pope is thinking about reevaluating traditional doctrine and morals. But its just talk. The teachings will not change.

I happily greet every visitor I can at the parish. It is a joy to me to thank visitors for coming and to let them know they are very welcome. But that only goes so far if they disagree with church teaching. Non-Catholics don't believe anymore. That's all. There aren't a bunch of former Catholics and non-Catholics out there saying to themselves how much they agree with the Catholic Church, but they're not going anymore because the Church is "too fast", or "won't go on the journey" with them. IF you believe, the Church is a cradle to grave institution that gives comfort and solace, joy and hope, but not if you've stopped believing. Its just unrealistic to think Catholics can start "opening up" or "slowing down" (whatever that means) and that will make the secular West start going to Mass again. I am all for "slow church" if it means silence and contemplation in the Mass. I intend to continue to go out of my way to be friendly and caring. But I am getting older and I don't want to waste any more time believing in impractical and unrealistic pipe dreams.

3DOP

Edited August 9, 2013 by 3DOP

[Ahab]

There is one common denominator regarding every single Catholic who has left the Church that the pope's non-Catholic promoters don't seem to recognize. They have stopped believing the teachings of the Catholic Church. This kind of talk doesn't make anybody have a reconversion and never will. It will be as ineffective and forgotten in twenty years as John Paul II's "Springtime of Evangelization". All this slow, soft, sentimental slop does is make non-Catholics hope the pope is thinking about reevaluating traditional doctrine and morals. But its just talk. The teachings will not change.

I happily greet every visitor I can at the parish. It is a joy to me to thank visitors for coming and to let them know they are very welcome. But that only goes so far if they disagree with church teaching. Non-Catholics don't believe anymore. That's all. There aren't a bunch of former Catholics and non-Catholics out there saying to themselves how much they agree with the Catholic Church, but they're not going anymore because the Church is "too fast", or "won't go on the journey" with them. IF you believe, the Church is a cradle to grave institution that gives comfort and solace, joy and hope, but not if you've stopped believing. Its just unrealistic to think Catholics can start "opening up" or "slowing down" (whatever that means) and that will make the secular West start going to Mass again. I am all for "slow church" if it means silence and contemplation in the Mass. I intend to continue to go out of my way to be friendly and caring. But I am getting older and I don't want to waste any more time believing in impractical and unrealistic pipe dreams.

3DOP

People don't fall away all at once, usually. It's usually a slow, gradual process. Suppose someone were to take the time to notice that someone else is having some problems with the beliefs of your Church, or that it at least appeared that way, and they formed a friendship while devoting enough time to talk about things with each other. You know, instead of everyone being so busy in their own lives that they didn't notice how others were doing. With a friendship, the "weaker" would gradually open up more and more while the "stronger" said enough of the "right" things to help rectify the situation before the "weaker" grew weaker and weaker and eventually stopped believing the Church teachings.

A close friendship can work wonders in our Church, as well. People just need to slow down more and stop passing each other by.

[Ran]

3DOP,

I think the Pope's intention is more than sentimentality. He tells the bishops what's needed for his Emmaus vision of the Catholic Church — a priority of formation for both clergy and laity:

What is needed is a solid human, cultural, effective, spiritual and doctrinal formation.[6] Dear brother Bishops, courage is needed to undertake a thorough review of the structures in place for the formation and preparation of the clergy and the laity of the Church in Brazil. It is not enough that formation be considered a vague priority, either in documents or at meetings. What is needed is the practical wisdom to set up lasting educational structures on the local, regional and national levels and to take them to heart as Bishops, without sparing energy, concern and personal interest. The present situation calls for quality formation at every level. Bishops may not delegate this task. You cannot delegate this task, but must embrace it as something fundamental for the journey of your Churches.

Footnote 6 cites certain paragraphs in the "Aparecida Document":

212. In order to carry out their mission with pastoral responsibility, lay people need a solid

doctrinal, pastoral, and spiritual formation and proper support to give witness to Christ and to

the values of the Kingdom in the realm of social, economic, political and cultural life.

316. Seminaries and houses of formation are no doubt a special setting, the school and home for

the formation of disciples and missionaries. The initial formation time is a stage where future

priests share life following the example of the apostolic community around the Risen Christ:

they pray together, celebrate the same liturgy culminating in the Eucharist; from the Word of

God they receive the teachings that gradually illuminate their minds and shape their hearts

for exercising fraternal charity and justice; and they periodically provide pastoral services to

different communities, thereby preparing to live a solid spirituality in communion with Christ

the Shepherd and in docility to the action of the Spirit, becoming a personal and attractive

sign of Christ in the world, according to the path of holiness proper to the priestly ministry.182

317. We recognize the effort of those who are charted with formation in seminaries. Their witness

and preparation are decisive for accompanying seminarians toward an emotional maturity

that will make them suitable for embracing priestly celibacy and able to live in communion

with their brothers in the priestly vocation; in this sense, the courses established for those in

charge of formation are an effective means of aiding their mission.183

318. The contemporary situation requires greater attention to formation programs in seminaries,

since young people are victims of the negative influence of postmodern culture, especially

the mass media, bringing with it the fragmentation of the personality, inability to take on

irrevocable commitments, absence of human maturity, weakening of spiritual identity, and so

forth, which impede the process of forming authentic disciples and missionaries. Hence,

before entry into the seminary, those responsible for conducting formation must make a very

careful selection, taking into account the psychological balance of a sound personality, a

genuine motivation of love for Christ and for the Church, and an intellectual capacity

adequate to the requirements of ministry today.184

319. There must be a seminary formation plan that offers seminarians a true comprehensive

process—human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral—centered on Jesus Christ, the Good

Shepherd. It is crucial that during the formation years, seminarians be authentic disciples,

and come to have a true personal encounter with Jesus Christ in prayer with the Word, so as

to establish with Him relationships of friendship and love, ensuring an authentic process of

spiritual initiation, especially during the Propaedeutic Period. The spirituality promoted must

respond to the identity of the particular vocation, whether diocesan or religious.185

320. Throughout formation, an effort shall be made to develop a tender and filial love for Mary, so

that each candidate comes to have spontaneous familiarity with her and “takes her into his

home” like the beloved disciple. She will provide priests strength and hope in difficult

moments, and will encourage them to be untiringly missionary disciples for the people of

God.

321. Special attention must be devoted to the process of human formation toward maturity, so that

the vocation to the ministerial priesthood of the candidates becomes in each of them a stable

and definitive life project, in the midst of a culture that exalts the disposable and the

provisional. The same is true of education for affectivity and sexual maturity. Such maturity

should lead to understanding better the gospel meaning of consecrated celibacy as a value

that configures one to Jesus Christ, and hence as a state of love, fruit of the precious gift of

divine grace, according to the example of the nuptial self-giving of the Son of God; to

receiving it as such with firm decision, with magnanimity and wholeheartedly; and to living it

with serenity and faithful perseverance, with proper ascesis on a personal and community

journey, as surrender to God and to others with a full and undivided heart.186

322. In the entire formation process, the seminary environment and the formation pedagogy must

foster a climate of healthy freedom and of personal responsibility, and avoid creating artificial

environments or imposed paths. The candidate’s option for the priestly life and ministry must

mature and be supported by true and authentic, free and personal motivations. That is the

aim of discipline in houses of formation. Pastoral experiences, discerned and accompanied in

the formation process, are extremely important for corroborating the authenticity of the

motivations in the candidate and helping him to assume the ministry as a true and generous service

in which what I am and what I do, consecrated person and ministry, are inseparable

realities.

323. At the same time, the seminary must offer a serious and deep intellectual formation in the

field of philosophy, the human sciences, and especially in theology and missiology, so that

the future priest learns to proclaim the faith in all its integrity, faithful to the magisterium of the

Church, with critical attention, alert to the cultural context of our time and the major currents

of thought and behavior that he will have to evangelize. Likewise, the study of the Word of

God must be strengthened in the academic curriculum in the various fields of formation,

striving to assure that the Divine Word is not reduced to something merely notional, but that it

is really spirit and life that enlightens and nourishes all existence. Therefore, each seminary

must have a sufficient number of well prepared professors.187

324. It must be confirmed that the candidates are able to take on the demands of community life,

which entails dialogue, capacity for service, humility, appreciation for the charisms of others,

willingness to let oneself be challenged by others, obedience to the bishop, and openness to

growing in missionary communion with priests, deacons, religious, and laity, serving unity in

diversity. The Church needs priests and religious who never cease being aware that they

are disciples in communion.

325. Young people from poor families or indigenous groups require an inculturated formation, that

is, they must receive adequate theological and spiritual training for their future ministry,

without thereby losing their roots, and so that they may accordingly be evangelizers close to

their peoples and cultures.188

[Stone holm]

I don't know, I am not a Catholic, but this Pope has impressed me so far, and he seems to be touching the hearts of Catholics and nonCatholics.