By Ana Rodriguez Soto - The Archdiocese of Miami
SOUTHWEST RANCHES | Remember Pope Francis telling priests and bishops they should “smell like the sheep”?
It applies to lay people, too, say two experts on evangelization who shared their wisdom with representatives of nine archdiocesan parishes.
“Go out and be with the sheep; and smell like the sheep. It’s not only for priests. It’s for all of us,” Alejandra Correa told a gathering of “parish missionary disciples,” a pilot program inspired by the archdiocesan synod.
Photographer: ANA RODRIGUEZ-SOTO | FC
Alejandra Correa, of Emmanuel Community, chats with local parish leaders at the most recent "parish missionary disciples" training day.
Photographer: ANA RODRIGUEZ-SOTO | FC
Pastors and leaders from nine local parishes listen to the workshop on evangelization given by Father Charles Rochas and Alejandra Correa of Emmanuel Community.
Correa and her husband lead the Midwest and Northeastern U.S. regions of Emmanuel Community, a lay group active throughout the world that promotes a spirituality of mission. In fact, the group runs a School of Mission in Rome, and also in France, Germany, the Philippines and Brazil.
Its 10,000 members “serve the Church at large,” Correa said, by teaching others to evangelize and going out on missions themselves.
That mission dovetails perfectly with the motto of the archdiocesan synod, which exhorted South Florida Catholics to be “disciples in faith, missionaries of hope.” One of the top three priorities that emerged from the synod was “establishing our parishes as centers of hope and evangelization.”
Throughout the past year, the pastors, staff and key leaders from nine parishes have been learning about evangelization from “the best of the best from around the world,” according to Stephen Colella, archdiocesan director of Evangelization and Parish Life.
“We want to grow our parishes and keep the people for the long term,” Colella said.
The way to do that is by helping pastors create or re-ignite ministries in their parishes that will make those who are already in church “more active and engaged disciples,” and in turn go out as missionaries to others, Colella said.
“Part of the problem in the Church is we have a lot of people watching the soccer game but they don’t want to be involved in the game,” said Father Charles Rochas, a French priest who directs the Emmanuel Community’s School of Mission in Rome.
The school is for young adults, ages 18 through 30, “to help lay people to be missionaries.”
They come together from all parts of the world to spend nine months living and praying in community while receiving formation in the faith. They also go out to evangelize on the streets of Rome � or more specifically, St. Peter’s Square.
“St. Peter’s Square is the most pagan place in Rome,” Father Rochas said, referring to all the tourists who visit. “It’s a beautiful place for us to meet the world.”
But evangelization requires more than knocking on doors.
“Evangelization without prayer is just marketing,” the priest told those gathered Jan. 26 at St. Mark Church. “The first goal is not fishing for parishioners. The first goal is to be with Jesus.”
That’s why Emmanuel Community stresses personal, spiritual and academic formation, Father Rochas said: “To help them trust the magisterium of the Church � to truly love the Church the way the Church is, not dreaming about a fake Church. It doesn’t mean everything is beautiful in the Church,” but rather accepting the reality that the Church is made up of people � few of whom are perfect.
“We have to go beyond emotions,” said Correa, a native of Chile with South Florida connections � she grew up in St. John Neumann Parish in Miami. After studying theology in Rome, she now lives with her husband and children in Detroit.
Harking back to Pope Francis’ “smell like the sheep” admonition, Correa said 90 percent of evangelization is “listening. People want to be listened to. They’re wounded. They’re sad.”
As for measuring success, Father Rochas reminded the parish leaders that “Jesus spent most of his time training 12 men” � and in doing so, “he changed the face of the world.”
The pilot group of “parish missionary disciples” will meet for the last time this week, Wednesday, Feb. 24. After that, Colella said, “We will roll this (training) out to another group of parishes.”
FIND OUT MORE
Emmanuel Community representatives will be back in South Florida April 30 through May 8 to lead a parish mission at Blessed Trinity Church in Miami Springs. They will be bringing students from Rome and other community members and go “knocking on doors” in the area. For more information, contact Blessed Trinity, 305-871-5780.
