Wickedness and grace

Sometimes a sense of futility creeps upon us. We despair that “they don’t come back for mystagogy.” Or we fret that “we can’t find enough sponsors.” We bemoan the lack of participation among the members of the assembly. And now the diocese wants us to run the catechumenate “year round” when we are already stretched too thin.

How do we even begin to think about solving these and similar problems? If you are like me, you fantasize that there is “an answer” out there. Some parish or some person smarter or more experienced than I am must have solved all this already. But down deep, we know that really is a fantasy, don’t we?

Wicked problems

10 characteristics of wicked problems

1. There is no definitive formulation of a wicked problem
2. Wicked problems have no stopping rule
3. Solutions to wicked problems are not true-or-false, but good-or-bad
4. There is no immediate and no ultimate test of a solution to a wicked problem
5. Every solution to a wicked problem is a "one-shot operation"; because there is no opportunity to learn by trial-and-error, every attempt counts significantly
6. Wicked problems do not have an enumerable (or an exhaustively describable) set of potential solutions, nor is there a well-described set of permissible operations that may be incorporated into the plan
7. Every wicked problem is essentially unique
8. Every wicked problem can be considered to be a symptom of another problem
9. The existence of a discrepancy representing a wicked problem can be explained in numerous ways. The choice of explanation determines the nature of the problem's resolution
10. The planner has no right to be wrong (Planners are liable for the consequences of the actions they generate)

These kinds of problems are what Horst Rittle, a pioneering theorist of design and planning, and late professor at the University of California, Berkeley, called "wicked problems." Rittle figured out that many problems cannot be solved by “experts” dropping in and delivering a ten-point plan, even if they have experience in your specific area of difficulty. This is, in fact, the very type of solution most of us go looking for. We go to a workshop or buy a book or hire a speaker to just tell us what to do. The thing that makes your problem “wicked” is there is no one solution. And each potential solution raises other problems. And, this is really key, each problem is unique. The reason your neophytes don’t come back for mystagogy is essentially different than the reason other neophytes in other parishes don’t come back. In fact, the reasons among your own neophytes are all unique as well.

Jim Conklin, author of Dialogue Mapping: Creating Shared Understanding of Wicked Problems, went on to develop Rittle’s ideas further. Conklin says wicked problems have these characteristics:

1. The problem is not understood until after formulation of a solution.
2. Stakeholders have radically different world views and different frames for understanding the problem.
3. Constraints and resources to solve the problem change over time.
4. The problem is never solved.

Don’t you just hate that last one?

There is no "solution"

But think about it for a minute. Isn’t the lack of a “solution” the very thing that makes the conversion process an encounter with grace? The catechumenate is not a puzzle. There is no final answer. It is a mystery—a mystery of love. How do we solve that mystery? We can’t. We can only enter into it.

Conklin says:

Because of social complexity, solving a wicked problem is fundamentally a social process. Having a few brilliant people or the latest project management technology is no longer sufficient.

We might paraphrase that to say that because of the radical, loving relationship of the Father and the Son (in which we are immersed through the power of the Holy Spirit), solving a wicked problem is fundamentally an ecclesial process. Having a few brilliant theologians or RCIA experts is insufficient.

The answer is the community

In other words, the initiation process, from start to finish

…is the responsibility of all the baptized. Therefore the community must always be fully prepared in the pursuit of its apostolic vocation to give help to those who are searching for Christ…. Hence, the entire community must help the candidates and the catechumens throughout the process of initiation. (RCIA 9)

This means that all the multiple, complex, disjointed, busy and distracted parts of the Body of Christ must share a commitment to entering into the messy process of conversion together (with each other and with the catechumens). And they must share a commitment to love and support one another in that process. This won’t “solve the problem.” But it will bring us all more fully into the love of Christ.

[This post was inspired by Jim McGee. See his post on Solving puzzles or framing mysteries for more information on wicked problems.]

Awe Inspiring Rites?

I recently conducted a catechetical session for a parish that is planning to build a new baptismal font. To begin, I asked those who came—a rather large group of about ninety adults and teenagers—to recall a memorable experience of baptism they either took part in or witnessed. Everybody had one! They shared warm, enthusiastic memories with each other, and some of the stories were shared with the large group too. This was clearly a group of people who loved their parish and had a high regard for the sacraments and for the church.

Their response to the next exercise, however, was telling. I asked for a show of hands in answer to the following questions: What stood out in their memory? The people? The action? The words? The emotions? The water? Hands went up for each and every item—except the water. The water did not stand out for anybody in that room, among all the good memories they cherished.

Clearly, they needed a new font.

But their response to the exercise got me thinking. Where are our powerful memories of baptismal water—that primary “sign” of the foundational sacrament of the whole Christian life? If our sacramental system is going to survive in this century as a living organism and not just a museum piece, there has to be a core of real-life experience at the center of it. Are we etching the sacraments in the deep places of the soul, in today’s church?

Water has been for me the centerpiece of a whole liturgical experience that qualifies as “awe-inspiring” or “spine-tingling” as Edward Yarnold, SJ, once called it. I can still see the light shimmering on the water of the glorious font at St. Paul the Apostle church in New York as we gathered around it for Easter Vigil baptisms. The completely drenched appearance of the newly-baptized at St. John Cathedral in Milwaukee comes to my mind; I can see them dripping, smiling, triumphant. I remember the astonishing depths of the water in which my husband-to-be was baptized at St. Ignatius Loyola church in New York—he was immersed in the water three times, each time diving in deeper than the last, until finally the pastor and sponsor thought they’d lost him! These are powerful memories. For me, the stories of creation and crossing the Red sea found a touchstone in the waters of these fonts—waters that were breathtakingly beautiful, dangerous, and a place where miracles happen.

You don’t get the same effect standing around a punch bowl. Yet I’m afraid that something the size of a punchbowl, or even smaller, is what most Catholics call the font.

What do you remember of baptism at this year’s Easter Vigil?

Catechetical Session, Easter 6C

May 13, 2007

Sixth Sunday of Easter, C

Core beliefs

You can discuss one or more of these teachings of the church today. Use your powers of discernment to make your choice based on three criteria:

1. What have the catechumens been asking about?
   
2. What issues came up during the dismissal reflections?
   
3. What, in your opinion, needs clarification for the catechumens?

• Apostolic nature of the church
  
• The Holy Trinity
  
• The Mystical Body of Christ

Readings

Acts 15: 1-2, 22-29
Revelation 21: 10-14, 22-23
John 14: 23-29

Catechist Wisdom

Strengthen your wisdom powers by reflecting on the readings yourself before the catechetical session.

The reading from Acts today describes one of the first crises the early church had to deal with. Some among them believed that Gentiles seeking baptism must first submit to the Mosaic practice of circumcision. Paul and Barnabas, among others, believed there was no need for non-Jews to take on Jewish practices in order to become Christians. What is important is not so much the dispute as is the method of resolving it. The question was submitted to "the apostles and elders" in Jerusalem. Since the very beginning, the authority of the church has descended through the apostles and their successors, the bishops.

The apostolic theme is carried through in John's vision. The holy city Jerusalem, which had been the center and foundation of the church in its earliest days, is now the jeweled Bride of Christ—the people of God, the church itself. The walls of the city, and the foundation of the church, rests upon "the twelve apostles of the Lamb." John also notes the city has no temple, no sun, and no moon. It may be difficult to understand the utter shock this would have been to John and his community. The sense of the imagery is that the holy city in which we will dwell with God is like nothing we have known before. We have some foretaste of it in Eucharist, and the full revelation awaits us.

We will dwell with God in fullness in the holy city, but it is not solely a future promise. God (the Father and the Son) dwells in the church here and now, through "the Advocate, the Holy Spirit." The radical love (the Spirit) of the Father and the Son inhabits us and lives in us. The Spirit makes us one with Christ, uniting us so closely that the church becomes the very body of Christ. The Spirit is the one who instructs the church, intercedes for us, and comforts us with Christ's peace.

Teaching Powers

Based on your discernment of the core belief(s) to emphasize today, connect one or more of these church teachings with what the catechumens experienced in the liturgy and what they have experienced in their daily lives this past week. Ask the sponsors to help the catechumens make these connections during the discussion.

Apostolic nature of the church

(see CCC 934-941)



• The church is made up of two groups, two parts of the Body, that together carry out the church's mission. They are the ordained and the laity.
  
• The church receives its mission from Christ, who first handed it onto the apostles. The bishops are the successors of the apostles. The technical term for this is "apostolic succession." Like the apostles, the bishops act in the person of Christ. They are the sign and source of unity in their own diocesan churches.
  
• The chief bishop is the bishop of Rome who is also called the Pope. The Pope is a successor to St. Peter, to whom Jesus entrusted the authority to lead the church.
  
• It is the job of the bishops to teach the faith, to lead the church in prayer, especially Eucharist, and to act as true pastors or shepherds. They are helped in these tasks by priests and deacons.
  
• Ordinarily, the laity carries out the mission of the church by living holy lives in the secular world.
  
• The word "priest" can sometimes be confusing. Lay people share in Christ's priesthood. Anyone who is baptized does. The ordained priesthood is a sacred role that is distinct from the rest of the baptized priesthood. Because all the baptized share in Christ's priesthood, we are all called to lives of holiness. That is, we are called to live the same kind of life of faith that the apostles did. All of the faithful share in the apostolic mission of the church.



The Holy Trinity

(see CCC 261-267)



• The mystery of the Trinity is the core belief of all our beliefs. It is foundational to all the rest of what we believe. Like the mystery of love, we can never fully understand it. However, with God's help, we will grow to know more and more about the Holy Trinity.
  
• One of the ways we grow to understand the Trinity is through Jesus' incarnation. Jesus reveals God to us, and we realize he is one with the Father.
  
• We also know that through Jesus' death and resurrection, the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the church. The mission of the Holy Spirit is exactly the same as Jesus' mission. That understanding reveals to us that the Holy Spirit is one with the Father and the Son. "With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified" (Nicene Creed).
  
• We believe that the Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son. This was a very important controversy in the fourth century church. It simply means that the Holy Spirit is equally the Spirit of the Father and the Spirit of the Son.
  
• We also learn more deeply about the Holy Trinity because, through the grace of baptism, we are drawn into the dynamic life of the Trinity. We learn about the Trinity "up close and personal." We are baptized "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."
  
• We do not believe in three Gods. This is important. We believe in only one God. And we believe that God is three separate persons, all equal in glory. It can be confusing to think about, but remember this is not about physical science. It is about an absolute unity of love.
  
• Because God is an absolute unity of love, all of God's actions are also one. We cannot assign different jobs to different persons as though the other persons are not involved. The Catechism says it this way: "Within the single divine operation each shows forth what is proper to him in the Trinity, especially in the divine missions of the Son's Incarnation and the gift of the Holy Spirit" (267).



The Mystical Body of Christ

(see CCC 802-810)



• Jesus became one of us to save us and make us one with him. In the first letter of Peter we read: "You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people."
  
• We become one with Christ and part of the People of God by faith and baptism. This unity is so complete that we call the church the Mystical Body of Christ. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Christ, who died on the cross and rose three days later, makes us part of God's family and makes his own Body. This reality is most clearly expressed in the sacraments.
  
• Even though we are all one, however, we all have different roles. There is a lot of diversity in the Body. And still we are all linked to one another, especially to those who are suffering, to the poor and persecuted.
  
• The head of the church, the head of the Body, is Christ. Our life comes from Christ and Christ lives in us. We also say the church is the Bride of Christ because Christ loves the church so much.
  
• When Jesus left this physical earth, he sent the Holy Spirit to instruct the church, care for the church, and intercede for the church. Because the Spirit dwells in us, we say the church is the temple of the Holy Spirit. In a sense, Spirit is the soul of the Mystical Body, the source of its life, of its unity in diversity, and of the riches of its gifts.



Correlations with protocols from the Office of the Catechism




Saving the World

Ask the catechumens to reflect back what they heard today. Ask them to name one or two practical ways they will put their new learning into practice in the coming week.




Prayer

Close with a prepared prayer or a spontaneous prayer led by one of the team members or one of the sponsors.