Corpus Christi Indeed

Corpus Christi was . . . amazing. I had never been to CC before, knew absolutely nothing about it and had never heard anything about the diocese. One of the many smaller dioceses that we usually don't talk about around St. Blog's.

It was the 94th diocese we have worked in and unlike any other. And not just because the population is 70% Catholic and 55% Hispanic. What was different was what people talked about and didn't talk about.

They talked about Jesus.

Not culture wars, not doctrine, not ecclesial gossip, not politics, not the institutional Church. They were indeed orthodox in their doctrine but they didn't talk about doctrine, they talked about Jesus. Just that simply and baldly. Pastors, diocesan staff, parish staff, lay leaders. They all talked like that - as simply and unself-consciously as though it was normal for life-long Catholics to talk that way. As though they knew Jesus - personally - and he was the center of their lives.

They not only knew what the kerygma was, they preached it constantly, intentionally and without compromise, in the parishes with the active, on-going support of the diocese. The diocesan Director of Evangelization, Fr. Eduardo, gave me a very clever laminated "restaurant menu" listing all the options for adult faith formation. The "Appetizer" section listed no less than 13 parish and diocesan evangelization processes - all of which explicitly preach the kerygma and call parishioners to intentional discipleship.

Three day retreats, weekend retreats, 10 week courses, 8 week courses. Some are Cursillo off-shoots, some arose out of the charismatic renewal, some like Encounter, developed locally. One major retreat, Journey to Damascus, is ecumenical with two Catholics (priest/sister) and two Protestants serving as Directors of each retreat. Many of the people I spent time with had had their lives transformed by attending a Journey to Damascus.

In Making Disciples, we teach parish leaders to not put all their eggs in a single evangelizing basket but develop a synergizing evangelization cycle throughout the year with different kinds of events, processes, and opportunities that reinforce one another and give people with different needs different entry points. But here was a diocese - a diocese - with the direct support of its bishop - that had done exactly that.

I can't begin to tell you how stunning it is to write that last sentence. How completely out of the box amazing that is compared to the de facto situation in the other 93 dioceses I've worked in. Many dioceses have parishes that are doing amazing things - but those parishes almost always work in isolation from other parishes and from the diocese.

In Corpus Christi, pastoral leaders are actually working together at many levels, to preach the basic gospel to their people and call them to intentional discipleship. Not perfectly, not totally, of course. But in a real way that is changing lives by the thousands. In a way that I haver never witnessed in another diocese.

And that was the other stunner: They are very excited about the Called & Gifted process because they have thousands of disciples clamoring to know what God wants to them. They weren't just looking for a quick and clever way to recruit more volunteers to give one or two hours a week at the parish. They weren't focused upon filling a few obvious, pre-determined ecclesial holes They wanted all the baptized to discern and live their vocation(s) outside and inside the ecclesial structures. They had thousands of on-fire disciples now and they were actively searching for ways to help them discern.

In many ways, Corpus Christ embodies the turn of the generational tide and global Catholicism. Their bishop has just turned 75 and time has softened but not erased his undeniable Irish brogue. The city has gone from 30% Catholic to 70% Catholic since 1970 as the Hispanic tide has risen there. His people are overwhelmingly Spanish-speaking. But at the Cathedral, a priest from India gave the homily and spoke matter-of-factly of witnessing the complete healing of a Hindu boy with terminal cancer who had since become a devoted Christian in gratitude. Then a young woman, draped in a long sparkling violet veil and looking like a princess out of the Arabian nights, stepped forward to make promises to God and Our Lady in celebration of her 15th birthday, her quincenerra.

Just a couple more cool things:

The Cathedral's Eucharistic Chapel is stunning. One of the most beautiful I have ever seen, up there with Cincinatti cathedral and the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in D.C. How appropriate for a city named for the Body of Christ. (Of course, I let it be know that I live near the Sangre de Christo mountains.)

When in Corpus Christ, you need to visit Hester's Cafe. Hester was the dynamo behind my visit and her family's restaurant is a delight. Her husband, Jason, made dinner for us and produced the most fabulous fish dish (pecan-crusted trout) I have ever tasted. Although Hester's only serves breakfast and lunch, Jason makes the terrific trout during Lent. It would be worth it to mosy on down to CC for Lent - if only to savor the trout at Hester's. Really good espresso too.

We drank wine, ate fish, and talked a long time Saturday night about the joys and challenges of evangelization at Hester's.

And one last vignette:

I was walking by myself through the hall at the ministry day conference where I was speaking and noticed Bishop Carmody walking by himself. I smiled and said "good morning, Bishop" and prepared to walk by but he came right up to me and asked me about myself. He immediately recognized that I was new. I explained who I was briefly and then he did something that no other bishop has done in my 21 years as Catholic. He prayed for me and gave me his blessing.

It may not sound like much but in my experience of bishops, they are too busy or distracted to seek you out. We have sponsored major events with bishops and archbishops who just showed up, gave their talk, were swooped up by their entourage and vanished. I never even got to do the 60 second smile and shake. I've grown used to the idea that one doesn't have meaningful encounters with bishops and don't expect it.

So I was genuinely surprised and touched. No wonder his people love Bishop Carmody. No wonder the Holy Spirit is so active there. Truly, it is Corpus Christi.