“I hereby declare the games to begin,” Bishop Paprocki said, causing the crowd to break out in laughter.
Nearly 900 people from throughout the diocese participated in “Entering the Mystery, Renewing the People,” Nov. 7 and 8, sponsored by the diocesan Office for Catechetical Ministries at the Decatur Conference Center.
“What we are about here in enriching our faith is very serious, but it is also something we can have fun with and grow more deeply in our faith,” Bishop Paprocki said, thanking everyone for taking the time to attend the event. “It is very important that adults in the church continue to enrich their faith, just as it is very important for children to get religious education. If we went to a doctor, only to learn the doctor hadn’t cracked a book since medical school, we would be concerned.”
Introducing the keynote speaker, Father Richard Fragomeni, an associate professor of liturgy and preaching at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago as his colleague and friend, the bishop said, “This was on his calendar for several years, long before I arrived here.”
In his keynote address, and in follow-up breakout sessions on both days of the conference, Father Fragomeni made the point that as a Christian, a person’s whole life is delving into an ever evolving mystery. “Mystery is the beauty of experiencing that which we thought we understood,” only to discover “the beauty of the infinite depth of God.”
Chris Malmevik, associate director for catechesis, later described Father Fragomeni’s point, saying, “As we delve into the mystery, what we discover is how much more there is to understand.”
“God’s love for us is a love without ifs, ands or buts. All life is already swimming in mystery,” said Father Fragomeni.
Each of the three breakout sessions offered each day of the conference had a choice of 10 areas of interest from which a person could choose. Topics ranged from social justice and mission work, to music ministry, engaging children to sing their faith, revisions in the Roman missal, adapting morning and evening prayer for use in parish and school, and getting through to high school age and young adults, who look at liturgy as boring.
Bishop Paprocki celebrated Mass for the DAEC at St. Patrick Church in downtown Decatur. After Mass, a presentation of Agapé: The Stories and the Feast by Marty Haugen was presented at the conference center.
On the second morning of the DAEC Father Fragomeni spoke again, this time following Morning Prayer with Bishop Paprocki. The topic of his address was “Renewing the People.”
“The greatest credential I bring to you is my own humanity … my own desire for God,” Father Fragomeni said following his introduction.
As Catholics, we live in mystery, Father Fragomeni said. “… We need to celebrate the mystery and allow the mystery to ravish us. We need to live in humility, generosity, hospitality and bedazzlement. We need bedazzlement. Without it I’m not sure we can call ourselves Christians.”
When it comes to understanding the whys and wherefores of the Roman Missal, Father Fragomeni said, “In the case of the Roman Missal, something got old, so they renewed it. … We renew people by renewing liturgical texts which will renew human relationships. … People will get the words, but nothing will be renewed if we don’t ‘get’ them, unless something deeper happens.” Renewal will work when it engages the meaning of changing words.
“In the liturgy we are bombarded at the heart and invited to fall in love (with God) as God has fallen in love with us,” Father Fragomeni said. “As we imagine so we become. As we become so we value. As we value so we decide. As we decide so we behave. As we behave so we relate. As we relate so we build networks of creativity.”
Following Father Fragomeni’s address attendees, many of whom were teachers, moved on to several breakout sessions on a variety of subjects before reuniting as a large group to hear Father Paul Turner, pastor of St. Munchin Parish in Cameron, Mo., and its mission, St. Aloysius in Maysville, who was the final speaker.
Father Turner, who also spoke about the Order of the Mass and using the revised Missal during the day sessions, gave his closing address on “Revising the Translation, Renewing the Mass.” He said that the revised English translation of the Roman Missal will provide Catholics with plenty of new opportunities for prayer and catechesis.
The next Diocesan Adult Enrichment Conference, put on every other year by the Office for Catechesis and made possible in part by the Annual Catholic Services Appeal, will take place in 2012.