Time for the church to break out of its ‘holy huddle’

Story and Photos By Peter Finney Jr., Clarion Herald

Father Joshua Johnson, a priest of the Diocese of Baton Rouge, is a young pastor, so it is understandable he has not heard everything under the sun about ministering to a congregation.

But when the engaging priest, who was ordained in 2014, was trying to spread the word about his church to a family about what the parish had to offer, he was met with almost a blank stare.

“I’ve never heard of that church,” the person told him.

“And, I thought to myself, how can you live in this neighborhood – literally right across from where the church is, and it’s got one of the biggest daycares – and never heard of the church?” Father Johnson told the Gulf Coast Faith Formation Conference Jan. 10 at the Pontchartrain Center in Kenner. “I knew that was a problem.”

When Father Johnson decided then to begin a series of rosary walks throughout various neighborhoods in the parish’s territorial boundaries – particularly some of the poorer sections – he was met by questions from well-meaning parishioners.

“Why are we going into that community?”
one parishioner asked.

“Because I want to invite these people to our church,” he replied. “I want these people to participate in our family here.”

Sometimes, the response from active parishioners was less than he had expected.

“Don’t they have their own churches to go to?” one person asked him.

“They might have their own churches to go to,” Father Johnson replied, “but have you ever heard about Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament?”

While that response was isolated and not shared by many in his parish, Father Johnson said those and similar stumbling blocks hurt the church’s efforts to bring people in from the margins.

He said those challenges drive him to the adoration chapel daily, where he can be silent and listen for God to speak.

“Even when I am on vacation, I will always, always, always get away at some point to be with Jesus,” Father Johnson said.

Once, a priest confided to him that he was upset about his new parish assignment – to a black parish – because he felt like he could not minister to black Catholics.

“I remember looking at this priest and wondering, ‘Do you even know Jesus?’” Father Johnson said.

Father Johnson said even those involved in catechetical ministry need to move beyond head knowledge of Christ and embrace him with their heart.

“There’s a big difference between knowing about Jesus and knowing Jesus,” Father Johnson said. “If we haven’t had a single conversation with Jesus, we don’t know him. If we have a conversation with Jesus, we actually get to know him. Then we will know what he wants us to do. ”

He said the apostles “broke out of their holy huddle” when they received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

“They went out to all the nations,” he said.

More than 800 parish and school catechists, religion teachers, priests and religious attended the annual conference.

Peter Finney Jr. can be reached at [email protected].