People around the world are searching for God and for meaning in their lives, according to internationally renowned priest Fr Michel Remery, who visited Australia in May.
The author of Tweeting with God was Down Under to share the fruits of his international ministry with Australian dioceses and Catholic schools. Those fruits include a new online resource called How to Grow in Faith, an 18-session interactive program designed to be used in a group setting.
Speaking with the National Centre for Evangelisation, Fr Remery said How to Grow in Faith was being used for different kinds of formation in dioceses around the world.
“In some places it is embraced as a course to prepare young children for confirmation,” he said. “In another place, they use it for the formation of adults.”
Fr Remery has previously been involved in the development of Tweeting with God, Online with Saints and Your Neighbour is God – resources which grew out of a desire to provide clear, accurate and engaging responses to the questions people ask about God and the Catholic faith.
While the resources were initially developed with young people, Fr Remery said the information they contain is relevant to all generations who often ask the same questions.
“Young people are very open in discovering … but even when I speak to a group of elderly people, again, the same questions come up,” he said.
“They are formulated differently because of their experience in life but, in the end, they’re asking the same questions about the origin of life, the presence of God in our daily lives, prayer and suffering.”
These same, fundamental questions are asked regardless of culture or time, Fr Remery explained.
“In Vietnam, in Kenya, in Australia, in Albania, in Holland, in all countries I find people asking exactly the same questions,” he said. “That is because, in the end, we are all human beings created by God and, in spite of cultural differences and upbringing, we have this deep desire for God, a deep desire to understand Him better.”
Unsurprisingly, Fr Remery’s passion is lay formation – in sharing the faith with people and, in doing so, helping them to become missionaries themselves.
“That’s something that will truly help our Church right now, and also the Church of the future,” he said. “It would be great if, in any parish, the parishioners had a feeling that each person is called to share the Gospel with other people, in their own words. It may be very simple words, but these can be very powerful and much more acceptable and receivable sometimes than the words of a priest.
“There are so many billions of Catholics around the world, but only a few priests, and we tend to see them as the ones that need to announce the Gospel. We don’t use 99.7 per cent of our resources.”
Having travelled to many parts of the world, Fr Remery said many Catholics are pondering questions about the future of the Church, with the number of Catholics, as well as Mass attendance figures, on the decline.
“People tend to think of the numbers of the past, and then look at today and say it’s not going well,” he said. “That’s a pity, because Jesus is never about numbers.
“Let’s accept that there’s a fluctuation of the numbers and that numbers are not important, it’s the individual person that has a desire to meet Jesus that is important. Even if there’s only two or three in a certain situation, that is great, that’s marvellous.
“I think we are moving away from a Church where you are Catholic simply because your parents were Catholic … towards more people discovering the importance of the faith for themselves.
“Therefore, we will have a smaller, but maybe just as passionate, group of people that can support each other, that can meet the Lord together and grow in faith.”
In such a context, the task of evangelisation becomes even more important, a task which Fr Remery said begins with each individual.
“It starts with living your faith and learning about your faith,” he said.
“We are all called to realise that we cannot convert other people; only God can change hearts. The only thing we can do is share our passion for Jesus in such a way – using our intelligence and our capacity of communication – that people can accept it, and also to leave people free to accept or not accept.”
Resources
How to Grow in Faith
Online with Saints
Tweeting with God
Image: Supplied: St Monica’s College, Epping
Words: Matthew Biddle