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QUIK-CLICK GUIDE TO THIS
PAGE
Who is a Catholic Seeker?
Why Catholics Become Seekers
"Spiritual but not Religious"
How to Assess Your Relationship to the
Church
Prayers
for Catholic Seekers
Challenges Facing Catholic Seekers
What Seekers Can Do
How We Can Help
“Seekers
can begin to find in the Church fulfillment of their heart's
desires. They are invited to undertake a spiritual journey
that is
focused on Jesus Christ and his Kingdom of salvation, love,
justice
and mercy.... This is the Church's invitation to seekers
who want to
discover a satisfying answer to their spiritual hungers.
Her invitation
is rich: to seekers, old and new, and to those who might label
them-
elves as alienated or indifferent, the Church offers Jesus
Christ and
his love, the fulfillment of hope.”
--U.S. Conference
of Catholic Bishops,
United States Catholic Catechism for Adults
(2007) pp.6-7.
Information for and About
Catholic Seekers
Who is a ‘Catholic Seeker’?
By definition, a seeker
is one who searches. In a
spiritual context, a seeker is someone who searches for a
deeper, more meaningful spiritual life or for a more
comfortable, nurturing spiritual home. Often spiritual seekers are also searching for a resolution to
some conflict or tension between themselves and a particular
church or religious community.
The term “Catholic Seeker” is commonly used to describe
individuals baptized into the Catholic community who no longer
feel spiritually at home there. Catholic seekers may include
active, inactive, alienated, discouraged and former Catholics
who are disillusioned, confused or troubled about their
relationship with the Catholic Church.
Why
Catholics Become Seekers
There are a wide variety of circumstances and reasons why
some Catholics become spiritual seekers.
Almost always, a Seeker’s relationship with the Church is
complicated by the fact that we are all human beings and the
Church is both a supernatural and a human community.
Human persons grow and change -- or fail to grow and change --
as the world around them changes. We are all spiritual
pilgrims, and the church is a pilgrim church.
For that reason, nothing is complete, finished or perfect here.
We are always “on the way,” and everyone travels at a different
pace. This creates the possibility for tension, and sometimes
conflict, between the faith community and individual members.
That tension may express itself
in a variety of ways. For
example,
•
Some Seekers feel a conflict between their faith and the institutional
church.
•
Others are troubled by some aspect of Church teaching or Catholic
practice.
• Some are happy being Catholic but do not feel at home in their local
parish.
•
Others are frustrated because the faith they learned as children is
no
longer adequate for adults.
•
Some Seekers are discouraged or disappointed by change, or the lack
of change, in the Church.
•
Other feel that some of their personal or spiritual needs are
better
fulfilled in another church or tradition.
• Some Seekers have been abused or offended by a representative
of the
church or are scandalized by the behavior of some Church members.
•
Others have gradually drifted away from the Church and now feel
estranged or unwelcome.
•
A number of Seekers have rejected their association with the church but
are
still troubled by some experiences, issues or questions which
were
left unresolved.
What every Seeker shares is a sense that
something important is missing, unfinished or unsatisfied in
their life. All Seekers hunger for something which will fill the emptiness.
Some Seekers may feel that they are re-living their teenage
years.
In the process of becoming a mature, responsible, and faithful
adult, the Seeker may have to re-appropriate what they have been
taught to believe, and renegotiate their relationship to
religious authority. It is an exciting, but also challenging,
and sometimes scary, experience.
‘Spiritual’ but
not ‘Religious’
Spiritual Seekers often describe themselves as “spiritual but
not religious.”
Being spiritual but not religious usually indicates a desire to remain spiritually alive, even when a person is
disillusioned by organized religion or alienated from an
established faith community. However, being spiritual but
not religious is much like being married but physically
separated or emotionally estranged from one’s spouse. It is
painful and usually destructive over a long period of time.
Human beings are social beings; our faith is a deeply
personal relationship nurtured, expressed, affirmed, celebrated
and challenged in the context of a very real relationship with
other members of a faith
community.
Catholics believe that an individual’s relationship with God is
mediated (encountered and expressed) in and through the
community of the Church, which we
believe to be “the Body of Christ.”
Although an individual may find it necessary, even healthy, to
limit or withdraw from active participation in the faith
community at certain times, it is painful and lonely to remain
separated from the community -- to be “spiritual but not religious” --
on a permanent basis.
If you consider yourself spiritual but not religious, we invite you
to re-examine your relationship to the faith community.
The following exercise may be helpful to you.
How to Assess Your Relationship
to the Catholic Church
Our relationship to the
Church or other religious organizations is not unlike other
personal relationships.
In a healthy personal relationship we have
certain expectations of the relationship and
our partner. When a
relationship breaks down, it is usually because our partner has
failed to meet some or
all of our expectations.
Click here for a guide to assessing your relationship to the
Church
What Seekers
Can
Do
If
you or someone you know is a Catholic Seeker, here are some things
you can do:
• Continue to pray for the spiritual gifts of patience,
wisdom and
discernment.
• Find a Catholic faith community where you can worship
regularly,
even if you attend services in another church.
• Investigate new forms of
personal and communal prayer such as
Taize Prayer, Centering Prayer, or
Lectio
divina.
• Identify friends or colleagues with whom you can share
your personal
faith journey confidently and honestly.
• Join a faith-sharing group where you can discuss
matters of faith with
other Catholic Seekers.
• Avoid people or circumstances where talk about church
is too
polarized or bitter.
• Seek a spiritual director
or guide with whom you can meet regularly.
• Ask a trusted friend or spiritual guide to suggest
good books by
traditional or contemporary spiritual writers.
• Read more about the history of the church to
appreciate how it has
changed over the years.
• Study the documents of the Second Vatican Council.
(An accessible
resource is Bill Huebsch’s Vatican II in Plain
English.)
• Meditate on the lives of the saints, old and new, who
were the
pilgrims, prophets and pioneers of their day.
• Participate in retreat and renewal opportunities
offered by local
parishes or nearby retreat centers.
• Live your faith by getting actively involved in
community service and
social justice activities.
• Learn and practice strategies for healthy living
recommended for co-
dependents by 12-Step programs.
______________________________________________________________________
Prayers for Catholic
Seekers
Click here
______________________________________________________________________
Challenges Facing Spiritual Seekers
Click here
______________________________________________________________________
Searching for
God?
God is searching for
you. Listen to this podcast from Renew
International[audio software required]:
http://xpmail.kolaco.com/Renew/index.nsf/vPages/PodcastSearchingForGod
______________________________________________________________________
How We Can Help
The
Catholic parishes
in Waterloo are eager to encourage and support our sisters and
brothers who do not feel at home in the Catholic faith
community.
If you or someone you know is a Catholic Seeker, we welcome the
opportunity to discuss your concerns and questions in a safe,
understanding and nonjudgmental environment, even if you do not
anticipate resuming participation in the Catholic faith
community.
The Catholic parishes in Waterloo provide the following
opportunities:
Listening Sessions
These open-forum opportunities for Catholic Seekers and inactive Catholics held periodically
throughout the year in a
non-church location
Click here for a
current schedule of Listening Sessions
A Seekers’ Faith-Sharing Group
This
faith-sharing group meets monthly to discuss the spiritual needs of Catholic
Seekers, inactive and alienated Catholics who are troubled by
their past or current relationship to the Catholic Church.
Click here for
more information about the
Seeker's Group
Companions on the Journey
These small faith-sharing groups
meet monthly and provide an opportunity for spiritual discernment
under the direction of a professional spiritual director.
Click
here for
more information about Companions
Fundamental Issues Series
This developing series of adult formation
programs is designed to examine fundamental issues which many
believers take for granted and many Seekers want to explore.
Click here for more information about the Fundamental Issues
Series
Continuing Adult Formation,
Education
and
Spiritual Growth
Opportunities for Adults
The parishes sponsor a variety of continuing
formation, education and spiritual growth opportunities throughout the year.
We suggest that
individuals who have been away from the Church for some time may
want to consider participating in a program like Catholic
101 or The Rite of Reception for Adults.
Click here
for a Directory of Adult Formation Opportunities
Click here for a Directory of
Spiritual Growth Opportunities
Click here for Highlights of Adult
Formation Opportunities this month
A Private Appointment
We would be happy to arrange a private, confidential appointment
with a pastor or
a pastoral staff member at any time.
If you or someone you know is an inactive, alienated or former
Catholic who
is interested in discussing their relationship to
the Catholic Church,
please contact a pastor or staff member at one of the Waterloo
parishes
or contact:
Director of Adult
Faith Formation
320 Mulberry St., Waterloo IA 50703 • Phone:
319-234-9912
email: DBQ208s3@arch.pvt.k12.ia.us
Posted 12.18.07
• Last Update 02.01.12
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