Most Reverend Jerome E. Listecki
Archbishop of Milwaukee
 

Last Saturday, St. Dominic Parish in Brookfield sponsored a retreat day with Matthew Kelly. Father David Reith and his staff hosted more than 1,000 people hungry to be fed by this popular figure. Kelly is the author of a number of works, most recently, “The Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic.” Kelly has an engaging style that both entertains and informs; his Australian accent increases the interest.

I had the opportunity to speak with Kelly before his first talk. I thanked him for his witness to the Church. I believe that Matthew Kelly, Peter Kreeft, Scott Hahn, Father Robert Barron and others are among the new “apologists” (a fancy word for one who offers an apology, in defense or explanation of the Church’s teachings).

The people I just listed are not afraid to publicly defend and promote the Church. They unabashedly speak of their pride in the faith and challenge fellow Catholics to discover and live the beauty of the faith in a secular world that tries to redefine the reality that surrounds us.

I thought that many of the insights offered by Matthew Kelly were not new but were obvious and, often, that is the mark of the prophetic. A prophet speaks to us and presents the obvious, first to recognize and then to repair the breach in our relationship with God.

Nearly every pastor and church leader is aware of the 20/80 rule. It has been said that 20 percent of any parish provides for 80 percent of the funding and services performed by the congregation. Interestingly, Kelly decided to investigate that statement and found that the 20/80 rule was not the norm, but that it was actually more like 7/93. He determined that those 7 percent of Catholics in his estimation would be considered “dynamic Catholics,” which means that those 7 percent are carrying the bulk of the load when it comes to contributing and services performed in our parishes. In his book, Kelly further investigated what makes these 7 percent dynamic Catholics. In other words, what makes them tick, and what are the common factors of their commitment. He named four signs: prayer, study,  generosity, and evangelization.

There is a consistency in the attention given to these four areas. I encourage you to read his book. It is filled with good stories and practical insights. You may find it affirming and challenging. If you wish to receive a copy you can go online at www.DynamicCatholic.com, or let me know and I’ll get you a copy.

As I looked out at the crowd, I noticed a number of dynamic Catholics and probably even more than that. I just didn’t know a lot of them personally. The ones that I did know, were there already rich in faith.

I would offer a fifth sign of a dynamic Catholic, that is, “humility.” Every one of those individuals that I identified as a dynamic Catholic would never claim to be a dynamic Catholic. Implicitly they understand the Gospel of St. Luke in the passage where Jesus talks about the duty of the servant: “When you have done all you have been commanded say, ‘we are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.’”

It is clear in my mind that the Master who finds these servants ready and vigilant will put an apron on Himself and sit with these faithful servants at the heavenly table and wait on them, for they have done what he obliged them to do: LOVE ONE ANOTHER.     

Note: This blog originally appeared as the October 22, 2013 "Love One Another" email sent to Catholics throughout the Archdiocese of Milwaukee by Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki. If you are interested in signing up for these email messages, please click here.