I am in my thirteenth year of priestly service at Saint Therese Little Flower Parish (though it has spanned two centuries), in my third consecutive year at Saint James, and only my third week at Saint Francis Xavier. Most of the parishioners of these three urban communities live outside of the territorial boundaries. These are, therefore, intentional communities that, like magnets, attract congregants because of their mission. The general mission they espouse is to focus intently on the social Gospel that Jesus promoted by reaching out to the poor, marginalized, and disenfranchised members of society and of church. Many members of these faith communities are, themselves, disenfranchised and identify as “last chance” Catholics. Their frustration with the institutional church through the years—from sexual crises to hierarchical mismanagement to bureaucratic blunders that reek of racism, sexism, homophobia, and condemnatory attitudes—causes them to seek a place where they can engage in the basic message of Christ with minimal ecclesial interference.
They love their connection to Catholicism, readily recalling wonderful stories of attending parochial schools, the positive impact that particular church leaders made on them, and the good friendships they’ve maintained because of the religious culture in which they grew up. They clasp onto many of the prayers, devotions, hymns, and rituals that are woven deep into their souls. They value community engagement and are motivated greatly by Sunday worship and interactions with those who have become their spiritual brothers and sisters. But they don’t care much for, or about, its politics or institutional management. They seem to generally understand that, when Jesus created the church (“Peter, you are the rock and upon this rock I will build my church…”) He was establishing a way of living, a way of loving, and a way of following His example, rather than establishing a hierarchical system of cathedrals and clerics. It reminds me of the many Truman Democrats in our state who say, “I didn’t leave the democratic party—it left me!” They want others to know that they remain true to the values, but they believe it has gotten off track somewhere along the journey.
Many parishioners at Little Flower are converts to Catholicism and simply shake their heads when they hear a statement from a bishop, or whole nation of them, that condemns gay people or excludes women or excommunicates someone. Many parishioners at Saint James once held positions of teaching and/or leadership in the church but felt discarded when one bishop replaced another. Many parishioners at Saint Francis X seem to have found a good spot through Jesuit (or Ignatian) spirituality which inspires them to do what they’re called to do without much concern for the institution that has, more-or-less, held the Jesuits suspect for most of their existence. With a Jesuit pope overseeing the church, however, the X may be a significant factor, much as it has been at the intersection of 52nd and Troost for more than a century.
In addition to being a social media platform and a mathematical variable, ‘X’ is a reference to Jesus. The first letter in the Greek word “Christos,” the X or chi was a secret symbol for early Christians to indicate to others that they were Christian. Having X as the first letter of Xavier’s name (indicting his homeland in the Navarre region of northern Spain), it marks a spot that might help others who seek their place in the corporate church that doesn’t always align with their values. But just as we are marked as God’s children at baptism, so are we marked as God’s children at various times in life. With X marking that spot, we might be guided to a place where we desire to live out our faith intentionally with others who share Christ’s mission and ministry to those that are marginalized or discarded; there, we might identify with others who also love the church as a means to living more like Jesus, even if it’s a last chance effort to stay united with the institution with all of its foibles and folly. These three parishes to which I am assigned are a tremendous grace to our Catholic community and to our city. They might just be an X factor that keeps many in the fold.
