Looking At Our Young Church

I've been following a series of discussions about young people and the Church today. As a pastor in a contemporary church this subject is foremost on my mind as I see the dwindling number of younger faces within our pews.

I listen to a number of young catholics and their stories are similar. They don't tend to look at their spiritual lives in the same manner that some of us older catholics do. By and large they treat their churches in the same manner they treat their families. They want to have their parish with them for their milestones: baptisms, confirmation, marriage, graduations and funerals but they do not see the need to be with them weekly.

I find that they are deeply spiritual, in a novel way, but they don't look at belonging to a faith community (read church) in the same way that we were raised. How can we as a church respond to this?

I found the following quote from a researcher in the US who has examined in depth the lives of several young catholics. The following reflect the sum of some of what she found:

"Young people today are more reachable than any generation that preceded them. Cellphones allow them to be accessed almost anywhere, anytime; emails and instant messaging can grab them when they're on a computer; text messaging allows them to "get answers" nearly free of the typical demands of interpersonal discourse; Skype and Facetime virtually beam another person into a room. Even though there are many modes of communication, opportunities for true communion with other human beings seem to be eroding.

Whenever I have the chance to speak to young adults, whether college students or young professionals, I always like to ask them what the ideal religion would offer them. I typically get the same two answers. Most young adults want a place where they can be quiet and practice some type of meditation. They also express a desire for a small group to meet with regularly just to talk.

It's not surprising. Young people are awash with noise, not only streaming from their computer speakers and ear buds, but also the constant stream of visual noise flashing on laptop, TV and smartphone screens. All of these distractions make it challenging to be present to any one thing and to be heard by any one person. Having the chance to be silent or to sit quietly with a small group and talk offers them what is lacking both in our culture and our church. McEntee and Bucko understand the challenge young adults face in finding emotional and spiritual intimacy, which is why they envision small communities based on the model of spiritual friendship.

What is also lacking for young people is the capacity to trust most religious authority. I think this is why Bucko and McEntee are so careful to insist on mentoring relationships between young adults and spiritual teachers rather than the traditional guru/disciple model. Who can blame young people for being suspicious of religious leaders? It is important to remember that today's 20-somethings were at an impressionable age when the sex abuse crisis broke 10 years ago.

When they were children, adolescents and teens, they were forced to hear about priests who were abusing of children, adolescents and teens and about bishops who were aiding and abetting the abusers. Whether or not they were raised Catholic, this is a stark image of the church they have known from childhood. How can they possibly believe in any kind of moral credibility or spiritual safety from the church when all they've heard about is children their age being violated by the church?

If there is anything about the church that still appeals to young adults, it is the social justice work, the outreach that many faith-based organizations offer to those in need and on the margins of society. The beauty of the new monastic vision is it encourages young adults to commit both to a contemplative life and to easing the suffering in the world. So it offers them what they want, which is to engage in the work of social justice, and what they need, which is a safe space for quiet contemplation and an opportunity to develop their own spiritual practice." (Jamie L. Manson)

I think this reflection should give us pause and hope as we, as Church, seek to respond to those who we are seeking to provide a comfortable place to pray. if you would like to read more you can read the whole series of articles written at:

http://ncronline.org/blogs/grace-margins/spiritual-hunger-young-adults-where-does-it-come-and-what-might-they-need

Feast of the Holy Canadian Martyrs - St. Jean de Brebeuf et al

I loved celebrating mass this morning. Up until this year we Canadian priests have had to rely on a supplement for prayers for today's feast of the Holy Canadian Martyrs.

For most Canadians this feast will pass without much thought. However, this feast is also the co-patronal feast for our nation. (The Feast of St. Joseph being the other).

I was reflecting today on the role of martyrs in our current climate. The Church witnesses episodes of martyrdom every year throughout the world - although seldom within our own North American culture. Nevertheless, what can the witness of martyrs teach us?

Today we have the feast of the Holy Canadian Martyrs who were killed between 1646 and 1649. I have great admiration for the many men and women who founded our church in this nation. The devotion they had for Jesus and real love for the Gospel should inspire us to make our daily witness the best it can be each day.

The "Good News" of our relationship with Christ is always leading us to conversion. It is full of second chances for us to make things "right" with one another. To look at how tirelessly and thanklessly our ancestors in faith worked to promote the Gospel invites me to do likewise. To not waste any opportunity I have to make Christ known in this world, through my words or actions; in what I do each day or in what I may fail to do.

May we all seek, like the martyrs, to give of our spiritual lives entrusted to us by virtue of our baptism. Let us make Christ known and reveal the Good News so that others might see and hear.

Follow Me on Twitter

Good Afternoon, Church

After listening to you all I have decided to open a Twitter account. You can now follow me on Twitter at @PadreFP

Thanks for all the encouragement you bring to me.

Five big questions about the 'Jesus' wife' discovery

For some of you who have been following the developing revelations of a new scroll from antiquity, you may be interested in some of the questions asked in this following article.

The scroll has not made any "significant" waves in Church circles but it is refreshing to sift through past archives to examine differing perspectives.        

For those interested, use the following link:

Five big questions about the 'Jesus' wife' discovery

Thought for the Day: On Our Past

The only way out is through. The only way to heal the pain is to embrace the pain.
--Fritz Perls

In many ways we are like a diamond that is continually being polished and perfected. As this purification proceeds, old thought forms and negative patterns rise to the surface to be released. Past unfinished business must be completed. Old traumas that have been stored in the body ask to be discharged.

This is not a bad thing - far from it. The fact that painful events are being re-experienced is a sign that healing is taking place. Although we may feel tempted to run from these feelings, we can also let ourselves experience them. As we allow ourselves to feel the pain, the pain diminishes and eventually disappears.

God is always helping us to release those things which we no longer need. Let go of the resistance and surrender to the process. Complete the past and move on. If we can overcome our past we can grow and experience a freedom that we all strive for.

Voice of the Faithful marks 10th year with new calls for church reform | National Catholic Reporter

A fitting article which is worth a read considering all that has transpired within the Church of the United States in the last two weeks.

Voice of the Faithful marks 10th year with new calls for church reform | National Catholic Reporter

Thought for the Day

I recently ran across the following anonymous quote:
"What need have we of God when we become God's ourselves?"

What a delightful reflection it would be if we paused long enough to look and wonder if we have become so self providing that we have forgotten what God has done for us; provided for us.

The longer I live in ministry I am becoming increasingly convinced that I need to get back in touch with what Mother Teresa called her "poverty" before God. My need before God. My nothingness before God.

When I acknowledge this I allow room for God to be invited "in" to my life where amazing things are able to be accomplished in the "name of Him who sent me."

Archbishop Resigns

The month of July saw the resignation of our archbishop, Sylvain Lavoie, OMI. Bishop Lavoie had been on medical leave for many months and we all accepted his decision to resign in favor of looking after his own health at this time in his life.

This leaves the archdiocese without a bishop and the Church is now looking at the appointment of a new bishop for our diocese. This is a lengthy process and one which requires time, patience and no small measure of prayer.

A bishop for our diocese is an important step and one that shapes the future of a diocese for many years. The Church's process for appointing bishops is an ancient and traditional one. Many voices in the current age of our tradition have been calling for a more collaborative process in the task of appointing leadership. Currently this process in reflected in the opinions of a relatively small group of individuals of the local church and ultimately rests within the discretion of the Vatican's Congregation for Bishops centered in Rome.

One could be led to wonder if Episcopal Conferences will one day be granted the ability of appointing our own leadership that will more appropriately reflect the local nature and need of local dioceses. This step would appear to be ultimately inevitable given the aging population of the Church's leadership and the growing diversity of our membership throughout the world. An increased input of local laity would necessarily reflect their desire for a shepherd who would address needs particular to a local diocese.

I find the current process to lack an awareness of local issues that are often times pressing. It can remain a constant prayer that our Church continue to grow in its own self-understanding and adjust accordingly.

New Beginnings

Dear Friends,

It has been quite some time since I last blogged. Time passes quickly. Many have asked if there was anything a matter. In truth it was a combination of factors that led me to take a step back.

I am challenged in this new age of wireless technology and have realized it takes a daily commitment on my part to keep "alive" with this form of media. Nevertheless it is important and it is a vital way to pass on the Gospel in this age.

Much has happened in the Church, both local, nationally and universally. I will attempt to capture some of this in the following posts.

For now be assured that I am trying to get these pages up and running again.

Thank you for your patience and know of my prayer.

Blessings,

Fr. Paul