We found the most recent letter from Bishop Robert Brennan regarding diminishing Mass attendance to be a serious and ongoing situation. 

His letter to the diocesan parishes stated the average Mass attendance in 2022 was 124,031, which is significantly lower than the average five years ago, which was 205,502. 

We also read how resources within the diocese are being stretched, and how multiple Sunday Masses in many different languages within individual deaneries will be examined. 

Bishop Brennan is requesting parishes and pastors look at their Sunday Mass schedules and see if they are redundant as far as scheduled times or in languages also being used in Masses at nearby parishes. 

As Bishop Brennan wrote in his letter, which was published in many Sunday parish bulletins, “Not every parish needs to have an early Sunday morning Mass, but somebody does. Not everybody needs to have a later evening Mass, but somebody does. We want to try to accommodate Mass schedules in such a way that people can avail themselves.” 

While the COVID-19 pandemic certainly was a fundamental cause for much of the decline in attendance, it also offered older parishioners opportunities to view Masses online or on television. 

The pandemic also caused many Catholics to leave the diocese for services in more lenient places because of the lockdowns enforced here in the city for such a long time. 

And many people who went to church every Sunday just did not come back when restrictions were lifted. Once we stop doing something that is part of our routine, it can be very difficult to get back in the habit, and that is something we have seen causing this drop in Mass attendance. 

There are some bright aspects to the report. Some parishes, particularly ones catering to Latino communities, have seen growth in church attendance over the past five years. 

All that being said, the national Church is looking ahead with renewed vigor to the future with its Eucharistic Congress in 2024. The Diocese of Brooklyn is also eyeing the future with its own eucharistic festival this spring. 

The emphasis of the revivals will be that the Euchrist is not merely a representation of Christ, but is the actual body of Christ. 

As Advent unfolds, this is the time of year when Mass attendance should begin to climb as we await the birth of our Lord and Savior. 

And truly the only way to celebrate this occasion is to partake in the Mass at church and share the body and blood of Christ with fellow Catholics. 

Let going to Sunday Mass become a habit again. That is where you’ll find welcoming faces with which to share the joy of your faith.