When I was a young priest, not even ordained a year, my pastor gave me a week’s winter vacation. At that time, I was very interested in what was called Catholic Action — the involvement of Catholic laity in various apostolates. The summer before I was ordained a priest, I had taken a six-week course in Catholic social action at The Catholic University of America in Washington. The course was organized by Msgr. George Higgins, a Chicago priest who was probably the most knowledgeable Catholic priest in the United States. George was the most voracious reader I have ever met. The six-week course deeply touched me and greatly influenced my first years as a priest.

For the week’s vacation, I decided to go to Chicago and learn what I could from priests in Chicago about what was happening in Catholic Action there. Msgr. Higgins put me in touch with some of those most deeply involved in Catholic Action in the city.

Because of the summer course and my winter visit to Chicago, I became a chaplain to several Catholic Action groups: the Young Catholic Workers, the Christian Family Movement, and the Young Christian Students (high school level). These groups often expanded into discussion groups — at one time, I was connected with more than 20.

All this has come back to me today because I just received the wonderful monthly newsletter, Initiatives, put out by the National Center of the Laity in Chicago. I am certain that the newsletter grew out of the influence of some of the Catholic Action priests I met many years ago during my “Catholic Action Winter Vacation.” The title of the lead essay in the April edition is “Aloneness to Happiness.” The editors write the following:

“A quarter century ago, Robert Putnam wrote about the alarming decline of social and civic groups and its disastrous effect on our society. Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community sounded a clarion call to redirect our country toward greater social engagement.

Since Bowling Alone, Putnam has continued to document our ongoing plunge into ever greater polarization and isolation, noting that fewer people go to church or belong to unions or groups such as the PTA, fraternal organizations, and clubs of various kinds. There is even a decline in informal gatherings like picnics and dinner parties. …

At issue is the loss of ‘social capital,’ defined as ‘the networks of relationships among people who live and work in a particular society, enabling that society to function effectively.’

Stronger social networks have a significant ripple effect on every aspect of our lives, including our political life. ‘What makes democracy work?’ Putnam asks. ‘The answer is social capital.’ He contends that such connections are indispensable for creating a functioning society. Where dense networks of social and civic engagement exist, democracy can succeed.”

Anyone who has been reading this column during the past three or four weeks knows that I have been promoting the idea that Catholics should be organizing discussion groups. My motive was largely religious. In my own experience as a parish priest many years ago, discussion groups were a marvelous way for Catholics to grow in their knowledge of the faith. If Putnam is correct — and I suspect he is — discussion groups can accomplish good effects that are not specifically religious.

I think people hesitate to form discussion groups because they assume doing so would be difficult or require someone exceptionally knowledgeable to lead the group. I disagree. What is essential to any discussion group is that everyone attends with interest and has done the reading that was agreed upon.

As I am writing this, I am recalling two sets of images from the past. One is of Dorothy Day sitting around a kitchen table talking with residents of the Catholic Worker House of Hospitality. Dorothy claimed they were “just talking,” and someone said, “We should get involved in the anti-war movement.” So they did. On another occasion, someone said they should help the poor — and so they did. Another time, someone said they should battle racism — and they did. Much of their great work started simply by sitting at a table and talking to one another.

The other image I recall is the faces of people in the discussion groups I moderated 60 years ago. The look on their faces showed how excited and enthusiastic they were to be part of something meaningful.

As I write this column, I’ve just decided to form a new discussion group.

The Holy Spirit moves in strange ways!