There are many problems in both the world and the Church, and I suppose our lived experience directs our interest toward those that we think are especially important.
One of the most disturbing problems in the Church is the number of Catholics who formerly practiced the faith – perhaps were very devout – and now seem to be completely indifferent toward their former faith. This is illustrated by the number of Catholics I know who no longer attend the Eucharist with any regularity.
I am very interested in speaking to those who no longer attend the Eucharist. Of course, because they’re not at Mass, I can’t address them from the pulpit. As much as anyone, I can point out how Sunday liturgies might be improved, and certainly I could start with my own failure to give better homilies.
If someone said to me that he or she was not attending Mass because the homilies are poor, I would ask: “Is there nothing more to a Sunday Eucharist than the homily?” If I believed that, I don’t think I would attend. Catholics should believe and know that at a Sunday Eucharist, Christ is the main celebrant, and we are offering ourselves with Christ to God the Father.
I suppose what I would want to ask all Catholics who do not attend Mass regularly is what they believe about Jesus. I think we should ask ourselves the question that Jesus asked Peter. Who is Jesus? How we answer that question, I think, dictates how we should live as Catholics, and that includes how we ought to relate to the Eucharist.
A priest friend told me he met a gentleman who insisted that he was Catholic, even though he did not believe in the divinity of Christ. The man loved the art, music and ritual in the Church, but he didn’t believe that Jesus is divine.
My friend tried to point out that we can’t arbitrarily invent what we think it means to be Catholic. There are basic doctrines and truths that are central to the faith.
What can we do to help people see what we love about being Catholic? I don’t think we have to proselytize or be “preachy.” If we love being Catholic, I think that shows in our lives.
Last year, I received one of the best compliments from a student. Apparently he had mentioned me to his aunt who is a Christian. He must have told her that I always appeared happy, and she told him to ask me why. This was my response: “If you believed what I believe, you would be happy too. I believe that I am unconditionally loved by God, that I am loved beyond my ability to imagine. Why shouldn’t I be happy?”
Anyone who takes his or her Catholic faith seriously has an obligation to be an evangelizer. I suspect that Pope Francis is correct in stating that the best way to evangelize is through attraction. In his book, “The Joy of the Gospel,” he wrote:
“Christians have the duty to proclaim the Gospel without excluding anyone. Instead of seeming to impose new obligations, they should appear as a people who will share their joy, who point to a horizon of beauty and who invite others to a delicious banquet. It is not by proselytizing that the Church grows, but by attraction.”
I suspect the pope is correct in saying that it is through attraction that people are influenced. Of course, we should never forget that we’re not alone in our evangelizing efforts. The Holy Spirit invites everyone into a deeper relationship with God. As Mother Teresa said, we are called not to be to successful but to be faithful.[hr] Father Robert Lauder, philosophy professor at St. John’s University, Jamaica, is the author of the recently published “Pope Francis’ Spirituality and Our Story” (Resurrection Press).
