• Are your parishioners joyfully participating in Mass?
• Are parents complaining of all the regulations they must meet to confirm their children?
• Do you notice that there is less participation in the Sacraments, parish activities and ministries especially from younger parishioners?
• Does there seem to be a disconnect between parish life and life at home?

There is a disturbing reality occurring in our nation, within our Catholic churches:  Catholics are losing their faith.  Somewhere in the recent history of the Church, the faithful have lost sight of the mission that Christ entrusted to all of us, the mission to evangelize.  Instead of striving for true discipleship and drawing others into the life of Christ, Catholics are simply going through the motions and doing what is minimally required to retain their “Catholic” identity.  The sacraments have become steps towards “graduation” from the faith, instead of initiation into the life of the Trinity. Catechesis has become a matter of memorizing abstract formulas and random faith facts, instead of a means of putting people in touch with the Person of Jesus. 

Everything we do within the doors of our churches assumes one critical point: That everyone who participates in the life of the Church has already experienced the conversion that occurs when one encounters Jesus in a personal relationship!  But if this initial conversion never takes place, then whatever catechesis is presented makes no sense and only becomes a burdensome list of rules and obligations.  If this initial conversion never takes place, Jesus remains someone that they know about, but they may never come to know him in a profound, life-changing way.  If this conversion never takes place, the baptized never become evangelists, because they cannot give what they do not have themselves!  We cannot lead others to Christ if we do not personally know him or know the way to him!

Following in the footsteps of his predecessor, Paul VI, our late Holy Father John Paul II continued to call attention to these issues and challenged every member of the faithful to work towards a solution, which he referred to time and again as the “New Evangelization”:

“…There is an intermediate situation in countries with ancient Christian roots, and occasionally in the younger Churches as well, where entire groups of the baptized have lost a living sense of the faith, or even no longer consider themselves members of the Church, and live a life far removed from Christ and his Gospel.  In this case what is needed is a “new evangelization” or a “re-evangelization.”  (Redemptoris Missio, para. 33)

Images of Pope John Paul II, Copyright L'Osservatore Romano, used with permission.