Anamchara

THE DECLINE OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN THE USA

EXIT HERE:  THE DECLINE OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN THE USA--A DANGER UNHEEDED AND UNNOTICED

The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life has just published their U.S. Religious Landscape Survey and it has dire news for Catholics in this country.   You can see the a summary and the full report here:  Pew Report.  The salient point is this:

Catholicism has experienced the greatest net losses as a result of affiliation changes. While nearly one-in-three Americans (31%) were raised in the Catholic faith, today fewer than one-in-four (24%) describe themselves as Catholic. These losses would have been even more pronounced were it not for the offsetting impact of immigration...Other surveys - such as the General Social Surveys, conducted by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago since 1972 - find that the Catholic share of the U.S. adult population has held fairly steady in recent decades at around 25%. What this apparent stability obscures, however, is the large number of people who have left the Catholic Church. Approximately one-third of the survey respondents who say they were raised Catholic no longer describe themselves as Catholic. This means that roughly 10% of all Americans are former Catholics. These losses, however, have been partly offset by the number of people who have changed their affiliation to Catholicism (2.6% of the adult population) but more importantly by the disproportionately high number of Catholics among immigrants to the U.S. The result is that the overall percentage of the population that identifies as Catholic has remained fairly stable.

Like spectators of Haitian boat refugees, those of us in the Church marvel at how crowded the Barque of Peter is but just don't see the huge crowd drowning in the surrounding sea.  We aren't a growing Church in the U.S. anymore.  We are losing many more members then we are gaining, and, for a variety of reasons, we just don't care.  What might those reasons be?

• Our churches seem full.  However, because of priest shortages, we have reduced the number of masses.  Any priest will tell you--lot's of gray hair, not as many kids.  It's not simply a matter of aging baby boomers--the young, as the research suggests have a more fluid idea of religion and cross boundaries of denominations without a thought to inconsistency or relevance.
• The Church is big and busy.  The Catholic Church has a lot of clout in this country and maintains an important place in the fabric of society.  We simply don't notice how wounded we are.
• We have money.  Just like the Episcopalians, who have full bank accounts but empty pews, we tend not to worry as long as the cash flow comes in.  In fact, contributions are rising, but they are stewardship gifts from a committed group not very representative of Catholics in general. Contributions may be up, but Mass attendance is down.

But the biggest reason we don't care:

• Refusal to evangelize; namely, stand up for what we really believe in.  The liberals in our faith could care less about orthodoxy and the radical conservatives seem bent on a course to return the Church to a time and place that exists only in memory.  Both refuse to speak to people as they are now with the timeless truth of Catholicism.  The radicals on both sides seek to either strip the Church of truth or dress it in a garment of irrelevance.  All the while, the people leave.

Some seem very happy about this turn of events; happy with the idea of a remnant Catholicism.  They misinterpret Pope Benedict's view that we may have to start again with a remnant in order to reconvert.  He's simply stating a fact that exists in Europe.  He hardly hopes that the same pattern repeats here in this country. 

All in all, this is a report that should strike a grave note of concern in all who love the Church.  Will we respond?  Will we care?

A BLESSED LENT TO ALL!

A LENTEN STRUGGLE

Shame on my thoughts,how they stray from me!

I fear great danger from this on the day of Eternal Judgement.

During the psalms they wander on a path that is not right;

they run, they distract, they misbehave before the eyes of the great God...

One moment they follow ways of loveliness, and the next ways of riotous shame--no lie!...

O beloved truly chaste Christ, to whom every eye is clear, may the grace of the sevenfold

Spirit come to keep them, to hold them in check!

Rule this heart of mine, O swift God of the elements,

that you may be my love, and that I may do your will!

                          Traditional Gaelic Prayer

One of the things that makes Celtic prayers so great is their lack of sentimental piety.  Sometimes our modern day purveyors of religious prayers and practices sound so out of touch and irrelevant that virtues such as chastity and temperance seem sappy and effete.  Trust the Celtic monks to say it ain't so!  The above prayer is robust, practical and curiously modern.  Its no nonsense approach is refreshing.  It also is a masculine prayer in tone, and in a time when men often feel alienated from religion because of excessive pietism, prayers like this open the way back home.  A blessed Lent to everyone!

THE FEAST OF ST. BRIGID, FEBRUARY 1

A BLESSED FEAST OF ST. BRIGID OF IRELAND TO ONE AND ALL!

Here, in the midst of winter, comes a feast of laughter and song, and most especially light.  This Christian saint's feast day supplants the ancient pagan celebration of Imbolc, but both recall the importance of light this dark time of year.  For the first time, it is now noticeable that the days are growing longer.  The Celts saw this as the beginning of spring, even though the weather still says winter.  The worst is past!  That's what they thought--always a 'glass half-full' people.   Here's a prayer of St. Brigid, known for her love of the poor and enthusiasm for life:

I should like a great lake of ale

For the King of Kings;

I should like the family of heaven

To be drinking it through time eternal.

I should like cheerfulness

To be in their drinking;

I should like Jesus

Too, to be there (among them)

I should like the three

Marys of illustrious renown;

I should like the people

Of heaven there from all parts.

Her eternal flame burnt for 1000 years at her monastery in Kildare, and even today, her presence is felt throughout the land of Ireland and Scotland.  St. Brigid's Cross, made of rushes, protects the home against harm, especially fire.  A toast to you St. Brigid, for reminding us that the winter will never last and the King of Spring will return at Easter to remind us that Resurrection and Light are our destiny, never the dark nor the night!