Dear Parishioners,
What I have to say here this week
is, by no means, official dogma. These are simply my thoughts on the current
situation in our parish and in our diocese as we move forward into the
future. Time will tell if my perspective
is accurate or if I am somehow missing the point.
One of things that I have tried
to emphasize over my years as a priest is being “connected” to a particular
parish. (My family, being originally from
Philadelphia, saw people identifying themselves primarily with their home parish.) I have usually thought a person or family should
be anchored or rooted in a parish that they considered their own in order to be spiritually nourished.
Today, many people will more
commonly “shop around” to find a church that will suit their needs for a short term solution rather than for a long haul commitment. The typical scenario is that a person, couple
or family seeks out a church where they can get
married or have their child baptized
or have a deceased loved one buried or
any of a number of occasions where a church and one of its ministers is needed
for a specific time and purpose. If
people still go to Mass each week, they may float around to whatever church has
a Mass time to suit their current plans or schedule.
The recent re-configuration of
parishes throughout the diocese—while seen as critical by its leadership so
that the entire diocese does not go “belly up” in the future—has not necessarily helped the
situation. People saw their parishes
merged and re-named or, in some cases, closed entirely. Similarly, schools were reconfigured, renamed
or closed as well. The parish
where parishioners were baptized in, received their first Holy Communion in, got married in, donated a statue to, refurbished
the stained-glass window in, etc., etc., was no longer there as they had
known it for years. Any long-term connection
was severed and people were told to
move on and accept their new situation.
Given the fact that we have also lost
quite a few generations of Catholics over the years who no longer practice
their faith regularly or may have found another denomination that currently
suits their needs, our parishes continue
to struggle for future existence. Many
younger Catholics don’t see a necessary connection to the local parish, don’t
practice their faith regularly, don’t support the church financially, and
continue drift along without a spiritual compass. Why are
our young people the way they are today?
Consider all of the above factors, combined with the materialistic,
hedonistic, egocentric culture in which we live. Doesn't seem to be a real rosy picture, does it?
Without an intimate connection to a parish by its
parishioners, the future of this or any parish is rather tenuous. Certain individuals or certain families may
still retain this strong relationship to their parish. However, I fear that for the vast majority of
Catholics in our area, they will just drift along and wonder "why?" when their churches are no longer there
for their families and for their spiritual needs in the future.
Fr. Ed Namiotka
Pastor
No comments:
Post a Comment