A end of the year reflection

     All too often I encounter parents who are agonizing over the decisions of their adult children, especially when it comes to matters of the Faith.  They wonder where they went wrong, or what they could or should have done differently.  Or they wonder why one child turns out okay while the other takes a very different path.  I reassure them that if they have laid a solid foundation, when the lost child gets hungry enough, they'll know how to find their way home.

     In my reflection today, at the close of the year, I'm having my doubts about that assessment.  I still believe, but I see a tremendous challenge ahead of us.  Of course, I am referring to us as Church, the Family of God, especially within the Catholic family.  Here is what I mean.

     In the waning days of 2011, I have received two complaining missives from parishioners, one Wednesday evening by email and one the week before in the collection.  Wednesday's was signed, but the previous one (my guess, by an older lady) was not.  Usually I do not respond to unsigned letters.  Both had the same kind of theme.  Now, as a priest, it is not unusual to receive such complaints periodically, but in the reflective mood of the season, I began thinking.  The Holy Father is talking about a new thrust toward evangelization in the new year.  I believe our Diocese is soon laying out a plan action.  Where are our people?  Why have they left the Church?  Why does Faith seem unimportant?  Why do they go elsewhere?

     I am not sure we want to hear the answers to those and other pertinent questions.  In Wednesday's note the individual spoke of being tempted to leave the Church, as did his son recently.  There may be deeper reasons, but the discontent voiced, by him and by the other letter, are over peripheral things: hymnals too heavy to hold, church too hot, always badgered about money, the sex abuse cases involving priests, the new translations and changes in general, the color of the Advent candles, etc., etc., etc.  Important to them at the moment, but in the grand scheme of things, unimportant.

     Like those parents that came to me, I wonder if we have failed to pass on the Faith adequately.  Do people understand the primacy of our relationship to Jesus Christ and to his Church?  Do they know what church is, who church is, how the two mesh?  It is often said that we have an entire generation that does not know the Faith, has not been catechized.  My experience says yes to that ... BUT, it also holds true to the generations (like mine) who we assume were taught well.  These are the ones often caught up in the externals of Church being paramount to belief. 

     In this New Evangelization, we have our work cut out for us.  The Sound of Music was on TV over the holidays, and in the one song they sing "Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start ..." .  Our work is before us in 2012.  God help us do it well.