My Richmond Hill parish from which I retired June 30th, is an ordinary form parish with an extremely young demographic and many of the young married couples are having more than two children, sometimes up to six or more!
That demographic was angry about the shut-down of parishes and were the first to return to in-person Masses.
St. Gregory the Great in Bluffton is a large parish with a majority of retirees given the fact that Bluffton is a retirement Mecca. There are young people there too, but the majority are 60+++++.
Last night I was visiting friends from Augusta. They seem to think that older Catholics are the ones returning to Mass after the pandemic but not so much the younger ones.
We know that younger Catholics are leaving the Church in significant numbers, some to other denominations, especially the non-denomination sects, but maybe a majority to nothing, called “nones”.
As we see from the shallow comments from the synodal walking together, that people want pablum rather than meat when it come to Church. They want a civic organization that enables them to meet people and feel community like the Rotary Clubs do.
Young people are turned off by sexual morality and clarity of genders and what Scripture says about the two genders, that God created them in His image, male and female He created them.
Gender lies at the root of Catholicism and her sacramental system, male, female, mother, father, sister, brother, wife and husband and the fecundity necessary for both new bodies and souls, male and female.
The sacramental priesthood is based upon Christ as High Priest (not priestess) as the Bridegroom of the Church described as the Bride of Christ. Souls are classified as feminine for both men and women and thus the Church as “souls” is feminine, open to being impregnated with God’s sanctifying and actual graces.
So, is it true that more elderly Catholics have returned to Mass and mostly younger ones have yet to return and may not return?
I ask; you answer.
3 comments:
Not related, but I saw Bluffton’s Pastor having recreation on the front row of today’s canonization in Rome. Msgr Celini stands out in any crowd.
Generalizations are easy to make and difficult to provide evidence for. Who is or isn't returning to Mass does not necessarily fall along age lines. There are those for whom the church is primarily a social club and they return to see their friends (and to think well of themselves). There are also those who know they need all the grace and divine assistance they can get and return for those reasons. Same with those who stay away; a variety of reasons. Add one to those you listed: the bishops showed us that they do not take Mass seriously by shutting it down or refusing to fight the needless government regulations that singled out churches for disparate treatment. One saw lots of Protestant or Evangelical pastors fighting the restrictions but not Catholic bishops - they were more likely to punish pastors for holding outdoor or "drive-in" Masses.
Good question that may be constructed incorrectly. Do the people bring each other back and for the right reasons? For old people, as am I, it can be largely habit and the seeking is less than it was before. For the young, they are still seeking earnestly and desperately. While obviously anecdotal, our parish is growing in number from organic as well as transfers from the many failing local parishes. I do not know our official number, but all Masses have nearly full pews. The young adults imitate the same practical time management as my family did: we attended early Mass because all the young ones were awake and could be corralled. Later in the mornings they were hankering to play, nap, or eat and emulate chaos. So the young families encourage each other through cooperation and shared goals. They often congregate once more in the parish hall after Mass to break the fast and let the children play. The adults discuss common concerns in the context of their shared Faith. I think these roots are very deep and will support long and fruitful years of growth. I do not think the coming scandal of the next conclave will destroy their Faith to the same extent that the child molestation crisis did for their parents.
Post a Comment