"The numbers have been down." These words have been spoken over and over again during the pandemic in a variety of areas that saw a downturn due to the reality of people staying close or closer to home and not interacting with others in social and commercial settings. I would guess this would hold true in the number of new "converts" to the Catholic Faith. Many of those who start the journey of faith that leads them to some or all of the Sacraments of Initiation start the journey not primarily because of something they read, but rather because of people they know or meet who are faith-filled who inspire others through their words and especially by their actions of faith, hope, and love to seek Jesus Christ and the eternal life he promises through his Word and the sacraments that draw the believer closer to the Lord. The process of conversion and formation is done with the knowledge, support and example of Catholic communities that are supposed to play an important role in bringing the person fully into the Church community and all that it does to give withness to Jesus Christ.
Sadly, it was not the coronavirus outbreak and its persistence for such a long time that led to only one person, Kim Bailey to make a profession of faith and be Confirmed and receive her First Communion at the Easter Vigil at Sacred Heart this year. The reality is that in my eleven years here as your pastor, we have baptized and/or Confirmed an average of less than one new adult Catholic a year. This, of course, has to in part with the reality of an "older" population in the Village when compared to most communities out there, many of whom are either currently practicing a faith in a church community, or for various reasons have discontinued practicing their faith (including many Catholics as I have found out), and a relatively small number of those who have never been influenced by faith-filled people and need to be evangelized.
We cannot just wait for people to come knocking at our door or the doors of the church expressing either explicitly or implicitly a spiritual hunger (which everyone has within them). Professing our faith in God not only at Mass with fellow believers, but among people who don't have the "rock of faith" helping them through good times and difficult times (especially the death of a loved one), can lead people to ask, to seek and to find what the Lord and not anyone or anything in the world can give them. Please don't hesitate to call me (my cell phone is on the home page of our website) if you want to tell me about someone who needs Christ in their life and who might be open to hearing about him and the Church that seeks to follow him. We recently heard St. Peter in a Sunday Gospel reading (Jn 6:68) say, when speaking to Jesus "you have the words of everlasting life." Hopefully we say and live those words throughout our life and do what we can to lead others to say them and live them as well!
Sadly, it was not the coronavirus outbreak and its persistence for such a long time that led to only one person, Kim Bailey to make a profession of faith and be Confirmed and receive her First Communion at the Easter Vigil at Sacred Heart this year. The reality is that in my eleven years here as your pastor, we have baptized and/or Confirmed an average of less than one new adult Catholic a year. This, of course, has to in part with the reality of an "older" population in the Village when compared to most communities out there, many of whom are either currently practicing a faith in a church community, or for various reasons have discontinued practicing their faith (including many Catholics as I have found out), and a relatively small number of those who have never been influenced by faith-filled people and need to be evangelized.
We cannot just wait for people to come knocking at our door or the doors of the church expressing either explicitly or implicitly a spiritual hunger (which everyone has within them). Professing our faith in God not only at Mass with fellow believers, but among people who don't have the "rock of faith" helping them through good times and difficult times (especially the death of a loved one), can lead people to ask, to seek and to find what the Lord and not anyone or anything in the world can give them. Please don't hesitate to call me (my cell phone is on the home page of our website) if you want to tell me about someone who needs Christ in their life and who might be open to hearing about him and the Church that seeks to follow him. We recently heard St. Peter in a Sunday Gospel reading (Jn 6:68) say, when speaking to Jesus "you have the words of everlasting life." Hopefully we say and live those words throughout our life and do what we can to lead others to say them and live them as well!