March 19, 2005

Recently, I was speaking to someone on the phone who was sadly lamenting the condition of his or her parish. My friend was definitely stuck in a "negative space"; a victim of an emotional "toxic poisoning" which is the result of an overexposure to the popular commercial media which utilizes sensationalism and criticism for its own agenda. Continuous exposure leads to a subtle debilitating pessimism and a sense of discouragement.

When I hung up the phone, I sat back and offered a short but sincere prayer. As I got up to leave, my eyes caught sight of the magazine rack in the corner of the room. I went over - perhaps to distract myself from a somewhat emotional phone conversation. As I stood looking at all the papers, periodicals, and magazines, something clicked inside. I then turned to the nearby bulletin board from which hung newsletters, flyers, and announcements like a long line of laundry.

Here's a cursory inventory: Weekly newspapers like The National Catholic Register and Our Sunday Visitor, and monthly magazines: Inside the Vatican, Catholic World Report, and First Things. We also have magazines like Columbia (Knights of Columbus), Lay Witness (Catholics United for the Faith), and The Coming Home Network (an organization which assists Protestant clergy who are entering the Church), The Catholic Defense League (which supports and defends the Catholic Church in the media), F.O.C.U.S. (A Fellowship of Catholic University Students), and The Hebrew Catholic Association (An organization made up of Jewish believers who have entered the Catholic Church).

I then began to consider some of the lay movements which have taken root and are bearing much fruit in the Church, especially in the United States - The Foculare Movement, The Neo-Catechuminate Way, Regnum Christi, Opus Dei, and the Families of Nazareth movement. Then I thought of evangelical initiatives directed towards young adults and teens like: Communion and Liberation, Theology on Tap, Life Teen, National Evangelization Teams, Youth 2000, Dead Theologian Society, and even our own Catholic Underground.

My mind turned to the almost innumerable prayer groups who regularly meet - charismatic, Padre Pio, and Medjugorje rosary groups. Added to these are the ever-increasing number of solid Catholic Bible study groups and parish-based Eucharistic adoration chapels. Older weekend retreat movements like TEC, HEC, Cursillo, and Marriage Encounter are still quietly doing their thing, along with even older, parochial societies like the Legion of Mary, Saint Vincent DePaul, and Third Orders. To this list add the vast throng of unsung heroes who valiantly defend life, counsel and pray outside abortion "clinics", and others who are bringing healing to both men and women who are wounded by abortion. Go to Washington for the Right to Life March in the dead of winter - and try to count them!

While we are witnessing (and the news reporting) too many branches dying on the vine, at the same time, there are many new branches with new life emerging. In fact, almost all the publications and organizations I have mentioned have either come to birth or a rebirth in the past ten years. While things are far from where they should be, we have reason to hope. Thanks to the Holy Father, faithful and spiritually oriented bishops are continually being appointed throughout the country instilling new hope and vision among the laity and clergy alike. Meanwhile, many new converts are quietly coming into the Church while others who loudly left are coming back. Also, Catholic educational institutions are being built as we speak, Parish religious materials have greatly improved (partly because of the new catechism) and Catholic home-schooling is still growing and maturing. Now, liturgical abuses are at least being officially addressed while many post-Vatican II so-called "renovations" to our churches are being redressed with a real sense of the sacred in mind. Pilgrims are flocking to holy sites like Fatima, Lourdes, and Medjugorje as never before and are quietly changing lives for the good. At the same time, as stated above, some very fine Catholic publishing houses have come to birth, Catholic artists and musicians are emerging once again, and professional media efforts like EWTN are expanding and exerting a positive influence both here and abroad.

Finally, new religious communities, like seedlings, have taken root firmly in the heart of the Church; they are growing and attracting vocations. The devastating scandal which took the church by storm has turned everyone’s attention to priest recruitment and formation. The storm has leveled institutions and much-needed rebuilding has begun. Meanwhile, certain institutions and individuals that represent a certain "progressive Catholicism" hostile to the dynamic leadership of our saintly prophetic Pope have not inspired or attracted the young; their ranks are thinning, getting tired, and dying off.

Yes, things could be better - much better, but beware all the bad news you hear. While much of it may be true, and some things are even worse than they appear, remember two things - "a half truth is a whole lie", and discouragement is the devil's favorite weapon.

Fr. Glenn Sudano, CFR
Community Servant, residing at St. Felix Friary in Yonkers, New York

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