A change is gonna come

One year ago, our bishop began preparing us for inevitable changes that would be taking place due to the shortage of Catholic priests.  Committees were formed and meetings held to inform parishioners about the process.  The diocese consists of four counties in Northwest Indiana, currently with fifty-seven parishes.  Our rural county has four of those parishes and a mission. .  By 2030, projections show only thirty diocesan priests will be available for parish assignments.  

On February 28, a letter from our bishop was delivered to area parishes to be affecting by pending changes.  When all transitions are completed in the next couple of years, our county will be left with one parish.  Our present parish which has existed since 1881, will be merged with another parish some fourteen miles away.  It appears we will still exist as a “worship site”, but without a resident pastor.  Prior to this arrangement, our sister parish seven miles to the west, will merge with us.  We already share a pastor with them and their parish will eventually close.  They are the only parish in the county with a parishioner in the seminary.  Closing the parish is a bitter pill to swallow.  

Anticipating how Catholics will be affected by these changes is difficult.  When your parish is merged with one seven miles away, and that parish is then merged with one fourteen miles farther away, some parishioners will find themselves driving over twenty miles one way to attend Mass.  Also to be considered is the financial obligations of merged parishes.  Will those coming from a closed parish be willing to support the parish to which they have been merged?  Will the merged parish be responsible for maintaining the soon to be closed neighboring campus?  What will happen to religious education programs?  How many souls will be lost?  Good Catholics will always find a way to get to Mass, but we all know there are marginal Catholics who can always find an excuse to leave.  

Obviously, the biggest problem is a lack of vocations, but we are losing parishes in our rural location because our numbers are low.  I am impressed by the huge number of converts reportedly coming into the Church all over the world this Easter, especially on college campuses.  There are wonderful apologetic apostolates on social media making the case for Catholicism every day.  Why are we not seeing more converts here in our area?

I am reminded of Alex Jones, the Pentecostal preacher from Detroit who converted to Catholicism and brought some members of his congregation with him.  We have so many active non-denominational communities in our county.  Surely some of their pastors have been exposed to solid Catholic apologetics on YouTube and social media.  Just one of them crossing the Tiber could make a huge difference in the Catholic community locally.  We should all be praying that they come to the realization the Catholic Church is the Church Christ established, and they may find the courage to come home.

They have to know, right?

How many Protestant ministers stand before their congregations preaching every week knowing deep in their hearts the Catholic Church is the one true Church?  How many of them knowingly avoid the truth at all costs hoping to maintain their comfortable position?  How many come to know they are outside the authoritative body established by Jesus Christ but choose to turn a blind eye?  How many fool themselves into thinking they are okay where they are?

With all of the good Catholic apologetic materials available today on youtube and social media, anyone who spends much time on the internet is bound to come in contact.  Those open to spiritual enhancement online are bound to have encountered Scott Hahn, Trent Horn, Tim Staples, Dr. John Bergsma or any one of the dozens of former Protestants who have crossed the Tiber.  Bishop Robert Barron and Father Mike Schmitz are frequent contributors of solid Catholic commentary even on secular outlets.  

Yes, there are many anti-Catholic arguments on social media, but they are all being rebutted with solid Catholic answers.  That is why we see so many people coming into the Church this year, especially on college campuses.  Anyone who reads the Church fathers can see the early Christians were Catholic.  C’mon Protestants!  What are you still protesting?  You know where you need to be.  

I realize there are anti-Catholic preachers who will never acknowledge papal authority no matter what evidence they may be shown.  Others may come to view the Catholic Church as the one true Church established by Jesus Christ, but cannot find the courage to disrupt the lives of their friends, families and congregations by converting.  For them we must continue to pray.  Ask the Holy Spirit to shower our separated brothers and sisters with His seven gifts in order to lead them home. 

Why Protestants think we worship Mary

In working with OCIA classes at our parish, I often have to explain that we Catholics honor Mary, but we do not worship her.  Yes, we pray to her as an intercessor, but worship is reserved for God alone.  It always seemed like a simple distinction to me, but our Protestant friends never seemed to understand.  

A few weeks ago, I came across an explanation that I had not previously considered.  I would love to give credit to the source, but I don’t remember where I saw it.  Protestants believe we worship Mary because we treat her the same way they treat God.  In their services, they preach, sing praise, and give glory to God, much the same way we honor Mary with our prayers, sing songs to her, and ask for her help.  Protestants call that worship.  In Catholic eyes, true worship requires sacrifice, the Sacrifice of the Mass.  

In other words, we “worship” Mary the same way Protestants “worship” God, but that isn’t worship.  The differing understanding of the term makes evangelization challenging.  It is easy to see why Protestants view our veneration of Mary as worship.  And it is difficult to convince them of what true worship really is when they do not have the real presence of Jesus to worship.  They cannot relate.  In their eyes, we are worshipping Mary no matter what we say.  They do not see the distinction.

Recognizing the Real Presence of Jesus on the altar is essential to understanding how Catholics actually worship God in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.  True adoration is done in God’s actual presence.  The ability to worship God in His incarnate presence is unique to Catholics.  No other Christian community has that opportunity.  They have no reason to genuflect when they enter their spaces.  

We honor Mary as our Blessed Mother who bore Jesus in her womb, but not in a way that defines divine worship.  She is our intercessor, not to be confused with the one mediator, Jesus Christ.  We ask for her help because Jesus listens to her.  When confirmed apparitions occur, it is usually Mary who appears.  

So often, our attempts to evangelize Protestants stall when words are understood in differing ways.  When Catholics say we pray to Mary, Protestants see that prayer as worship.  By strict definition, the word pray means to request.  Catholics are asking Mary and the saints to intercede on our behalf.  In that sense, we are not worshipping, we are asking for help.