I'm going to step in it as I always do. This is a grievance of sorts...why I think the young are leaving the church. First of...long dronish new age music...you know... the long dronish music that drives you crazy. Secondly...poor and inaudible readings from the bible by the lecture. Thirdly...poor inept preaching. Fourthly... and most importantly...poor rubics by the priest at the consecration of the bread and wine. Correct these four things and youth will give a second glance before leaving the church. God said he would "spit out the lukewarm". Perhaps the youth are "spitting out lukewarm Masses". Just correct these four things and I think we can lessen the outflow. Any suggestions or recommendations?
I agree! All of the beauty and awe has been changed into mediocre. When I was a child at Mass, between our beautiful Catholic hymns, many in Latin, and the formal dress code, down to the reverent body language and silence of the people there, all made a huge impact on me. I knew just from only that as a little child that this was truly God we were in the presence of.
What's your definition of young? I've long thought that it's a normal progression for youth. We're cathechized into the Faith, follow it because our parents made us go to Mass, go to Confession) and then we grow up and head off to college and get real smart and figure everything out that God, the church, and our parents were all full of it and figure out that we're going to do things better and you stop going to Mass. In our 20's the bad habits have set in and we're too busy for Mass, the Faith, then we hit our 30s and God teaches us our lessons the hard way, and we start having kids, and we figure out "mabye old Sister Sylvia, Msgr, mom and dad, had something right there" and we come back to church. I think it's always been that way and may be just the way God designed it, for us to choose Him and not have faith but have Faith with a capital F because we now know Truth
^^^bingo. That is what happened to me. Times are much different now a days because many young have it so good (well in the developed nations anyway). What I have noticed is that it is the hard times or occurrences in our lives that make us either angry at God or rush to Him. When we are clothed, fed, have tv, college parties, music and all that worldly stuff we feel maybe we don't need God or we don't listen to God or don't believe in God. The last 100 years have all been worldly. We have more comforts, more stuff, more distractions, less illness, poverty, clean water, etc etc that God becomes an afterthought until we need Him in our lives. I feel this will all come full circle though and I for one am thankful it was not too late for me to notice God again and pray for all those who will be so unprepared when the time comes that we will truly need to trust and have faith in God.
I see where your coming from...but just because you young doesn't mean you have to lose faith. I may be in the minority but I believe the youth need to hear the gospel...participate in the sacraments... even during the experimental years. Jesus started his public ministry when he was 30 years old...I imagine a few of his followers where a little younger or older. So I would guestimate youth being 16 thru 28. I heard once of the seven year theory. Every seven years people transition into a new phase in life. 1 thru 7 years is infancy and developement. At 7 thru 14 years you have reasoning development and growth. At 14 thru 21 years you go through puberty to young adulthood. At 21 thru 28 are experimental and maturation. At 28 thru 35 you enter adulthood . 35 thru 43 you typically have your first major health event and enter middle adulthood...and so on and so on. So why am I concerned about that experimental phase...because of its high mortality and the prevailing moral norm...which today is to "shack up". This is an exceedingly dangerous thing. Living in mortal sin is not cool and neither is our facilitating it. Maybe I'm over concerned...but I remember in my youth God pulling my foolish butt out of many fires. That's why I try to be overly welcoming to our youth ( Thanking the alter servers...giving the personal gifts of thanks when they participate in a funeral or wedding)...as we all should be...and that means having the best Mass/ Confession experience possible.
Why do youth leave the Church? They leave because they can. Our Priests have went from Fire and Brimstone to everyone goes to Heaven. A Church that believes everyone goes to Heaven looses its people. Why? Because there is no reason to stay ...if everyone goes to heaven. We need teachers that preach both those extremes (fire and brimstone; heaven). I hate to say it but most Catholic Priests need to teach more Dogma at mass. Parishes need how-to seminars. How to pray? How to live a Catholic Life? How to teach your Children to be Catholic? How to be one with the Sacraments? This spiritual battle that has taken place after Vatican 2, has tried to wipe out the universal truths of God. We are currently watching a majority of our community leave the Holy Mother Church. Why? Because most Church's have become Dan Robbin how to live seminars and they forgotten the most important aspect of Catholicism? How to become a Saint for God.
I have been staying up late and listening to www.audiosancto.com which has some of the best homilies I have ever heard on every subject...I called my teens to the computer last night and had them listen to a 16 min. audio that EVERYONE SHOULD HEAR!! Its about these times we are living in and what to do about it all. I always pray the good Lord plants His seed in their heart and that they grow into mighty oaks! http://files.audiosancto.org/20140525-The-Importance-of-Rogation-Days.mp3
I have spent decades 'fighting the good fight" as St. Paul said it, but for what? I have come full circle now and have reserved myself to prayer & sacrifice as the only answer. On another thread about Michael Voris, some felt that he is blowing a horn that echo's upon deaf ears. I think for the most part they are right. At some point we need to realize that we are not affecting this culture of ours to truth, no matter how elegant we profess it. I agree with KathyK, that the one main thing left for us is to enter into the Divine Will, as this seems to be what God is asking of us today. Our fiat to God's Will is were we must journey now. Time is short and I do believe that these two prohecies are speaking to our moment in history today/now. https://www.renewalministries.net/files/freeliterature/Prophecies_Pentecost_Monday.pdf http://qmbarque.com/2013/11/13/cardinal-wojtyla-pope-john-paul-ii-and-prophecy-in-1976/
Fr Malachi Martin used a very wise simile about such things many, many years ago. He spoke of the 'Sources or springs of grace' drying up in the Church. That when people pray the springs of grace are opened but that when people cease to pray the rivers of grace stopp and we are left in a desert. I think te young are not holy because we in our generation chose not to be holy and pray. So the rivers of grace that should have enfired the young from praying parents are simply not there. We are entering into a desert generation. Each generation grows further and further from God. If we were holy, then our children would be holy. I know this sounds simplistic but I think thats the way it is. I find when I am out and about it is like being in in a constantly chilled wind there is so little grace, so little prayer. Clearly if our generation has lost Faith and prayer the enxt generation will loose it even more so. This is why God has to act. That is not to say there are not good parents and good children; of course there are; but as a general rule love grows cold and dies. Grace runs meanly through our streets, a trickle were once flowed rivers.
Prayer & Sacrifice is the "good fight". Our Holy Father Benedict knew ...That at this point of His life, the Spiritual Battle of prayer was His greatest weapon. I believe we can try to promote change but we must remember "May Gods Will Be Done". If we don't see change at first...we really don't understand how it effects the "Spiritual Battle". All we can do, as saints, is try our best to do "Gods Will". May Gods Will be Done
Fatima said ...]I have spent decades 'fighting the good fight" as St. Paul said it, but for what? You dont have to win the fight Fatima , just dont give up. The fight takes us all to different places according to our state in life.For me I am currently in a battle with teachers over sex ed. Perhaps as a parent something you have dealt with in the past? Its a battle I have not been in before because it was not my place and time. But it is now! And to resign myself to just prayer would be a major cop- out, and a wimpy and even sinful silence.
And maybe you won't win but if you are able to change a few hearts or maybe slow down a process, God will see ...that through the Holy Spirit with the intercession of Our Blessed Mother, Angeles and communion of saints. You did Your best to conform to Gods will. Maybe the fruits won't be seen today or even tomorrow. But maybe you planted the seeds for major change. May God continue to Bless you and your family. May Gods Will be Done
Mac; God bless you for your efforts within the school system. Our mission is to do what we are called to do within our sphere of influence. What I've been railing against is criticism for the sake of criticism, almost as a sport, especially of the Holy Father!
Thanks for the kind wishes Kathy, You are of course mostly right about me. I, like the Rorate site, do criticize quickly. But not for sport. And Im sure Voris isnt doing it for sport [or money] . Genuine concern and frustration and confusion.
Thanks! I will have to listen to the sermon you suggested mothersuperior7. The priests are anonymous at audiosancto but there is one priest, I recognize his voice because he use to be here in my town/city. And now, he is in a different town and parish. A parish that a well known apologist attends. I envy this apologist, envy isn't always a sin, right?
Our civilization has become increasingly pagan through secularization but this is a trend that has been occurring really from the time of the Protestant reformation but the trend has really accelerated in the last fifty years hence the world is in a mess of its own making having created a world without God, a modern tower of Babel. We live in a time of great spiritual darkness but the remedy for darkness is the Light. Come Lord Jesus, Light of the World, dispel the darkness of sin and usher in the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of your mother, Mary.
