July 14, 2024

15^THSunday in Ordinary Time (B) 

Missionaries in Our Backyard

Msgr. Thomas Gervasio

This week I came across a news article that illustrated the current state of faith in our western culture. It reported that the UK now has the most openly non-religious House of Commons in history. Roughly 40% of MPs recently elected, during their swearing-in ceremony, chose to take a secular affirmation instead of a religious oath to God. In 2019 it was 24%. But this secular, even atheistic attitude is not limited to our friends “across the pond.” If a recent Gallop poll is to be believed, only 3 in 10 US adults attend religious services regularly. Only 33% of Catholics attend Mass regularly. Twenty years ago, 9% of Americans claimed no religious affiliation. It is now 21%. Only 17% of Catholics in our diocese attend Mass.
 
This is hardly a surprise. We all know someone who no longer comes to Mass, 
someone who questions the need to be connected to the Church, someone who struggles to believe, or someone who stays away because he or she has been hurt by the Church. This reminds me of a poorly thought out message on a church sign: “Don’t let worries kill you...let the Church help.” 
 
Today’s readings focus on evangelization which is the work of helping others come to Christ and to the Church. This is not only the duty of clergy and religious but of all the baptized. In the current environment, this can be discouraging and Our Lord tells us to expect rejection. What can be done to reverse the disheartening trend? I’d like to offer a few suggestions. 
 
The first is to rouse our courage to speak about our faith. We should always desire to know and grow in our faith, convinced that our Catholic faith, its truths, its sacramental life, its community life, is a precious gift—a way of life that we cannot do without, a gift that gives meaning to life and leads us to the joy of heaven. If we are convinced of this, then we should want this for others. Evangelization involves having a deep concern, a zeal, for the spiritual well-being and the salvation of others. We should not be content to love God if our neighbor does not love him too. We should want the very best for others…and the very best we can offer is Christ! 
 
However, we often shut down when it comes to speaking about our faith. We are afraid of the rejection or indifference we might face. People walked away from Our Lord. The Athenians dismissed St. Paul, saying, “We’ll hear you another time.” We fear being branded as odd or out of step with the times. We don’t want to offend or ruffle feathers. After all, faith is something personal, so personal that it is better to steer clear…to be silent. But as a result, the light of faith is put “under a bushel basket.” True, faith is always personal but it is never private. It must be shared and this requires courage.
 
Sharing our faith also requires charity. We will never draw others closer to Christ and the Church by wagging our finger at them. People are receptive when a subject is discussed in a climate of respect. St Francis de Sales reminds us that “we attract more bees with a spoonful of sugar than a barrel of vinegar.” During the homily at a Christmas Mass I served as a youngster, the parochial vicar was rather sarcastic to the many people who had helped to fill the church pews but were never seen the rest of the year. After Mass, the pastor pulled him aside and told him never to do that, saying those people may not have a bright flame of faith but a spark of faith that moved them to come to Mass…beware of snuffing it out…help turn the spark into a flame. 
 
Foreign missionaries we are not. Our mission is in our backyards, within our families and workplaces. There we can transmit the faith in simple ways, even a few words said in passing can make an impact. I once greeted a woman after Mass on Christmas, saying, “See you Sunday!” She replied, “You won’t. I only come at Christmas. I replied, “You don’t know what you’re missing!” On Sunday she appeared and told me “I came to see what I was missing!”
 
What about vacationing with friends? When Sunday rolls around and our vacation companions do not attend Mass nor even Catholic? Do we forego Mass, so not to “offend” them? No! Locate the Catholic Church and invite them to come along! Do we ever speak of the joy and strength we receive from coming to Mass? If we spoke of the consolation we receive through a sacramental confession, perhaps we would be encouraging someone who, fearful, has been away from the sacrament for a long time. 
 
Will sharing our faith meet with indifference and rejection? No doubt! Will it be discouraging when we think that our words have fallen on deaf ears, that our witness goes unnoticed? No doubt! But we must rouse our courage and persevere in sowing the seed of faith generously. Some seed will fall on rocky ground, some among thorns but some will fall on rich, receptive soil. 
 
The motto of my parish elementary school could be the motto of every evangelist: “Do your duty and leave the rest to God.” May the Lord grant us the grace!