Gulf Pine Catholic

Gulf Pine Catholic • August 20, 2021 14 The cooking segments, intentionally designed to encourage families to make the recipes with their chil- dren and grandchildren, are “a wonderful way to bring food and our religious faith together,” the priest told the Clarion Herald , newspaper of the Archdiocese of New Orleans. Using visuals is a catechetical technique that Father Cooper also has incorporated into his homilies over his 14 years as a priest, especially during school Masses. For example, for his first homily of the school year, he unpacks a backpack containing basic school supplies such as paper, folders, scissors and crayons. The final item unpacked by the priest, just as his young congre- gants think the bag has everything they need for school, is an image of Jesus. “While all of those other (school supplies) are important, the most important thing is that we always take Jesus with us,” Father Cooper explained. “I want to be able to reach the children at their level, and because our kids are so visual, we need something to be able to capture their attention. “The best part about (using props) is that I origi- nally thought I was speaking only to the children. But I have found over the years that it also has been benefi- cial -- and maybe even more beneficial at times -- for the adults who are in the congregation.” As a live production, the cooking show has many moments of levity, such as the time the two presenters used an electric mixer to make buttercream osting om scratch. “What does every child want to do whenever they get homemade osting? They want to lick the spoon,” Delatte said. “Lucy grabs the whisk and sticks the whole thing in her mouth! (The osting) was delicious, but we quickly learned to use canned osting om then on!” Donze is a staff writer at the Clarion Herald, news- paper of the Archdiocese of New Orleans. Faith Cooking Show om page 12 The Catholic Church, along with every major Protestant denomination, has witnessed a precipitous decline in Church attendance. This slide, set off during the 1960s, has accelerated with the rapid rise of the “nones,” Americans claiming no religious affiliation. We could wonder, has the bottom fallen out with this huge exodus? Or put more theologically, has Christ abandoned his Church? Moments of crisis test us, calling us to exercise great hope and trust in the Lord’s providence. Even though Jesus told us that He will never abandon us, he also calls us to do our part. We are not simply helpless in the current eefall. We can assess why things have gone off track and then adjust, focusing our attention on what can help us reverse course. In taking stock of the crisis, Stephen Bullivant traces the steps of our decline for us, drawing together the many contributing factors, in his book Mass Exodus: Catholic Disaffiliation in Britain and America since Vatican II (Oxford, 2019). Bullivant describes the major forces -- both internal and external -- that have combined to form a perfect exit storm. Huge cultural changes certainly set the backdrop. One surprising example stems om the breaking up of ethnic Catholic enclaves in cities in favor of the more isolated and anonymous suburbs. Alongside of unprecedented upheaval in society, confusion also reigned for decades in the Church following the Second Vatican Council, which stemmed om a revolution in worship, conflicts over morality, a collapse of catechesis and a flight om the priesthood and religious life -- all leading to general turmoil. More recently, revelations about the cover up of the sex abuse crisis and a growing distance between doctrine and society have alienated even more Catholics. It’s been a rough 60 years, with so many self- inflicted wounds. Since the early 1960s, when 75% of Catholics attended Mass regularly, there has been a steady, annual decline in attendance to less than 25%. Catholics went om having clear identifiers of belief and practice within a strong community that anchored a whole way of life to a very changed landscape with few demands, incentives or cultural practices to support faith. The drift of Catholics to other churches or to no religion at all, Bullivant explains, should be seen in terms of an identity crisis, with every element of Catholic belief and practice seen as up for grabs. People need God -- we simply cannot be truly happy without Him -- and so must reach and serve our own people more effectively. Bullivant sheds light on this effort too, pointing to what worked before so many left. Catholic parishes of the past offered a “close-knit community-life,” augmented by a “richly elaborate devotional” practice (88). In fact, respondents to many recent surveys sought greater community and simply could not find it at their parish. Keeping Catholics active in the faith involves more than just Mass attendance. In particular, people remain much more engaged when there is social integration into the parish and meaningful ties to other parishioners (95). Parishes of the past also provided opportunities to see the faith lived in meaningful ways, through something Bullivant describes as Credibility Enhancing Displays (CREDS) -- actions and practices that manifest belief, often involving sacrifice. CREDS, such as nocturnal adoration, the iday penance and processions, make faith come alive by drawing it into daily life. What can we do differently to stop the “Mass” exodus? For one, we should focus on evangelization first -- sharing the good news of salvation in relationship with Christ. Without a living faith in God, why would anyone care to listen to information/rules om the Church or come for worship? To grow in the faith, mentorship has been found much more effective than instruction (particularly when done by parents). If the classroom has been the model for catechesis in the past, we now need to think much more in terms of apprenticeship. We need a more dynamic approach -- banding together with a motivated mentor and peers, sharing life together, living the faith actively and serving others. It is time to move out of the classroom in favor of small group settings (preferably in the home), which are more ideal to personally engage content. Mass has become a lost treasure, and to help people rediscover it, we must build a stronger community to surround it. Looking back reveals that Catholics have assimilated into our culture, influenced more by its ethos and priorities. To reengage the lost faithful, we need to communicate a compelling, imaginative vision of what it means to be a Christian in the modern world and why life will be better if we accept this vision and live within it. For the faith to stick, it must be woven into the very fabric of our lives and supported by community. Only if we help Catholics to accept and internalize faith and live it every day of the week can we prevent them om becoming another statistic within the legion of “nones.” Catholics may have left in a mass exodus, but the return will happen by engaging our lost brethren one at a time. R. Jared Staudt, PhD, is a husband and father of six, the Associate Superintendent for Mission and Forma- tion for the Archdiocese of Denver, a Benedictine ob- late, prolific writer, and insatiable reader. The Catholic Culturalist Staudt Responding to the “Mass” Exodus Pray for an increase of vocations to the priesthood, to the diaconate, and to the religious life, especially in the Diocese of Biloxi