Homily

Last week the U.S. Council of Catholic Bishops held their annual November meeting. Our bishop was there, although he usually doesn’t go. He said, “They do not really talk very much about things that are important for our church.” I remembered a few years ago when Bishop Robert Barron addressed the bishops at the November meeting. Now Bishop Barron, some years ago, started an organization called “Word on Fire” and its purpose is to help evangelization, bringing the Faith to people and helping people to grow in faith. They have many fine resources to use for that purpose. His talk to the American bishops was on the topic of “Outreach to the Unaffiliated,” meaning those who do not belong to any Church or faith. Recent polls have shown that more and more people are saying that they do not belong to any church, and they do not practice any faith. About 20-25% of adult Americans say they have no religious affiliation, and, not surprisingly, young people are the most likely to say they do not belong to any church.

Addressing this problem, Bishop Barron suggested three types of appeals that we can make to young Catholics to keep them in the Church. First, he says, we can appeal to their need to find logic in Christianity and to see that faith is not contrary to science and reason. We should teach them about the Church’s amazing history of great educators, thinkers, and the philosophers over the past 2,000 years. Secondly, we should use the beauty of the Church to reach people. We have a magnificent treasury of architecture, art, and music to attract people to believe. Thirdly, the bishop said, we can use social service to bring the young people in, by getting them involved with helping the poor and those in need, because, he said, “Young people really love getting involved in helping others.”

Now I know a number of people who were required to put in a certain amount of time serving other people while they were in Catholic schools and have since dropped out of the Church. It’s clear to me that they did not see a strong connection between helping others and Christian faith. I understand that. There are public schools that also conduct similar programs. Even atheists can help the needy, and some do! Helping those in need is a very important component of our faith, but you don’t have to be Catholic to do that.

I also agree with Bishop Barron on his suggestions that showing people the great intellectual tradition of the Church and using the beauty of the Church’s arts can be effective tools in helping to spread the Gospel message. I agree with those ideas. And yet, when the bishop was done speaking, I was very disappointed. What about Jesus Christ? Why not talk about Jesus? Why not offer to others our Lord and Savior? Isn’t that the most important thing? Isn’t He the greatest gift we have to offer others? Today we celebrate a feastday of Mary, the mother of our Lord, and look Who she is always pointing to, again and again in every icon.

When St. Peter got up and addressed the crowd in Jerusalem on Pentecost day, he did not speak of philosophy, art or helping the poor, as good and as important as those things are. All he spoke about was Jesus, as he told his audience, “Therefore let the whole house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.”

How can you speak about keeping people in the Faith or attracting them to the Church if you do not mention, first of all, Jesus Christ?

The two main reasons people give for not belonging to a Church are because they question some of the Church’s religious beliefs and they do not like some of the moral teachings. We know these things are true. But in the first place I don’t think we should be answering objections to Christian theology or morality. I think the first thing we need to ask people is, “What do you say about Jesus Christ? Who is He?” That is at the heart of our faith. It’s only when we know what a person thinks about Jesus that we can effectively go on to talk about doctrine and ethics. It’s only when we can speak to other people about Jesus, our faith in Him, how and why we believe in Him, that we can help to open, or re-open, the door of faith for them.

In his letter to the Ephesian Christians, St. Paul says:

Now that is something to talk about. And after you tell me what you think about Jesus, and I tell you then what I know about Him, and why I believe in Him, then we can move on to your problems with doctrine and morality. And after that, then I can tell you why I believe in the teachings of Christ and His Church, and why the intellectual life, beauty and the arts and service to those in need are all most important elements of that teaching and the Church.

My friends, and I have said this before, but I need to say it again. We live in times where, pretty much in public and in entertainment, we only hear the name of Jesus when someone is angry or disgusted: Jesus Christ! That’s the tone. Imagine that! The name of our Lord is used only for anger and disgust! Think about that, please. But we must be the people who are always ready to talk about Him, even to our family and relatives, even to our co-workers and friends. Our faith is worthless without Him. Our lives can never be fuller than when we live in Him. We often share our days with people who do not know Him. Or they know Him and yet neglect Him.

Let them see something of our Lord in us, both in words and in deeds.