How to become a better Catholic

Five themes that tell me I have a long way to go

Article Refined by a Pentecost Sermon on May 28th 2023.

Catholicism is more than a theory, a set of long lived, and slowly expanding traditions of orthopraxy and orthodoxy. It is about faith, a deep personal belief in time tested traditions, often embattled, that have seen more, for more than two thousand years, than their share of ups and downs. Today however is a time of crisis. In our post modernist society, where an egocentric, secular world-view and philosophy has taken hold, regardless of continent, regardless of religious affiliation, true religiosity and adherence to the faith, is no longer a priority. Instead, secularism, secular life is all we know, and we care about. And we do so through a path that glorifies the self, the individual over community, over our shared humanity. As secularism expands, the idea of God no longer occupies a central space in our minds and hearts. Our spritual crisis is real.

For those of you who are the most curious, feel free to jump to the end of this article to read about my plan of action. For those of you with greater patience, I remain truly grateful for your extended attention and willingness to journey with me for the next few minutes, endure a dose of my emotional babble.

Mass and religious service attendance is dismal. Vocations are dwindling. Parish priests are retiring. Churches are being shuttered. In the worse case, they are being secularized…