I went to church without the realization that it was All Souls Day. I have to admit that holiday's become a blur, especially if they are not celebrated by our society as a whole. I have a feeling of comfort though every time I allow myself to fall into the routine of going to church on Sunday and thinking of our lives in a religious connotation.
I remember my grandmother giving me statues of Mother Mary during important events like my First Communion and Confirmation, that was the last she was alive for. My aunt always reminding me that I am her God Daughter and giving me rosaries or crucifixes whenever we are together. In fact she still does.
My life and my image has always been tied very close to the Catholic Church. I did loose a sense of that for a few years. I had lost my sense of right and wrong. It took reading St. Thomas Aquinas and prayer to bring me back to the church fully, but I know that there are many that are not as lucky as me. It seems to me that Catholic today has about as much meaning to some who call themselves Jewish. They don't celebrate the religious activities of the Church, but their image is tied to the Church in their upbringing and their family's connections to the church. For them, they go on with their life and the church they grew up with is no longer a part of their lives. I don't know who is to blame for this transition; all I do know is that it is real.
There are certain things I could think that may play part in this. Going to mass and not recognizing it as the same. There may be gentile guitars instead of the strong sound of the organ pipes or their may be interpretive dance and songs that are unrecognizable to you. Those little things are important to Catholic mass, since so much is out of habit and repetition. I find eating and drinking the body and blood of Christ essential to mass. A major problem is that many churches seem to cut out half of the Eucharist. Today, I didn't even see anyone serving the blood of Christ. I saw it blessed and then it disappeared. This left me troubled. Also, I noticed that they were speaking at the end of mass about activities for teens and how they need to sign up quickly for these events to make sure they get a place. I counted two in the entire church today. Adam leaned over to me and whispered, "I don't think they will have too much competition for those spots." I nodded and clapped for the speaker.
I know there is a great secularization in our society and I fear the impact of this, but I also fear of the reaction of religious institutions. When everything in our life is confused by sin and there is constant confrontation from a secular society, church should be the comfort zone for its followers. Why must their be change other than to revert to our older traditions?
Those are the things going through my head today. I love the church and I love being a Catholic and I pray for the future of the church. I don't know who is to lead them when we are older and I do not know who will populate its masses. I just have a feeling for the adults today, that when we are old, the church will not be what we remembered in our youth.
