A ‘Great Comeback’?

BISHOP KEVIN J. SWEENEY

On the day after Easter Sunday I received an email from one of our priests, telling me that he had “preached a parish mission during the whole of holy week. … The place was packed every evening with confessions afterwards until 10:30 p.m. The sheep are hungry and some may be even starving. Maybe we are on the cusp of a revival ... I surely hope so.”

Could we be “on the cusp of a revival”? Or, as it might be said in other words: “Is the Church about to make a ‘Great Comeback’?” Some type of comeback has already begun. Since Ash Wednesday and throughout Lent, but especially during Holy Week and at Easter, we have seen people coming back to Mass, here in our Diocese and in many parts of our country. We realize that other countries are still under lockdowns and restrictions due to COVID-19. That realization should cause us to be even more grateful to be able to come back to Mass and receive Jesus in Holy Communion.

You may have heard in the press last week that Cardinal Timothy Dolan of the Archdiocese of New York wrote an article entitled “It’s Time to Get Back to Mass.” You can find it here. I would recommend it, as it describes where we are one year into the pandemic and how Cardinal Dolan believes that, for those who are healthy, going out shopping, and to other public places, it is time to return to attending Sunday Mass.

Another Bishop whom I follow (on the internet) is Bishop Robert Barron, of Los Angeles, and his Word on Fire global media ministry. I recently listened to a talk he gave in January of 2020 (pre-pandemic) on the theme of “The Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.” He said that he chose the topic because a study by the Pew Research Center had recently been published (Aug. 5, 2019) that said 70 percent of Catholics do not believe in the “Real Presence” of Jesus in the Eucharist. As the article puts it, … Just one-third of U.S. Catholics (31 percent) say they believe that “during Catholic Mass, the bread and wine actually become the Body and Blood of Jesus.” You can find an article summarizing the study here. You can find Bishop Barron’s talk on YouTube. I encourage you to listen to it, even though it is lengthy (75 minutes) because it is an informative, theological reflection on what we can do to face and respond to this very serious problem that we have as a Church.

One of the things that most struck me about this talk by Bishop Barron is that it was pre-pandemic, so, with all the challenges that we have faced as individuals, families, communities and a Church since the pandemic began, we should not forget the significant problems and challenges that we were facing prior to the pandemic. I am hopeful and I believe that we are seeing signs that we may very well be “on the cusp of a revival” and I hope that the “revival” or “comeback” will not only be to get back to normal or to where we were before the pandemic, but that this revival will be a time of real and deep renewal and reform during which we come to a deeper appreciation of the truths and treasure of our faith, as well as a re-commitment by some and a new commitment by others, not only in a return to Mass and the Sacraments, but also in living of the fullness of our faith, to be the disciples and the Church Jesus is calling us to be.

Catholics (and all Christians) have at times been described as an “Easter People,” connecting the Resurrection with our identity. We know that all those who follow Jesus are called to share in the mystery of the Cross. Some Christians are criticized for seeming to have a “Christianity without the Cross” which seems to be a less than authentic Christianity. The Paschal or “Easter” Mystery is the mystery of Jesus’ Passion, His suffering death, and Resurrection. The Cross is certainly at the heart of that mystery, but it is the Cross that leads to Resurrection. When we look at some of the challenges and failures that we face and have experienced as a Church, both pre-pandemic and throughout this past year, we can identify the presence and reality of the Cross, but as an “Easter People,” we know that the Cross leads to Resurrection and New Life. I believe that we may be coming to or already in a time of renewal and new life as a Church, here in our Diocese and as the larger Church.

We just celebrated “Divine Mercy Sunday” on the Sunday after Easter and we continue for these next six weeks in the Easter season, preparing to celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. At Mass in these “Easter days,” both during the week and on Sunday, we read from the beautiful Acts of the Apostles, the story of the Church from its beginning and the beginning of the preaching of the Good News of the Gospel, also known as evangelization. The great St. Pope John Paul II spoke and wrote so often and so powerfully about the “New Evangelization.” Let us continue to hope, pray, and act, faithful to our call to share in the work of evangelization and, I hope, as part of a revival (or comeback) that may be just beginning.