My apologies, WordPress decided to corrupt my previous post on this topic.
Archbishop Dolan recently posted a reflection on what he called “external markers” of our Catholicism. In it, he broached the question of whether the decline in observance of these markers as a way to make Catholicism “easier” and thus more attractive hasn’t in fact had precisely the opposite effect. His reflection on his recent experience at World Youth Day was particularly poignant:
The planners of each Mass — wisely and thoughtfully, when you think about it — printed in the Mass booklet, and even announced before Mass, “Look, it’s so jammed in here, and you are all so hot and tired, why don’t you just stay seatedduring the Eucharistic prayer.”
Very practical . . . very wise . . . let’s make this simple and a bit more relaxed. Let’s “lighten-up.”
What happened? I’ll be darned, at all four occasions, all the hundreds, thousands of youth still knelt! They wanted to kneel in adoration! They didn’t want it simple or practical! They didn’t mind the challenge! They wanted it!
We have the Truth – all we have to do is live it and proclaim it in its fullness. Never, ever try to fool a kid – they can spot a phony a mile away.
