Coming Home: Rediscovering the Catholic Church

What Faithful Catholics Need To Do

“The outreach to inactive Catholics is a requirement of our claim to a life in Christ. Programs of evangelization and reconciliation are a function of the entire Church, and their achievement is a catalyst for the evangelization of the entire Church.”

“What is needed is more than a committee for returning Catholics. We need to create an atmosphere of faith and fidelity that prevents departure in the first place; fosters a genuine, faithful, and authentic community; and leaves no Catholic ignored, alienated, or forgotten.”

“The setting for an authentic return is the parish. It is the parish that stands on the front lines of evangelization and reconciliation in the United States; it is the most likely place for an inactive Catholic to seek help. Obviously, the first steps toward reconciliation may be taken with the assistance of family members and friends, but actual reconciliation ultimately will find expression in a parish. Simply put, returning Catholics need sacraments, and sacraments are provided by parishes.”3

That begs the question, what kind of parish home are we inviting them to? We are very fortunate at St. John of the Cross in Vero Beach. We have a parish that has been truly faithful in the celebration of the liturgy, one that is especially in fidelity with the norms expressed in the General Instruction of the Roman Missal as well as other documents such as Redemtionis Sacramentum. Equally, the Eucharist is at the heart of our parish life as called for in Ecclesia de Eucharistia. Also, the Sacrament of Penance is offered before all weekend Masses as well as at scheduled times on Saturdays. Parishioners are reminded during the praying of the rosary before all weekend Masses, decade to decade, that "Father is hearing confessions." So the promotion of this Sacrament of Reconciliation is in the spirit of what Pope John Paul II asked in Misericordia Dei. These implementations of the two key sacraments are an immediate message of obedience that will be a welcoming sign to many lapsed Catholics visiting our church. Many of them come here to Vero Beach retired and have experienced outlandish liturgies and a lack of reconciliation opportunities elsewhere at the time they left the Church. May God bless our pastor emeritus, Fr. John Crowley, for his dedication to instituting authentic Catholic liturgy and the rightful importance he placed on the Sacrament of Reconciliation. And may God bless all those volunteers who comply with the norms and assist with the celebration of our liturgy.

With the vibrant sacramental springboard that we have, we need to work on building an active team of parishioners dedicated to an outreach of lapsed Catholics, and to Christians of other ecclesial communities who may be interested in the Catholic Faith (See: Exploring the Church page). There is no reason why team members cannot entertain both activities. This is going to take time to build this team. But team-building is a strength we have at St. John of the Cross.

What we need at the moment is someone to chair this team. A former inactive Catholic who is well catechized would be ideal as they have the sensitivities necessary for returning Catholics. However, others may have a heart for this activity and could serve as well. Please pray about filling this most needed roll in the parish. If you know someone who would be well qualified for this apostolate, please ask him or her. Refer them to this web page. Have them contact the Web Master who can provide reference material on building a team. That way they will be able to determine compatibility for the job. The sidebar reference above on the left contains a lot of information on how to begin and is available for use by those interested.

In the meantime, we willl reach out from this web site and see what contact happens through it. Parishioners should reference the site to family and friends who no longer are practicing the faith. Use the occasions of weddings, funerals, baptisms, graduation Masses, birthday parties or any time when opportunities arise to mention the faith. Refer them to our parish web site. Encourage them to browse the site, especially this page, the FAQ's page, the "Why Are We Catholic" page and the "What We Believe" page and then encourage them to contact the Web Master if they have any questions.

How Can One Start the Process To Come Back?

First, know that you are welcome. Know that we want to work with you, whatever your situation. And remember, "All things are possible with God."

The most important thing in starting the process is prayer to our Lord from your heart. There is no better way to do this than conversing with our Lord before the Blessed Sacrament, preferably exposed. While St. John of the Cross has Adoration, it is only on Fridays from 9:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M. during the Winter/Spring seasonal months. Unfortunately, until our building program is complete, there is no office or rectory on the church campus, so the church must be kept locked for security reasons except for Masses and other scheduled activity. Alternatively, you can visit Holy Cross parish beach side on A1A a bit south of the Barber bridge. They have a side chapel to the right of the main church entry where the Blessed Sacrament is exposed about 12 hours daily.

A second prayerful activity is to pray the Stations of the Cross. You can do so right on this web site from any of our Header pages. It is an interactive process so you can go at your own pace.

Coincident with prayer activity, we suggest the following:

Click the "Why Are We Catholic" button on the Home page of this site and check out our answers.
Visit the "What We Believe" and the "Sacraments" page.
Come to Mass at St. John of the Cross and experience our liturgical celebration.
Visit our FAQ's page where both faith and moral issues are discussed in a Question/Answer format.
Use the "Question Box" to fire off some questions. If we don't have the answer, we'll get you one.
Request a copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and a copy of the new "Compendium - Catechism of the Catholic Church." The latter is in a question/answer format on a wide variety of subjects. They are freely given.
Trust in our Lord. He loves you and wants you back!

Some people ask, "Do I have to believe everything the Catholic Church teaches before I come back." Well, there are certainly truths about the faith that you must believe. Many practicing Catholics, however, struggle with some aspects of the faith. But if their struggle is pure and from the heart, they invite Christ in to their heart to help form their conscience and will (their soul). And they are genuinely open to allow the Church, the spouse of Christ, to teach them. It is best that we answer specific questions that you may have.

The roadmap from here depends upon you. Most returnees to the faith are asked to attend the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA) program. This is available at St. John of the Cross, but it is also available from our sister parishes here in Vero and most parishes nationwide. Implementation of this program varies parish-to-parish. We can help you decide. Let us begin.

******* Be not afraid. *******

Is There Reconciliation?

"For returning Catholics, reconciliation is especially poignant. They have already undergone the first fundamental conversion that takes place at baptism, professing (vicariously in the case of infants) faith in the Trinity and the Church and renouncing Satan and all his works. Now, they are called to a second conversion, or metanoia, described by the Cathechism as "an uninterrupted task of the whole Church" (CCC 1428). As St. Ambrose wrote, there are two conversions in the Church: "There are waters and tears.: the waters of baptism and the tears of repentance" (ep. 41.12; PL 16.1116). The tears of repentance are more than tears of sorrow. They are tears of joy of a family member returning home."

"Those who are involved in outreach to inactive Catholics say that weeping is a common phenomenon. After being welcomed home, returning Catholics sit in the pews of churches and cry, sometimes uncontrollably, because they are so filled with relief, happiness, and the sense of release. These tears are ours to share, because we are their brothers and sisters."4

Resources

Resources are provided as follows:

For lapsed Catholics

Lorene Hanley Duquin, Could You Ever Come Back to the Catholic Church?; New York: Alba House, 1997; ISBN 0-8189-0789-4.

For Catholics interested in this ministry

Lorene Hanley Duquin, Could You Ever Come Back to the Catholic Church?; New York: Alba House, 1997; ISBN 0-8189-0789-4.

Patrick Madrid, Search and Rescue. Manchester, NH:Sophia Institute Press, 2001.

Bishop Michael Saltarelli, "How to Reach Inactive Catholics" (pastoral statement by the diocese of Wilmington), Origins, January 27, 2000.

The article refereced in the sidebar, above left. It is available form the Webmaster.

Lapsed Catholics. Who Are They?

They are the second largest body of believers in the country. They outnumber the members of all mainline Protestant churches combined. Yet they haven’t darkened the door of a church, possibly any church, in years. At any given moment, there are nearly 20 million of them.

They are immediate family and extended family members. They are friends and former classmates. They are neighbors. They are rich or poor, professional or non-professional, skilled or unskilled. They were active in a parish at one time. They were baptized and many were confirmed, and others were married in the Church. They may have married outside the Church or be divorced or re-married after divorce. They may have been well catechized or they may be poorly catechized. Above all, they are in need of our love and the love of Christ, most specifically in the Eucharist. They may be thinking about returning to the Church or they may be ready to return. They need a listening ear and a warm invitation. If you are a lapsed Catholic reading this, let this web site serve as your invitation, inspiration, and welcome! Let’s begin together. We’ll talk about how in a bit.

Why Some Catholics Have Left the Church

Most lapsed Catholics did not leave to go to another Christian Church. These Catholics left the Church for many reasons and seldom, if ever, attended Mass since. The most often cited reasons why people left 20, 30, or 40 years ago is because they did not like the new liturgy, particularly as it was implemented and evolved in their parish post Vatican II. Or they could be mad at God for the death of a husband or wife or loved one. Perhaps they got caught up in the women’s movement of the 70’s and 80’s and objected to women not being ordained. Some folks got divorced, remarried and didn’t pursue reconciliation with their faith and just dropped out. Others are in mixed marriages that presented circumstances leading to benign neglect of their faith. And when that happened, no one seemed to care. Many didn’t feel welcome by their parish community, or it was indifferent to them particularly if they were going through a difficult time emotionally.

Some had doubts about God, doubts about God's presence, doubts about forgiveness, or doubts about being a "good" Catholic. More recently the reason has been the influence of secular humanism and relativism which is encouraging people to move away from institutional religion and adopt a more individual approach to faith. The sexual abuse scandal in the Church helped this notion along. Quite possibly, some people may have conflict with their own sexuality and have had difficulty reconciling it with their Catholic faith. In summary, there is a plethora of reasons why Catholics leave the faith.

Are Catholics Coming Home?

“The answer is yes, in surprising large numbers. Estimates vary slightly, but some 320,000 inactive Catholics return to the faith every year, and of those who have not made the commitment to return, 39 percent have considered it at some point.”

“In the RCIA programs—where the majority of returning Catholics are placed—there are ten returnees for every convert.”

“Most of those returning are baby boomers, but younger Catholics (those between the ages of twenty and thirty-nine) return to the Church increasingly as they grow older."2