Fr. Heilman: I was led to believe that “hip” and “trendy” appealed to the youth

Fr. Rick Heilman did a couple posts over at KDM, check them out!
AKA – A Catholic Priest’s New Awakening!

A few days ago, I encouraged the pest control guy (while he was setting traps in my house) to come and check out the Mass on Sunday morning. Just yesterday, I said the same thing to the checkout guy at Kwik Trip. Both of these guys had admitted that they had left the Church years ago.

Two days ago, I was standing in someone’s kitchen with a couple of guys, and I got talking about how Confession is so amazing and, with that simple prayer of absolution, we get “do-overs;” we are made a brand new person. They both admitted they had not gone in decades and, two minutes later, we were stepping into the next room to celebrate that Sacrament. They both emerged with HUGE smiles on their faces and, I believe, a new incentive to get back into their faith. I’ve been doing stuff like this a lot lately.

Something is happening in the Church and in the world today. And, I know something is happening with me. I can’t recall many times (any?) in my priesthood that I would unabashedly – with great confidence and joy – invite people on the street to these amazing sacraments. Instead, I guess we priests felt that, “if you build it, they will come.” But, build what?

I had spent a great portion of my priesthood buying into the notion that, if we create all kinds of trendy “programs” and socials, while we kept our liturgy as cheery and entertaining as possible, people would hear about how “cool” and “fun” and “with the times” we were, and come running. We may have “held our own” with numbers in the pew, but I also noticed the average age was continuing to rise, and – where were all the men? I could see that, while this trendy approach had short-term results, the future was looking unsustainable.

It didn’t make sense. I was led to believe that “hip” and “trendy” appealed to the youth. And, we believed men didn’t go for all that ceremonial stuff – “Johnny Six-pack” likes it “real” like the rest of the world.
continue at Knights of Divine Mercy

A must read.

Also check out More Kwik Trip Evangelization

By they way, you may not know Pine Bluff parish now exclusively celebrates Mass ad orientem

This also reminds me to finish my post, I was comparing the number of parishes in MN that celebrate the Ordinary Form ad orientem as to those in Wisconsin.  This is the only parish in Wisconsin that is exclusive ad orientem (for OF) that I know of.  MN has several. 

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

If any priest in the Milwaukee Archdiocese were to make the altar in his church "ad orientem," he would soon be out of a job.

Anonymous said...

When I was in Milwaukee 2007-09 the 4:00 pm OF Mass at St Stanislaus was celebrated "ad orientem".

Just the mere thought, however fleeting, in Superior diocese would be sufficient to complete the offense!