According to the The New Missal series reflection (CR, July 29), “Polls show that many Catholics do not understand that Christ is truly present in the Eucharist.” How is this possible? If true, what else do many Catholics not understand about their faith that they ought to understand? Whose fault is it?
I think Father John E. Hurley needs much more than a new vision for the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s newly-formed Department of Evangelization. He needs a serious and continuous chorus of concerned and committed Catholics (both ordained and unordained) sounding an alarm from top to bottom within the church that we are members of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church.
A son-in-law who is Christian but not Catholic recently commented that after several years of closely observing the Catholic Church he thought there was considerable shallowness in the understanding that many Catholics have in the faith they practiced.
Even worse is the observation of several concerned Catholic parents I know that we are losing our youth to other Christian denominations that seem better equipped to address their spiritual hunger and corporal needs. I suspect we are also losing our youth to secular, non-Christian and interfaith groups that offer appealing inspiration and challenge.
All this while we concern ourselves with rewording some of the prayers we say at Mass as if it is going to make a difference. I would hope so, but I doubt it.