Declining Sacramental Life of the Church an Alarming Trend

By Msgr. Robert Batule, Crisis Magazine, March 28, 2019

Where are you headed? It is not just a question the cabbie asks when you get into his car in a big city somewhere in America. It is also a question we ask ourselves as Catholics. With Lent in progress, we know the answer: We are headed to Easter and we get there by following the apostles Peter and John in their run to the empty tomb. We do not, however, run through Lent. Lent is a time to slow down and think seriously about serious matters.

By thinking seriously about serious matters, I do not have in mind the intricacies of Trinitarian theology or the subtleties in atonement theology—although it is never unwise to think about these matters. What I have in mind are the realities of ecclesial life in large swaths of the United States now.

Decades ago, I had the good fortune to meet a dedicated Religious priest at a wedding. At the reception following the nuptial mass, we were seated next to each other and from that time forward we were friends. In the discussions that good friends have over the years, good priest-friends, the topic of the Church was ever present. Often, my priest-friend would remark, “The Church means less and less to more and more Catholics.”…..Read entire article, go to: crisismagazine.com/2019/declining-sacramental-life-of-the-church-an-alarming-trend