Christina Malone
Many families all over Ireland have been packing their bags for a staycation. I am one of those and I can’t wait. I finally get to see my family again.
One thing that amazed me most when I first came to Ireland (nearly 14 years ago) was the fact that many parish events pause during the summer months. On the contrary during my upbringing in Germany, summer time has been one of the busiest times of the year for parishes.
Why? Because of all the kinds of summer camps. Even though the summer holidays were only six weeks, most of the time at least one of those weeks, the parish would organise a summer camp for children and teenagers. They go camping, stay in youth hostels, go sailing, you name it. I used to love those weeks, being nine or twelve I used to feel like a grown-up because we went alone, without mummy and daddy. It meant late nights, new friendships, fun and one of the highlights, celebrating Mass (Lagermesse).
Most of the time, the Mass was outside, we sang, we danced, we wrote our own prayers and we were allowed to come as we are, maybe even bare foot and with a half clean t-shirt. (After a week in the camp I was lucky to find a t-shirt or dress that was not stained, ripped or lost.)
Those memories gave me a first sense of what Church can be like, faith, fun and friendship. ‘Family of God’ meant meeting new people, being open minded about where the journey would lead. Mass was more than sit, kneel, stand, pray and be quiet. Summer camps were organised madness, alive, refreshing and exhausting. It’s lively, spontaneous, dirty but most importantly fun. I am aware, I was lucky. The parish teams that used to travel with us were ‘good ones’. I know many people have had traumatic experience during those summer camps. The scandals within the Church are worldwide. But my story was one of fun, faith and friendship.
Years later when I travelled to my first World Youth Day, I had a similar experience. My faith became alive again and it helped me to discover more of my faith. Another decade and a few World Youth Days later I went again. This time the destination was Krakow, the only difference, this time I was a mother of two and expecting my third. During that pilgrimage my best friend (mother of four at that time) and I asked one of the archbishops during a catechesis: “What are dioceses, parishes doing to engage with young families, like ours? Where would there be a place at home in which our children can experience the joy, fun, love we experienced at those worldwide gatherings? We don’t want to wait until our children are 16 or older to travel outside of the country to experience their faith in such a new light?”
Unfortunately, there was no answer and when we tried to follow up on it when we came home, nothing happened.
In 2018 the World Meeting of Families took place in Dublin. I had hoped it would make a difference to families, connect faith, fun and friendship. Nearly three years later I am still wondering how the Church can make a difference for families.
We are asked to re-discover Amoris Laetitia, the Joy of Love. Pope Francis challenges each and every one of us to include everyone into God’s family.
While the World Meeting of Families might have disappointed on some levels, I still cherish the memories of the children (altar servers) that got to serve during the papal Mass, those who danced in Croke Park, those who sang in the choir during the papal Mass or those who got to meet Pope Francis – the newly married in the Pro Cathedral. Some families got a glimpse of the experience that our faith is alive, fun and meaningful.
So while I am packing the bags for the holiday I smile thinking about those memories of open air Masses, the singing (some would call it shouting) dirty feet (I choose to walk barefoot whenever I can) and a dirty t-shirts (I put in an extra t-shirt for my children but especially for me), some things never change; that is a God of love and myself, the one that cannot keep t-shirts clean for a week.