We have to carry faith outside of our comfort zone

Inspired by The Year of Mercy Parishes reach out to reconnect people with the Church, writes Editor Michael Kelly

Pope Francis has urged Catholics to go to the “existential margins” of the places where we live to bring the Good News of the Gospel to people afresh. This is hard in a country like Ireland that, although steeped in Catholicism, has drifted from Faith and sometimes seems cut off from its moorings.

We can hide in our churches and comfort zones and lament the loss of the sense of God (and this is a particular tendency in the approach to Christmas) or we can embrace new and creative approaches to bringing God to the public square. Better to light a candle than curse the dark, as the saying goes.

One such initiative that has been attracting a lot of attention since it was first reported in this newspaper is the decision by Shannon parish to hold a special ‘Year of Mercy’ reach-out in the local shopping centre. Priests are available to hear Confession or to offer a few words of support and encouragement. In a non-threatening space like a shopping centre, people who, perhaps, haven’t felt connected to the Church in years have the opportunity to rekindle their faith. As well as reaching out to those who may feel far from the Christian community, such initiatives also provide a much-needed shot in the arm to volunteers and practising Catholics and reassures them that the Church is not finished, whatever the cynics say.

Parishes

Parishes might consider taking other similar initiatives in the future. One thing that surprises me is the number of parishes who mark holydays of obligation and other solemnities by having Mass at ten o’clock in the morning, making it almost impossible for anyone who works to attend. Some parishes – particularly in larger urban areas – offer lunchtime Masses to make it easier for people.

More creative thought might also be given to the celebration of Ash Wednesday – the traditional start of Lent. I have a friend who often laments that very few people in Dublin wear ashes on this penitential day. 

But, I wonder, if we made it easier for people to accessibly mark this day would things be different? What, for example, would the reaction be if priests in Dublin stood at the main Luas terminals and at major railway stations during rush hour on Ash Wednesday and offered this simple yet powerful sacramental to commuters?