catholicsphere

Last night our local news carried a story about the growing popularity of Evangelical “megachurches”. I’m a little more than “a stone’s throw” away from one of America’s better known megachurches, Willow Creek. This church has attracted many former Catholics to its services … such as the couple in the story linked above.

Laurie Guest was Catholic, her husband Jim Guest a Methodist. Now they attend Willow Creek.

“I like going there because they take biblical scriptures and they apply it to everyday life. It has more meaning,” Jim said.

“I think that’s why so many people keep coming back because it’s a message from the Bible, but then they go right into how you can apply it to your life,” Laurie said.

I found the commentary a bit interesting, and wondered about the “relavance” of the “message” of the “typical homily” at Mass.

In my parish, when I first started attending there about 7 years ago after we moved to a new area, people were reading the bulletin or not paying attention during the homily. About 3 years ago, a new pastor was installed, and I’ve noticed this happens rarely, if at all.

But I’ve been to other parishes, and they lack that relevance and the strong biblical and pastoral message that I find in my parish. I’m wondering about other people’s experiences.

Now, I know that Mass isn’t supposed to be about “the homily”, but about worship in truth; the fullness of the Liturgy. We always say that “Mass is not a bible study” … but, I think that those that are being lost to these Evangelical churches are lost because they want (and need!) a “message” — and because their lives are so busy with all the “other stuff of life”, they need it in the hour or hour and a half that they spend in church each week; rather than just meted-out in small groups and bible studies.

From what I’m seeing, people get involved in these things — if they are available — only after they get the messages that make them hungry for more. Is that happening at your church?