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New column: Catholics of a Certain Age . . .
(POSTED 7/31/09) Just at that time at a party, when after the consumption of a few glasses of wine, a group of us "Catholics of a Certain Age" break into a heartfelt rendition of The Catholic Action Song: "An army of youth, flying the standard of TRUTH, we're marching for Christ the Lord . . ." or compete to see who can still sing the entire Mass in Latin, or someone declares, "Let's have a May Crowning!," my dear friend Susan sighs and says, "All this will die with us." I usually raise an eyebrow and retort, "So be it!"
But, the truth of it is, I love it all . . . the music, the ritual, the memories . . . as shared history and culture, as nostalgia, as a return to an age of innocence. One of the few non-Catholic spouses in our midst would always say after yet another party May Crowning, "You all look like you're twelve again!"
And even though we came of age at the time of Vatican II, and were the personification of those proverbial windows that Pope John XXIII threw open with the Second Vatican Council, even with our activist, liberal, sixties perspective of the world, what had been imprinted on our hearts and minds, and even, as the good sisters would say, indelibly on our souls, was the melodic rhythm of the Latin, the hidden ancient mysteries of the words and gestures, the other-worldliness of the statutes and the usually larger-than-life crucifix, the eerie play of light and colors from the stained glass windows, the sounds of chant and bells, the lingering smells of incense and burning candles, and even the reverberating echoes that a fallen kneeler or a dropped coin would make in the cavernous, musty edifices of that "old Church." And, it is this early imprinting I believe, that to this day, makes us love the Church.
Now, don't get me wrong . . . I do not under any circumstances want to live, worship or experience that old Church in my real life. It would not be meaningful, spiritually nourishing or life-affirming to me now. But, it did for many of my generation what the New Church has not done for my children’s generation. That New Church, which we worked so hard to create as an authentic Gospel-centered experience for ourselves and our children, complete with Montessori-based children's catechesis in beautifully appointed "atriums" and teen programs with action and substance, that New Church is NOT loved by them. They can walk away. Many of them HAVE walked away. It is not that they don't love God, or have spiritual lives, or aren't committed to what they may or may not recognize as Catholic social teachings, it's the institution of Church they do not love, or miss, but instead, dismiss.
Many, when asked informally or formally for a religious affiliation, will say "Catholic," and they may choose a Catholic wedding, but just as likely, they will opt for a ceremony they put together themselves: a little of this and a little of that: Catholicism, Buddhism, Native American spirituality, a lot of humanism, and a presider who may be a friend, a married priest friend they've known most of their lives, a woman who is a beloved relative or former teacher, and who, in their minds, should be a priest even if she isn't. As one young couple, both from very Catholic families, explained recently, "We don't have a parish or know any priests, and why would we want the only stranger at our wedding to be the presider?"
They are impressive young adults, raising amazing children, and a good number of them will have these children baptized in the Catholic Church . . . sometimes for the sake of their parents, but often because that's what they know to do, and as their children get older, some do return as Sunday Mass goers -- sometimes as a "try out" that doesn't last, but others do find a home, often in the same faith-based Catholic Community in which they grew up, or in one of the parishes known to be welcoming and responsive to thirtysomething year olds. But, rarely is their involvement and commitment (or love) anywhere near as strong as that of their parents. For, while they have not rejected what we offered them as a childhood experience of church community, they have rejected any identification or connection to the hierarchical institution. And, if they think or speak much at all of their parents' lifelong commitment to "reform" the Church, they probably consider it quaint and pointless . . . and just one of those things that parents who came of age in the sixties do. So be it.
By Margaret Field, a Chicago-area Catholic who was involved in Vatican II reform and renewal efforts.
Contact: meafield@comcast.net
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