Why does the year begin on January 1? We can thank the Romans for that. January 1 was the day that the new Roman Consuls took office. Since a new government would mean all kinds of new things, January 1 seemed like a good day to start the year. And because the government expected everyone in the Mediterranean world to rejoice and celebrate how wonderful the new government was going to be, New Year’s Day was observed as a holiday. In fact, everything that the Roman government said was presumed to be cause for rejoicing. St. Paul took the world “gospel” (or “good news”) from the phrase that normally began a decree from the emperor (Here is the good news from Rome).

Our new government takes office on January 20, and, like the Romans of old, we are not sure if that is all good news. Clearly the people of the United States were frustrated with government business as usual and rising prices; but some of the announced plans of the incoming administration (like massive deportations and the abandonment of efforts to curb global warming) conflict directly with Catholic teaching. I am personally troubled by the effort to throw shade on vaccines. I am one of the kids who predate the measles vaccine, and I almost died at seven, when complications from the measles infected my brain (and as many people have pointed out, I have not been the same since).

At Assumption the year 2024 began with the arrival of the new pews and it ended with the arrival of the matching ambo (pulpit). Of course, a beautiful church without people or ministry is just a museum. The challenge of building community and being good servants to the world in which we live remains a central task as we move into 2025. To put it in its simplest terms: How do we remain relevant in a rapidly changing world? The central message of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection is eternally relevant, but that message is not always packaged in a way that is perceived as relevant. The other day I came across some notes I took at a Chicago priests’ meeting in 2019, the year before the pandemic. At that time, Mass attendance in the Archdiocese had declined 27% since 2000. It would decline another 20% as a result of the three month COVID shut down and the many months of limitations and restrictions that followed. During that time a lot of people figured out that they did not miss the church community or receiving communion all that much. They have continued to stay home or perhaps just watch Mass on television.

At that meeting in 2019, a speaker detailed the results of a survey among young adults about why they no longer find Christian churches relevant. The top five reasons were: (1) They are isolated from the world. Priests and ministers condemn things they do not understand; (2) Shallowness. There is no real opportunity to meet Christ or God at Services; (3) Sex. Churches are simplistic and judgmental; (4) Exclusivity. In a pluralistic and multi-cultural age, people should not have to choose between their church and their friends; and (5) Doubt. Church is not a safe place to express doubt or ask questions about traditional beliefs.

As I look at that list five years later, the underlying message seems to be: “We find churches clubby and impersonal. You don’t care what we think; you only care about what you think; since we don’t fit in here, we will go on our own private spiritual journey.” How do we change that? Well, not with a new banner out front or a new mission statement on our bulletin, or sermon about being friendly. The only thing that will actually bridge that gap are people—people who refuse to live up to the Christian stereotype found in this survey, people actually willing to engage in a conversation with a potential newcomer, people who are not afraid to acknowledge their struggles with faith during hard times, people who delight in learning about the life-experience of someone from a world far different from their own. Yes, of course, church teachings matter and they have to be openly presented; but church teachings will surely sound different if one has already met a real person who has made peace with them and even embraced them. So, as we move into the new year, if the opportunity presents itself to engage with someone who is “church shopping,” whether after Mass or at Hospitality or at work or in the checkout line at Jewel, take the risk of letting them get to know you. Hospitality is not the job of the Hospitality Committee or the Hospitality Ministers or the Evangelization Team or the Alpha Team. Everyone is really called to be a Minister of Hospitality. We only learn what other people really need or are passionate about or believe the church should be doing by listening to them.

                   Fr. Joe