35 years ago i was a senior in a religion class in a catholic high school in the bronx, ny. it was post vatican II. I was longing for catholic answers to social problems. My teacher most times in our class opened up these questions to the students.
Each day, I heard the opinions of 35
fellow students vis=a=vis abortion, celibacy, etc.
I was not the sharpest knife in the drawer but how i longed for my instructor to instruct.
Instead she deferred to the students. Each day, the teacher asked for eveyone's opinion. So for an entire school year i listened to 17 year old opinions on abortion, celebicy, etc.
What a lost opportunity.
i suppose this was a 1970's version of catholic lite. In defense of my teacher, she and the our school, indeed the entire catholic church as well as our entire country, were trying to come to terms with vatican II , woodstock, and the entire social upheaval of our country with Vietnam and those terrible assasinations. It was a crazy time, and i understand that.
thanks for this blog. And please
do not lose hope.
it is someone like you who will drill down to the core of our church and hopefully promote change for the good.

I find the Mass to be less than inspiring. Growing up Catholic and nearing my sixth decade of life, I've seen the transition from the pre-Vatican 2 ritual to the inclusiveness and more relevant years following V2, to the slow slide to the sad state of uninspired leadership in the Church today.

The lame music is atrocious - a real turnoff; and even worse, there is a LOT of it! Repetitious, bland, syrupy, blah.

Then there is the suburban-style homily, specially timed to allow the kiddos whose parents would rather spend $ on boats, granite countertops, and big SUV's than Catholic school, to attend religion classes without the inconvenience of a second trip to a church-related function.

It's disgusting - no wonder so many stay away from Mass except for Easter & Christmas!

Fantastic.

If you want good preaching - check out this Dominican. Which makes sense, since the Domincans are the "Order of Preachers."

http://hancaquam.blogspot.com/2007/09/growing-up-to-be-what-you-love-most.html

He has a great post on ministry to folks your age here:

http://hancaquam.blogspot.com/2007/09/kids-these-days-what-they-dont-want.html

From his post:

There’s a lot of hand-wringing over the sharp decline in youth participation in the Church in the last few decades. I won’t go into the stats b/c I have always believed that Math is of the Devil…

How do we in ecclesial leadership (lay and ordained) get young people into the pews these days?

I’m in a very unusual situation here at the University of Dallas. Our Catholic student population is (for the most part) a self-selected group of young people who yearn for a more traditional spirituality and liturgical life. Our job in campus ministry is less about “getting them to church” as it is about getting them to see the Church as truly catholic. Frankly, I’d rather find myself having to teach the fullness of the faith to more “conservative” Catholics than having to defend the faith against secularist/modernist doubts planted by the ever-elusive, always-changing “Spirit of Vatican Two.”

Here’s what works for us:

Teach the apostolic faith full on…no compromises on basic doctrine or dogma. This generation of college students can smell an intellectual/spiritual weasel a hundred miles away. They would rather hear the bald-faced Truth and struggle with it than listen to a priest/minister try to sugar-coat a difficult teaching in the vain search for popularity or “hipness.”

Preach the gospel full on…ditto. Tell it like it is and let the students grow in holiness. Yes, they will fail. Who doesn’t? But let them fail knowing what Christ and his Church expects of them. Lowering the moral bar comes across as expecting too little from them. What does that say about the Church’s view of our future ecclesial leaders? They can’t cut it, so we have to shorten the race.

Give them charitable work to do…present this work as a kind of “churchy social work” and they will not stay away in droves. I regularly cite Matthew 25 as my scriptural backing for asking them to do volunteer work in the community. Frankly, They have been beaten with the Social Justice-Work stick all their lives and most of what they hear sounds like the socio-economic engineering agenda of a modernist, socialist political party. This is attractive to some, but my experience is that students yearn for a chance to do something Truly Good for their community. If their leaders loudly and proudly attach volunteer work to the Gospels as a an exercise in charity rather than an experiment in social engineering, they will come.

Challenge them intellectually…these are smarts kids. They want to know what the Church teaches and why. They don’t always agree with the Church. Fine. Coming to holiness through obedience is a long, long road for some (..even for Dominican friars who try really hard!). They aren’t afraid of tough texts or difficult arguments. Just give them the documents, read along with them, answer questions honestly and clearly, and let them make the choices they will be responsible for. You have no control over what they will come to believe or practice. Fortunately, that’s not our task. Jesus said, “Preach and teach the gospel.” He said nothing about punishing those who will not hear or see.

Feed them…they’re poor and hungry. Yes, I mean feed them spiritually, but I also mean feed them literally—food, drink, and fellowship do amazing things for students on budgets and for students who have endured slap-dash catechesis and dumbed-down, irreverent liturgy.

Fantastic.

If you want good preaching - check out this Dominican. Which makes sense, since the Domincans are the "Order of Preachers."

http://hancaquam.blogspot.com/2007/09/growing-up-to-be-what-you-love-most.html

He has a great post on ministry to folks your age here:

http://hancaquam.blogspot.com/2007/09/kids-these-days-what-they-dont-want.html

There’s a lot of hand-wringing over the sharp decline in youth participation in the Church in the last few decades. I won’t go into the stats b/c I have always believed that Math is of the Devil…

How do we in ecclesial leadership (lay and ordained) get young people into the pews these days?

I’m in a very unusual situation here at the University of Dallas. Our Catholic student population is (for the most part) a self-selected group of young people who yearn for a more traditional spirituality and liturgical life. Our job in campus ministry is less about “getting them to church” as it is about getting them to see the Church as truly catholic. Frankly, I’d rather find myself having to teach the fullness of the faith to more “conservative” Catholics than having to defend the faith against secularist/modernist doubts planted by the ever-elusive, always-changing “Spirit of Vatican Two.”

Here’s what works for us:

Teach the apostolic faith full on…no compromises on basic doctrine or dogma. This generation of college students can smell an intellectual/spiritual weasel a hundred miles away. They would rather hear the bald-faced Truth and struggle with it than listen to a priest/minister try to sugar-coat a difficult teaching in the vain search for popularity or “hipness.”

Preach the gospel full on…ditto. Tell it like it is and let the students grow in holiness. Yes, they will fail. Who doesn’t? But let them fail knowing what Christ and his Church expects of them. Lowering the moral bar comes across as expecting too little from them. What does that say about the Church’s view of our future ecclesial leaders? They can’t cut it, so we have to shorten the race.

Give them charitable work to do…present this work as a kind of “churchy social work” and they will not stay away in droves. I regularly cite Matthew 25 as my scriptural backing for asking them to do volunteer work in the community. Frankly, They have been beaten with the Social Justice-Work stick all their lives and most of what they hear sounds like the socio-economic engineering agenda of a modernist, socialist political party. This is attractive to some, but my experience is that students yearn for a chance to do something Truly Good for their community. If their leaders loudly and proudly attach volunteer work to the Gospels as a an exercise in charity rather than an experiment in social engineering, they will come.

Challenge them intellectually…these are smarts kids. They want to know what the Church teaches and why. They don’t always agree with the Church. Fine. Coming to holiness through obedience is a long, long road for some (..even for Dominican friars who try really hard!). They aren’t afraid of tough texts or difficult arguments. Just give them the documents, read along with them, answer questions honestly and clearly, and let them make the choices they will be responsible for. You have no control over what they will come to believe or practice. Fortunately, that’s not our task. Jesus said, “Preach and teach the gospel.” He said nothing about punishing those who will not hear or see.

Feed them…they’re poor and hungry. Yes, I mean feed them spiritually, but I also mean feed them literally—food, drink, and fellowship do amazing things for students on budgets and for students who have endured slap-dash catechesis and dumbed-down, irreverent liturgy.

Spot on. I will add, however, that one reason I became a regular at the traditional Latin Mass at my church (a legit "indult" Mass, btw) was that, in addition to the worship that was really worship, I found homilies that were really homilies--meaty, challenging, unapologetic. Thanks for a great post.

Colin: Times change, that's true, and that is why the message CANNOT change. Christ is Eternal, the same past, present and future. Illiteracy is an important thing to work against. It is NOT more important that upholding the sacredness of life or recalling the sacramental nature of marriage.

The whole point here is to be challenged to live the Gospel, not to live, "the gospel with adaptations to the times..." That's not a challenge at all. You seem to think the big challenge that should be made to Catholics is to not be so damn Catholic, after all!

Pope: Sunday Worship a "Necessity" For All
September 17, 2007 | From theTrumpet.com

Pope Benedict XVI says your life depends upon worshiping on Sunday.

"Sine dominico non possumus!" "Without Sunday [worship] we cannot live!" Pope Benedict xvi declared during a mass on September 9 at St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna.

Speaking on the final day of his three-day visit to Austria, the German pope voiced a strong call for Christians to revive Sunday keeping as an all-important religious practice.

"Give the soul its Sunday, give Sunday its soul," he chanted before a rain-soaked crowd of 40,000.

Benedict said that Sunday, which he stated has its origin as "the day of the dawning of creation," was "also the church's weekly feast of creation."

Warning against the evils of allowing Sunday to become just a part of the weekend, the pope said people needed to have a spiritual focus during the first day of the week, or else leisure time would just become wasted time.

Sunday worship, he warned, was not just a "precept" to be casually adhered to, but a "necessity" for all people.

In the opening greeting, the archbishop of Vienna said a movement in Austria had been initiated to protect "Sunday from tendencies to empty [it] of its meaning."

In Austria, most businesses are restricted from operating on Sunday. However, some business groups are pressuring the government to be allowed to open, a move Roman Catholic groups vehemently oppose.

During Benedict's trip to Austria, he called for Europe to look to its Christian roots, to trust in God and to defend traditional values.

The pope has been very vocal about Europe's Christian-or Catholic-roots, and is pushing to have them included in the European Constitution. Although laws concerning Sunday worship are currently determined by individual nations, look for the European Union to eventually gain jurisdiction over the work week-which is one big reason the Catholic Church is so intimately involved with the evolution of the EU. For more on the Catholic Church and Europe, read "The Pope Trumpets Sunday" by the Trumpet's editor in chief. .

-----------------------

"Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come (the return of Christ), except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exaltheth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God." 2 Thessalonians 2:3,4

"If protestants would follow the Bible, they should worship God on the Sabbath Day. In keeping the Sunday they are following a law of the Catholic Church."--Albert Smith, chancellor of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, replying for the cardinal in a letter of Feb. 10, 1920.

Does the Papacy acknowledge changing the seventh-day Sabbath? It does. The Catechismus Romanus was commanded by the Council of Trent and published by the Vatican Press, by order of Pope Pius V, in 1566. This catechism for the priests says: "It pleased the church of God, that the religious celebration of the Sabbath day should be transferred to 'the Lord's day.'--Catechism of the Council of Trent (Donovan's translation, 1867), part 3, chap. 4, p. 345. The same, in slightly different wording is in the McHugh and Callan translation (1937 ed.), p. 402. "Question: How prove you that the Church hath power to command feasts and holydays? "Answer: By the very act of changing the Sabbath into Sunday, which Protestants allow of; and therefore they fondly contradict themselves, by keeping Sunday strictly, and breaking most other feasts commanded by the same Church."--Henry Tuberville, An Abridgment of the Christian Doctrine (1833 approbation), p. 58. (Same statement in Manual of Christian Doctrine, ed. by Daniel Ferris {1916 ed.}, p. 67.) "Question: Have you any other way of proving that the Church has power to institute festivals of precept? "Answer: Had she not such power, she could not have done that in which all modern religionists agree with her; she could not have substituted the observance of Sunday, the first day of the week, for the observance of Saturday the seventh day, a change for which there is no Scriptural authority." Stephen Keenan, A Doctrinal Catechism (3d ed.), p. 174. "The Catholic Church,...by virtue of her divine mission, changed the day from Saturday to Sunday."--The Catholic Mirror, official organ of Cardinal Gibbons, Sept. 23, 1893. "Question: Is Saturday the 7th day according to the Bible & the Ten Commandments? Answer: I answer yes. "Question: Is Sunday the first day of the week & did the Church change the 7th day--Saturday--for Sunday, the 1st day: Answer: "I answer yes." "Question: Did Christ change the day? Answer: I answer no! Faithfully yours, "J. Card. Gibbons"--Gibbons autograph letter.

"But in vain they do worship me, teaching for the doctrines the commandments of men." Matthew 15:9

The mark of the beast in the "forehead" represents mental assent to the church's belief and behavior. The mark in the "hand" represents activity carried on in harmony with such beliefs. A person's "forehead" or mind may not approve what his or her "hand" does, but actions speak louder than words. And we shall be judged by what we do.

Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, "We ought to obey God rather than men." Acts 5:29

Pope: Sunday Worship a "Necessity" For All
September 17, 2007 | From theTrumpet.com

Pope Benedict XVI says your life depends upon worshiping on Sunday.

"Sine dominico non possumus!" "Without Sunday [worship] we cannot live!" Pope Benedict xvi declared during a mass on September 9 at St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna.

Speaking on the final day of his three-day visit to Austria, the German pope voiced a strong call for Christians to revive Sunday keeping as an all-important religious practice.

"Give the soul its Sunday, give Sunday its soul," he chanted before a rain-soaked crowd of 40,000.

Benedict said that Sunday, which he stated has its origin as "the day of the dawning of creation," was "also the church's weekly feast of creation."

Warning against the evils of allowing Sunday to become just a part of the weekend, the pope said people needed to have a spiritual focus during the first day of the week, or else leisure time would just become wasted time.

Sunday worship, he warned, was not just a "precept" to be casually adhered to, but a "necessity" for all people.

In the opening greeting, the archbishop of Vienna said a movement in Austria had been initiated to protect "Sunday from tendencies to empty [it] of its meaning."

In Austria, most businesses are restricted from operating on Sunday. However, some business groups are pressuring the government to be allowed to open, a move Roman Catholic groups vehemently oppose.

During Benedict's trip to Austria, he called for Europe to look to its Christian roots, to trust in God and to defend traditional values.

The pope has been very vocal about Europe's Christian-or Catholic-roots, and is pushing to have them included in the European Constitution. Although laws concerning Sunday worship are currently determined by individual nations, look for the European Union to eventually gain jurisdiction over the work week-which is one big reason the Catholic Church is so intimately involved with the evolution of the EU. For more on the Catholic Church and Europe, read "The Pope Trumpets Sunday" by the Trumpet's editor in chief. .

-----------------------

"Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come (the return of Christ), except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exaltheth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God." 2 Thessalonians 2:3,4

"If protestants would follow the Bible, they should worship God on the Sabbath Day. In keeping the Sunday they are following a law of the Catholic Church."--Albert Smith, chancellor of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, replying for the cardinal in a letter of Feb. 10, 1920.

Does the Papacy acknowledge changing the seventh-day Sabbath? It does. The Catechismus Romanus was commanded by the Council of Trent and published by the Vatican Press, by order of Pope Pius V, in 1566. This catechism for the priests says: "It pleased the church of God, that the religious celebration of the Sabbath day should be transferred to 'the Lord's day.'--Catechism of the Council of Trent (Donovan's translation, 1867), part 3, chap. 4, p. 345. The same, in slightly different wording is in the McHugh and Callan translation (1937 ed.), p. 402. "Question: How prove you that the Church hath power to command feasts and holydays? "Answer: By the very act of changing the Sabbath into Sunday, which Protestants allow of; and therefore they fondly contradict themselves, by keeping Sunday strictly, and breaking most other feasts commanded by the same Church."--Henry Tuberville, An Abridgment of the Christian Doctrine (1833 approbation), p. 58. (Same statement in Manual of Christian Doctrine, ed. by Daniel Ferris {1916 ed.}, p. 67.) "Question: Have you any other way of proving that the Church has power to institute festivals of precept? "Answer: Had she not such power, she could not have done that in which all modern religionists agree with her; she could not have substituted the observance of Sunday, the first day of the week, for the observance of Saturday the seventh day, a change for which there is no Scriptural authority." Stephen Keenan, A Doctrinal Catechism (3d ed.), p. 174. "The Catholic Church,...by virtue of her divine mission, changed the day from Saturday to Sunday."--The Catholic Mirror, official organ of Cardinal Gibbons, Sept. 23, 1893. "Question: Is Saturday the 7th day according to the Bible & the Ten Commandments? Answer: I answer yes. "Question: Is Sunday the first day of the week & did the Church change the 7th day--Saturday--for Sunday, the 1st day: Answer: "I answer yes." "Question: Did Christ change the day? Answer: I answer no! Faithfully yours, "J. Card. Gibbons"--Gibbons autograph letter.

"But in vain they do worship me, teaching for the doctrines the commandments of men." Matthew 15:9

The mark of the beast in the "forehead" represents mental assent to the church's belief and behavior. The mark in the "hand" represents activity carried on in harmony with such beliefs. A person's "forehead" or mind may not approve what his or her "hand" does, but actions speak louder than words. And we shall be judged by what we do.

Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, "We ought to obey God rather than men." Acts 5:29

Pope: Sunday Worship a "Necessity" For All
September 17, 2007 | From theTrumpet.com

Pope Benedict XVI says your life depends upon worshiping on Sunday.

"Sine dominico non possumus!" "Without Sunday [worship] we cannot live!" Pope Benedict xvi declared during a mass on September 9 at St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna.

Speaking on the final day of his three-day visit to Austria, the German pope voiced a strong call for Christians to revive Sunday keeping as an all-important religious practice.

"Give the soul its Sunday, give Sunday its soul," he chanted before a rain-soaked crowd of 40,000.

Benedict said that Sunday, which he stated has its origin as "the day of the dawning of creation," was "also the church's weekly feast of creation."

Warning against the evils of allowing Sunday to become just a part of the weekend, the pope said people needed to have a spiritual focus during the first day of the week, or else leisure time would just become wasted time.

Sunday worship, he warned, was not just a "precept" to be casually adhered to, but a "necessity" for all people.

In the opening greeting, the archbishop of Vienna said a movement in Austria had been initiated to protect "Sunday from tendencies to empty [it] of its meaning."

In Austria, most businesses are restricted from operating on Sunday. However, some business groups are pressuring the government to be allowed to open, a move Roman Catholic groups vehemently oppose.

During Benedict's trip to Austria, he called for Europe to look to its Christian roots, to trust in God and to defend traditional values.

The pope has been very vocal about Europe's Christian-or Catholic-roots, and is pushing to have them included in the European Constitution. Although laws concerning Sunday worship are currently determined by individual nations, look for the European Union to eventually gain jurisdiction over the work week-which is one big reason the Catholic Church is so intimately involved with the evolution of the EU. For more on the Catholic Church and Europe, read "The Pope Trumpets Sunday" by the Trumpet's editor in chief. .

-----------------------

"Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come (the return of Christ), except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exaltheth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God." 2 Thessalonians 2:3,4

"If protestants would follow the Bible, they should worship God on the Sabbath Day. In keeping the Sunday they are following a law of the Catholic Church."--Albert Smith, chancellor of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, replying for the cardinal in a letter of Feb. 10, 1920.

Does the Papacy acknowledge changing the seventh-day Sabbath? It does. The Catechismus Romanus was commanded by the Council of Trent and published by the Vatican Press, by order of Pope Pius V, in 1566. This catechism for the priests says: "It pleased the church of God, that the religious celebration of the Sabbath day should be transferred to 'the Lord's day.'--Catechism of the Council of Trent (Donovan's translation, 1867), part 3, chap. 4, p. 345. The same, in slightly different wording is in the McHugh and Callan translation (1937 ed.), p. 402. "Question: How prove you that the Church hath power to command feasts and holydays? "Answer: By the very act of changing the Sabbath into Sunday, which Protestants allow of; and therefore they fondly contradict themselves, by keeping Sunday strictly, and breaking most other feasts commanded by the same Church."--Henry Tuberville, An Abridgment of the Christian Doctrine (1833 approbation), p. 58. (Same statement in Manual of Christian Doctrine, ed. by Daniel Ferris {1916 ed.}, p. 67.) "Question: Have you any other way of proving that the Church has power to institute festivals of precept? "Answer: Had she not such power, she could not have done that in which all modern religionists agree with her; she could not have substituted the observance of Sunday, the first day of the week, for the observance of Saturday the seventh day, a change for which there is no Scriptural authority." Stephen Keenan, A Doctrinal Catechism (3d ed.), p. 174. "The Catholic Church,...by virtue of her divine mission, changed the day from Saturday to Sunday."--The Catholic Mirror, official organ of Cardinal Gibbons, Sept. 23, 1893. "Question: Is Saturday the 7th day according to the Bible & the Ten Commandments? Answer: I answer yes. "Question: Is Sunday the first day of the week & did the Church change the 7th day--Saturday--for Sunday, the 1st day: Answer: "I answer yes." "Question: Did Christ change the day? Answer: I answer no! Faithfully yours, "J. Card. Gibbons"--Gibbons autograph letter.

"But in vain they do worship me, teaching for the doctrines the commandments of men." Matthew 15:9

The mark of the beast in the "forehead" represents mental assent to the church's belief and behavior. The mark in the "hand" represents activity carried on in harmony with such beliefs. A person's "forehead" or mind may not approve what his or her "hand" does, but actions speak louder than words. And we shall be judged by what we do.

Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, "We ought obey God rather than men." Acts 5:29

Great post. (I love the John Mayer reference, haha.)

And I see what you mean by "watered-down" faith. While Islam has a whole different set of problems, somewhat related to this, I still have an inherent understanding of what you mean.

I grew up in a predominately white, Christian society. And it seemed that religion, and being faithful to religion, was never a challenge. That there was nothing to be examined, or no inner battle that showed on the outside. I take that not everyone viewed their faith this way, but I wonder why it's not discussed more.

Thanks for writing this.

Thank you Elizabeth Tenety. You have opened a great conversation. For myself, I grew up Catholic and am now what one would consider Protestant. However I prefer Non-Denominational. Here is my take on the issue. There are good things which can be found in all of the different denominations of Christianity. The key is, all Christianity should constantly be growing. If one studies church history you'll see each church started out embracing new truth revealed by God to His believers. Churches grew along with its members. Then as generations came and went the power was lost and the movement settled into doing things the same way. The Catholic Church was an outgrowth of the early Apostolic Church. The first Protestant Church came out of The Catholic Church, and so forth. So the question is, what are today's believers to do? Where can we find a church and other believers which cherish the truths that God has revealed over time while still allowing the ever present living God to take us and be real in our hearts? We need to pray and look. If we are sincere God will show you where to go to church. You will find believers who love God, where the message challanges us, where there is living worship and praise, the taking of the Lord's Supper, real prayer, involvement by the congregation, everything. In churches like these the members have personal relationships with their God that's 24/7.

Thank you Elizabeth Tenety. You have opened a great conversation. For myself, I grew up Catholic and am now what one would consider Protestant. However I prefer Non-Denominational. Here is my take on the issue. There are good things which can be found in all of the different denominations of Christianity. The key is, all Christianity should constantly be growing. If one studies church history you'll see each church started out embracing new truth revealed by God to His believers. Churches grew along with its members. Then as generations came and went the power was lost and the movement settled into doing things the same way. The Catholic Church was an outgrowth of the early Apostolic Church. The first Protestant Church came out of The Catholic Church, and so forth. So the question is, what are today's believers to do? Where can we find a church and other believers which cherish the truths that God has revealed over time while still allowing the ever present living God to take us and be real in our hearts? We need to pray and look. If we are sincere God will show you where to go to church. You will find believers who love God, where the message challanges us, where there is living worship and praise, the taking of the Lord's Supper, real prayer, involvement by the congregation, everything. In churches like these the members have personal relationships with their God that's 24/7.

Thank you Elizabeth Tenety. You have opened a great conversation. For myself, I grew up Catholic and am now what one would consider Protestant. However I prefer Non-Denominational. Here is my take on the issue. There are good things which can be found in all of the different denominations of Christianity. The key is, all Christianity should constantly be growing. If one studies church history you'll see each church started out embracing new truth revealed by God to His believers. Churches grew along with its members. Then as generations came and went the power was lost and the movement settled into doing things the same way. The Catholic Church was an outgrowth of the early Apostolic Church. The first Protestant Church came out of The Catholic Church, and so forth. So the question is, what are today's believers to do? Where can we find a church and other believers which cherish the truths that God has revealed over time while still allowing the ever present living God to take us and be real in our hearts? We need to pray and look. If we are sincere God will show you where to go to church. You will find believers who love God, where the message challanges us, where there is living worship and praise, the taking of the Lord's Supper, real prayer, involvement by the congregation, everything. In churches like these the members have personal relationships with their God that's 24/7.

I am sorry you feel that the Christianity preached at Mass is "lame" and that your family jokes about the "bland predictability of homilies." That is unfortunate. You're a bit young and seem to be suffering from an inferiority complex with your Protestant friends. You see, for many Protestants, my wife included, the highlight of Sunday service is the sermon. Monday morning small talk consists of "What did you think of pastor x's sermon yesterday?" or "Pastor sure can preach." But for Catholics, that is far from the point of the Mass. The Mass serves two purposes for Catholics. We come to worship the Lord, Jesus Christ who died for our sins. That includes hearing the Word and general confession. The highlight of the Mass, however, is the Eucharist, where we take in the Real Presence of Our Lord. For us the Eucharist, the Body of Christ, is the source and summit of our lives. A man, who is now a priest, once mentioned that the Eucharist is C.O.O.L.--Center Of Our Lives. I suspect if you are looking for lively music and for popular music, you might be more comfortable in a Protestant or Evangelical service. However, you might just think again about what the Mass is really all about and what being Catholic means. God Bless.

Right on. Great Post. I am glad to see that young people intuitively understand that something weird is going on in the church.

Most of all, priests nowadays refuse to teach the Catholic religion.

There is so much there to get across - and so much of it is rich and full and accurate and deeply true.

Yet, week after week, we get the "Love" sermon.

In the 1960's, 70's and 80's, The seminaries started turning out men who thought that their job was to dismantle Catholicism, to push for married priests and woman priests. These were their great "improvements" on Catholicism.

In the process, they ignored 2,000 years of highly developed doctrine that studied and explained the human condition. Over time, what made peopel REALLY happy was gradually understood. It took a disciplined life; one where you ruled yourself rather than let yourself be a slave to your times.

All that was thrown away.

They began asking for nothing, except a soft, soapy, "love" that was never defined, never brought down into the real world. They invited the goofs with their guitars, singing vapid songs that no one knew how to sing. The church was drained of its vitality.

Some really believed that Vatican II was a call to let the liberals run the church and mash it apart, any way they liked. Generally, these people had not read the documents or only read the parts they liked.

Things have now changed - my local church will dare to talk about abortion and other Catholic doctrines. But it only came about when the generation of priests that caused the scandals were slowly dying out, replaced by more level headed gentlemen.

Their sermons are infinitely better, too.

For the record I'm an atheist raised as a UCC Protestant. I gave up Christianity not because I was disillusioned with the institution. Rather, I had life experiences that confirmed to me that a soul is a fantasy. Ergo all salvation-based religions are fantasies.

That said, I still find it remarkable how firmly Catholics, like Muslims, essentially believe in apostasy. "If I don't believe in Rome, I cannot believe in Christianity." Likewise with evangelizing, fundamentalist Protestants and their notion that everyone who doesn't believe in the exact words of the Gospels is doomed to Hell.

Ms. Tenety, if you want to stay religious and Christian, try out liberal Protestantism - the Unitarian Church, the United Church of Christ, Presbyterianism, more liberal variants of Baptist to name a few. The roots of these churches in North America can be traced further than any other Old World religion. They take as intellectual an approach as is possible in Xianity. They've had a greater role in shaping America's concept of democracy and individuality than any other religious group. Not only might you get challenged in your faith (imagine being in a UCC church where gays and lesbians are ordained!!), but you'll develop a better understanding of the genesis of America itself in a way that you'll never learn from Catholicism, Islam, Mormonism, etc. As for their endowment to American intellectualism - just pick out ten or twelve of your most famous universities east of the Mississippi and find out how many have a common source of origin with liberal Protestantism. There's plenty of challenge out there, but you have to take the first step and FOR THE LOVE OF GOD (literally), GO SOMEWHERE ELSE!!

im a a 20 years old young catholic christian. i dont know why im very enthusiastic about my faith, but i always have this burning faith in me. i cannot find any why to leave the church that provides me the Eucharist, no way that i will be satisfy by just preaching about Jesus, but by lisneting to the WorD of God and recieving Jesus. i dont know but i will never fall out of my faith because the Holy Spirit gives me the gift of understanding so the history of the church, its unbreakable connection to the earliest Christians and the ultimate remembrance Jesus gave us, his body and blood are very clear in my mind and heart.plus, i have a very powerful parish where i worship at, our pastors give moving homily that you can relate to your daily lives, i see that beaty of God's people in our diverse communion of catholic christians, we have an excellent outreach programs and wonderful choir, we have drums , hand clapping and gospel music. my church inspires us to come to church Sunday after Sunday. i KNOW THAT it doesnt happen like that to every catholic parish all over the country, thats why some or a good numbers of catholic left the church because they thought its boring or they want to hear more preaching. but God Has been good to me to have my heart enlighten and that Jesus revealed his grace through his reminder to recieve Him through the Eucharist.HE his my life and my spiritual nourishment.I am inspired by the words and story of a famous presbyterain preacher, that even helped catholics to leave the church through his preaching, but God is good,he became catholic After an intense studies and struggle, he eventually realized the reality of Covenant, that even IN OLD TESTAMENT HEBREWS use a banquet or a meal as a symbol of a family gathering and loyalty to each other.JESUS IN the New testament useed the supper and food to be a remembrance of him and He is trully present in the Eucharist. In the GOSPEL OF sT jOHN Jesus MADE A PROMISE, tRULLY, TRULY, I SAY TO YOU UNLESS YOU EAT MY BODY AND DRINK MY BLOOD WILL WILL NOT GOING TO HAVE ETERNAL LIFE. When Jesus said Trully ,Trully, he is making a concreate assurance. in jewish tradition, saying such words is like swearing and a serious promise, thats why many of His disciple left Him when they heard this because they cannot accept what Jesus was promising and it is clear untill this days how many couldnt and wouldnt believe about this definite assurance of our Lord, me in my young age I found the truth like a precious treasure i will never leave the Eucharist, that im a part of a covenant meal and i will ever be true to Jesus's remembrance and to the communion of my christian family. I hope the holy spirit will give the give of understanding to those who cannot see this reality. I challenge every body that salvation that think that salvation can be granted by faith and bible alone... because st paul said to his letter to timothy that it is through church ,and i belive Jesus founded one that is still around AND I WILL be true to my Lord's church to assure my salvation.God is great and i love Him so much.

I don't have to be entertained in any way.
Give me a motivated preacher, a well thought-out
sermon and I'll listen for 2 hours.
I think too many people aren't prepared to hear
the Gospel, scripture, interpretation or
some other biblical message. It takes both
sides of the coin to make it of value -- the preacher and the hearer --and you'll be rewarded.

Whoa, let me backtrack.

I'm not a historian, but I think Handel was raised a Lutheran. Isn't he buried in Westminster, a very Church of England place? Aren't the Lyrics from the King James Bible? If so, I was told as a kid that I would be excommunicated for reading. (Perhaps I wouldn't have been, but I was told that by nuns who were quick on the theological trigger. )

Where's the Catholic connection?

I do remember the Missa Luba which was written in Latin in pre-Vatican II fashion. I heard it first from Father B, mentioned in my previous post.

Pax
Pete

Ms. Tenety,

You have a point -- a generation of disciples of Christ. Do you consider yourself a disciple of Christ?

We all want somebody to fix it and make it better. There is nobody else. That somebody is me... and you.

If you're old enough to be in graduate school, then you're old enough not to be spoon-fed. Stop blaming others -- you'll find the real world often falls short of the ideal. We're all fallen.

It's time to grow up and step into the breach. You are called to be a hero -- a saint.

It's a hard task. Often you'll feel like you going against the tide, and you'll feel alone and foolish. You are free to refuse, of course, but then you lose the right to complain.

All humanity seeks truth. But Truth is a person: Christ. Living with the sacraments is really living.

My ancestors were such intense Catholics that they fled Maryland in the late 1700's because of persecution by Protestants there. I attended 12 years of Catholic school, and have a brother who desires to be a priest. I found the Eucharist to be the most moving moment in my daily life, the time I felt closest to God. Yet I found much about Catholicism that I could not define, but that left me empty, even after charismatic prayer groups and Masses. I finally found the God I was seeking while attending a Baptist church. I joined the church choir and learned to really sing praise music - at the top of my lungs, to my great joy. I learned to raise my hands in praise when I was moved, and to actually SERVE in the church I attended. The joy I've found from real Christian fellowship is amazing, but the most important thing I've found is a deep relationship with Jesus, who I can testify is alive and responds. I still miss the Eucharist, the Protestants have no replacement for that, but I've found God daily by reading the Bible and praying. I look forward to the day Christ returns to this earth, and the best of all Christian religions will be united in Him.

You've hit on a really tough issue, but I think it's one that doesn't lead to the conclusion that you seek (i.e., that we must return to some earlier version of Christianity). Instead, it leads in a different direction: We must finally admit that the Bible is not an infallible source of infinite wisdom.

The Bible contains a lot of messages that most Americans---even those who are Christians---intuitively disagree with. For example, it tells people that dressing with two different types of cloth is a sin. It tells people to give away all of their money to the poor. One of the Bible's supposed wise kings had a thousand wives. God also endorses mass killings several times. The Bible also condemns homosexuality (though some Christians and non-Christians still agree with this argument).

If you think any of the above messages in the Bible is wrong, then here's a question for you: How do you know that something in the Bible is wrong? Is it because you have an inner sense of right and wrong, against which you judge everything else that you read? Aren't you implicitly admitting, then, that the Bible is not the highest authority on morality? There's something higher: Your own conscience (or, perhaps, the feelings that you get when you pray).

This doesn't mean that everything in the Bible is wrong. You might agree with many of its teachings even if you disagree with some of them. But it does show that the Bible isn't the infallible source of wisdom that many think it to be.

Christianity lite is a reaction to this problem. Pastors realize that most modern American Christians, if pressured to focus on the parts of the Bible that they disagree with, well end up questioning their faith. So they water down the teachings of the Bible, hoping that by making the Bible seem like it says only those things that our consciences agree with, we will believe that the Bible is an eternal source of wisdom. This is dishonest. We should admit that the Bible is not the infallible document that some believe it to be.

I was a baptist once, walking my grandmother to chuch and sleeping with my head on her lap as all transpired. I was also a catholic after marriage to satisfy a mother-in-law. Not much different than basic training in the military really but my life became eating from the Tree of Knowledge, even as a male.

Lame? An interesting description of religion or faith. Why lame? Even blind, deaf, dumb or even senseless would be more in accord with the article and comments perhaps. But whatever is used in religion is related to our senses and little to our thought. Faith, of course, unlike opinion or belief, is faith because it cannot be argued with, it is simply faith and the senses are used instead of intellect. Intelligent Design cannot fill the void that faith creates.

In that regard, language to me is humanities greatest achievement. Any preacher, be it Jesus or another, must use language for silence is religions death knell and without language we would still be painting animal pictures on cave walls, if even that. But what is the need for religion, how does it fit into the "essentials" for humans"
Of course, you must "tell me" if I AM TO FOLLOW.

If the above has any validity, before language, god did not exist, could not have spoken to us, only mystery and ignorance. Therefore, god did not create us, we created god with language. Don't get me wrong, I am not against morality, "feelings" that make life more tolerable, but they need more than a church or religion to work fully. But we cannot have pleasure without pain and difficulty, the one defines the other. The story of Adam and Eve has nothing to do with a god, it is a story of reality, that the earth we live on will give us difficulty a Garden of Eden cannot. Paradise would be anathema to humanity, it would not challenge us in any way and it would deny our most valuable human traits and return us to simple animals. The tree of knowledge? Consider those unfortunates with such limited mental capacity that they live in "hapiness". Poor souls, and I use soul as Plato might, our world of ideas.

Whether for their concept of good or evil,some desire to "have us follow them", not content to just live their lives and there is "reason" for that, it is thought out, and whether we agree or not, that is their intent. I like the idea of being near someone that can contribute to me, recognizing that, and "asking them" for their assistance, even in marriage.

Elizabeth; you started a conversation that has needed to be discussed for so many years. I agree that so much what is said from the pulpit is lame and does not challenge our youth. I also think the pool of candidates are a poor reflection of our priests who try and teach us the Gospel. Most of them are elderly and should have retired years ago...if these guys worked at GM they would have been encouraged to step down and take the early retirement plan. The sad fact is there is no one to take their place (another comment: we have loads of women who could do just as well). I agree about the music...it is watered down and painful to listen to. I use to wince listening to the guitar strumming off key chanting by overweight middle-age ex nuns and wonder where is the joy? Where is the spirit? I recently bought a CD by Mavis Staples on faith and listen to it religiously in my car and think: Yes! She gets it! I want to get it like she does!
Yet once a Catholic always a Catholic. I say it with great pride then wait for people to say WHY?
I'm not sure. It is what I know. I think we as a church have produced monsters and saints.
Keep it coming, Elizabeth. It is up to you to prod us,challenge us, and ask us why.

Elizabeth; you started a conversation that has needed to be discussed for so many years. I agree that so much what is said from the pulpit is lame and does not challenge our youth. I also think the pool of candidates are a poor reflection of our priests who try and teach us the Gospel. Most of them are elderly and should have retired years ago...if these guys worked at GM they would have been encouraged to step down and take the early retirement plan. The sad fact is there is no one to take their place (another comment: we have loads of women who could do just as well). I agree about the music...it is watered down and painful to listen to. I use to wince listening to the guitar strumming off key chanting by overweight middle-age ex nuns and wonder where is the joy? Where is the spirit? I recently bought a CD by Mavis Staples on faith and listen to it religiously in my car and think: Yes! She gets it! I want to get it like she does!
Yet once a Catholic always a Catholic. I say it with great pride then wait for people to say WHY?
I'm not sure. It is what I know. I think we as a church have produced monsters and saints.
Keep it coming, Elizabeth. It is up to you to prod us,challenge us, and ask us why.

Insightful..

As a member of our church's Rite of Christian Initation of Adults, (R.C.I.A.) I have had battles about what should be from the church. More do less talk. I think that most Catholics out there would HAVE to admit that there are some very good christians in this world that are not Catholics and some very "GOOD" Catholics that are not christian at all. Right now in fact many churhes are consolidating for two reasions, lack of Preist and lack of attendance. It is true tha Church has become lame and needs to rethink "Christianity" and it's purpose and roll in the world. Well done and needed to be said.

Insightful..

As a member of our church's Rite of Christian Initation of Adults, (R.C.I.A.) I have had battles about what should be from the church. More do less talk. I think that most Catholics out there would HAVE to admit that there are some very good christians in this world that are not Catholics and some very "GOOD" Catholics that are not christian at all. Right now in fact many churhes are consolidating for two reasions, lack of Preist and lack of attendance. It is true tha Church has become lame and needs to rethink "Christianity" and it's purpose and roll in the world. Well dons and needed to be said.

This makes me angry. No, Elizabeth, I'm not angry at you, but at the situation.

I'm 62, was raised Catholic, had doubts because I was a think, was steered by great Catholic brothers to continue my thinking and doubting when I got to college. So I went to college and met B, the Newman Club Chaplain. B was a thinker. B was a priest. B told me to stick around because Vatican II was going to make a difference.

It did. I remember the church in the 1940's through the 1960's. Father B had me read Hans Kung. Father B took me to see Zorba the Greek. Father B made me realize that Martin Luther had a point, after all, because his church was corrupt and so was the church contemporary with Vatican II.

Vatican II was a theological bull in the china shop of Catholicism. So it was castrated, and now it is made a docile steer. It is the steer you are complaining about. Father B was driven from the church by Pope Paul's henchmen. Hans Kung was forbidden to teach. Aristide and Liberation Theology are seen as anti-Catholic.

What about me? I read the Book of Job to keep up my anger.

I think a "real" catholic Church gives heartfelt sermons that challenge us to take up our cross. They respect and adore the Eucharist. For me the homily comes in last place. I'm too busy thinking how wonderful it is to be able to unite with the presence of Christ, asking for forgiveness and hoping to bring God's love into my heart so that I can help someone.

Unorthodox Roman Catholicism, like that at Holy Trinity or Georgetown is just death by a thousand cuts. You think you're happy but then you realize they don't know why they are there anymore.

How to lose a generation: 1) preach Christian lite. 2) De-emphasize Christ, emphasize Christian values. 3) Ignore Christ's Church and focus on social justice.

I was raised Roman Catholic, including twelve years of Catholic school, and I am thankful to have found what I missed all those years now that I am a Protestant (an Anglican to be exact). I have learned to appreciate THE Gospel, which is God has justified me not because of anything I have done or could do, but because of his immense grace alone through faith alone of the Son who sacrificed his life for me on the Cross. If the priest does not preach grace and teach from the testimony of Scripture, then it is time to find another church home. I appreciate the Catholic Church's stand for tradition and morality, but if no one is being saved because of the limitations of priests' homilies, then the kingdom of God is not being proclaimed. The Word of God needs to be expressed in both word and sacrament in order to draw people to true repentance and faith.

I came to my faith a lot later in life. I was baptized and made my first communion in the required white dress and being Catholic came to a screeching halt when my mother left. Then my father was done with the Church.....there was nothing they could say to comfort him being alone with all us kids.
I raised my children Catholic and loved it. But they are all over the board: one attends Mass faithfully, another is lukewarm and my son hates religion in all it's form. I still love being Catholic; I love it's mystery, it's familiarity when I kneel in a pew.
It has given me a lot of strength. It has also angered me. I stopped going to Mass when I was being asked to sign a petition against gay marriage.
All I could think was how mad that Jesus would be if He heard this political diatribe in His house.
I still love being a Catholic; I'm waiting for someone to tell me why.

Thank you, Elizabeth. As a life-long Catholic, I am struggling mightily these days, but I am in the company of some awesome people! I've joined PaxChristi and have aligned myself with the social justice movement. This, to me, is what Jesus is all about.

I totally agree with the article. She is right on the money about "Christianity Lite." I was saved at 15, but did not really become a serious Christian until 19, when I met my future wife. I for one am sick of the "don't rock the boat" mentality we have in the U.S. Jesus sure did not have that, He challenged all of us to follow God and believe in Him. We should live as Christians 24/7, not just sit in our seat in church for 2 hours on Sunday and act all pious, then go home and curse, lie, gossip, etc.
As Christians, we should stand up for what we believe in, and not be afraid of what people may say against us. It says in Proverbs, "If my God is for me, then who can be against me?" And, "Why should I fear of what man can do to me?"

Lite Christianity as it is called is in reality no Christianity at all.Its a feel good philosophy that has absolutely nothing to do with Biblical Christianity.

As Moses saw the burning bush God said, remove your sandals for the place where you are standing is holy ground. And God said, this ground was once ordinary, but because My presence invaded the earth in the burning bush the ground had become a holy place because Moses was standing in the presence of the Lord God.

And God says to the youth of America, when you are ready to stand in the presence of God, remember that everything around you must become consecrated, cleansed and pure for you are now walking on holy ground, holy territory and I tell you now as a visitation of the Lord God comes to the youth, you will know that the ground that they walk on is holy simply because the presence of God is with them. The Holy Spirit is dwelling in them; the Holy Spirit is prompting their every move!

The criticism here seems to be that "lite-Christians" don't really know anything about the Jesus they profess to follow, are given watered down sermons, and that reading more of the Bible will strengthen their belief.

I have read the Bible and found the Christian God to be schizophrenic. Yes, you can point to passages where he is loving and benevolent. But turn the page, and whoa! he's asking people to kill their children, brothers/sisters, or wives, or he's offing entire cities' populations, (or the entire world; see Noah's Ark) or he's acting petty and jealous, like you might be sleeping with another god.

My belief is that if you do actually read the Bible, the whole Bible, and not just the parts that make you feel warm and fuzzy, the only conclusion you can come to is that the Christian God is not worthy of being a God, he's not even worthy of being a decent human being.

The Christian god seems to be a transparent projection of what humans think a God would be like, kind of like Daddy was when we were little kids. That may explain why the Christian god exhibits the worst characteristics of the human ego, as noted above.

Christianity 101
1. There is a God and it's not me.
2. Love God and your neighbor, but since God is is infinite and we are finite, we can actually only love him through our neighbor, which brings us to
Matthew 25.35 I ws hungry and you gave me to eat;
I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger and you invited me in; I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me; I was in prison and you came to visit me.
3. Forget Theology and all the mystery. As Czeslaw Milosz, a noble laureate in literature says in his poetry " What in all that can be grasped by little girls dressed in white for First Communion".
4. Live by the words of Jesus in the gospel message.
5. Do not let any church or clergyman sepaate you from your gospel faith.

Christianity 101
1. There is a God and it's not me.
2. Love God and your neighbor, but since God is is infinite and we are finite, we can actually only love him through our neighbor, which brings us to
Matthew 25.35 I ws hungry and you gave me to eat;
I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger and you invited me in; I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me; I was in prison and you came to visit me.
3. Forget Theology and all the mystery. As Czeslaw Milosz, a noble laureate in literature says in his poetry " What in all that can be grasped by little girls dressed in white for First Communion".
4. Live by the words of Jesus in the gospel message.
5. Do not let any church or clergyman sepaate you from your gospel faith.

I was raised Catholic so I can identify exactly with your assessment of today's Catholic-lite Christianity. I have found that most Christians don't know much about the one they claim to follow. I was challenged a year ago at a youth worker's convention by a Christian professor who taught a session on Jesus the Rabbi to systematically read the 4 gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John), in order, one per month for three years. That amounts to reading less than a gospel chapter per day - very easy to do. But the insights and knowledge gained about Jesus have been huge. He's definitely a lot different and much 'more' than the Jesus portrayed in the water downed homilies you mentioned in your article. I would challenge you and every one who reads this and professes to be a "Little Christ" (Christian), to learn more about their Lord by reading about Him. You won't regret it.

I was raised Catholic so I can identify exactly with your assessment of today's Catholic lite Christianity.

I have found that most Christians don't know much about the one they claim to follow. I was challenged a year ago at a youth worker's convention by a Christian professor who taught a session on Jesus the Rabbi to systematically read the 4 gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John), in order, one per month for three years. That amounts to reading less than a gospel chapter per day - very easy to do. But the insights and knowledge gained about Jesus have been huge. He's definitely a lot different and much 'more' than the Jesus portrayed in the water downed homilies you mentioned in your article. I would challenge you and every one who reads this and professes to be a "Little Christ" (Christian), to learn more about their Lord by reading about Him. You won't regret it.

Most Christians do not really 'know' or 'know about' the Jesus they profess to follow. Especially Catholics, and I know because I was raised one - went to parochial school, was an altar boy, etc..

The best way to learn about Jesus is to systematically read the 4 gospels. I was challenged a year ago by a Christian presenter at a youth workers conference to read each of the 4 gospels, in order (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John), one per month for 3 years. That translates to reading less than a chapter per day. Easy to do. But the insights gained about Jesus by doing so are incredible and present a much different Jesus than the one portrayed in the watered down homilys talked about above. I would challenge all who call themselves "Little Christs" (Christians) to do the same. If you follow Jesus, you should learn all you can about Him. Reading will do that.

Most Christians do not really 'know' or 'know about' the Jesus they profess to follow. Especially Catholics, and I know because I was raised one - went to parochial school, was an altar boy, etc..

The best way to learn about Jesus is to systematically read the 4 gospels. I was challenged a year ago by a Christian presenter at a youth workers conference to read each of the 4 gospels, in order (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John), one per month for 3 years. That translates to reading less than a chapter per day. Easy to do. But the insights gained about Jesus by doing so are incredible and present a much different Jesus than the one portrayed in the watered down homilys talked about above. I would challenge all who call themselves "Little Christs" (Christians) to do the same. If you follow Jesus, you should learn all you can about Him. Reading will do that.

Kudos for saying what I think many young Catholics think is killing their enthusiasm for the religion.

I've been Catholic since the day I was born, but as I got older to where I am now (23), church seems more troublesome to go than not to. The whole fear of not going equals damnation doesn't really work on me, and when asked by my mother if I do church anymore, I told her this straight up: "I just don't really get anything out of church anymore."

The only priest I ever really got something out of was a Fr. Edward Moran from St. Thomas in West Hartford, CT (hometown). He never politicized and actually respected your opinion, be you pro-choice or pro-death penalty or something that wasn't completely on par with the church's beliefs. He embraced outside thinking as a sign of God's gift of insight and knowledge. Now when I've gone to church it's usually the humdrum sermon with poor attempts at the "John Mayer guitar praise songs." Yes God is awesome but please don't tell me in a lame manner that would force me to sew my ears shut or shoot myself.

When we did the Prayers of the Faithful once at BU, I remember them asking the Lord to "instill the sanctity of marriage as the union of one man and one woman," a lump formed in my throat. Please don't put politics/social agendas into that prayer. I think God wants us to worry about more important matters and I think the church needs to stress these more important issues on the youth, such as illiteracy, poverty, injustice, and abuse.

I'm aiming to tutor children in Boston because I feel good doing it and I think God would appreciate educating children more than harassing people outside of a Planned Parenthood, the same one where a nutjob killed a doctor which was only a block away from where I lived. Pope Benedict, you wonder why kids are suffering from ennui, anomie, and apathy? Stop the bland rhetoric and actually try to motivate. Times change and so should the message.

Amen !

Even Tony Robbins, Dr Oz on Oprah, and to an extent the O herself challenge us more than most homilies and sermons do. Our priests and ministers are like the personal trainers for our souls - would you really want a personal trainer who includes lifting the cheese doodle to your mouth as a part of your workout? So why do we settle for this banal Christian lite theology.

We need to be pushed, and prodded, to be the Christians God created, not some mannequin on a cul-de-sac.

Push me in all sorts of ways. Make me rethink my actions and purchases. And don't dare make me think that heading up a committee to gather canned goods for the homeless is good enough. Make me do the work (why are the parents of the youth group always stuck schlepping things around? the rest of us can do the labour too). Make me ask myself daily "What Would Jesus Do" - for some reason I don't think a Carmel Macchiato is in His plan.

Be my personal trainer. Make me uncomfortable. Make me work for my faith, and my God. And if things get a little too uncomfortable, be there to remind me that I am loved.