This past Sunday, I celebrated the final 7 p.m. Mass at St. Aloysius Church in West Allis. The parish is closing and the property is being sold, a necessary but painful decision, given the dwindling number of active parishioners, the need for many physical repairs, and the lack of resources.
I valued the chance to pray there one last time very much because my brothers and I all made our sacraments there; we attended the school, and my parents’ and brother’s funerals were celebrated there.
Rather than focusing on the sadness of the closure, I preached on the need for all of us to be grateful for the priests, Sisters, staff, teachers, and catechists who formed thousands of us in the Catholic faith and showed Jesus to us in our most formative years.
In its heyday, St. Aloysius was an ecclesial powerhouse with 1,350 children in the school, 20 Notre Dame Sisters in the convent, thousands of Baptisms and Confirmations, Monsignor Winninghoff and three parochial vicars in the rectory, and packed Masses almost on the hour.
I had to go to public school until third grade because there was no room at St. Aloysius.
My father ushered, belonged to the Holy Name Society, did a weekly, nocturnal hour of Eucharistic Adoration, while my mother belonged to the Christian Mothers Society, and helped with catechesis.
They both volunteered for many events and projects. The parish was the center of their spiritual and social life.
Less practicing Catholics
One could explain the demise of the parish by pointing to demographics; the sociology of West Allis has changed profoundly, families have fewer children, et cetera.
But there are still people living in all of those houses in those neighborhoods.
The stubborn fact is that the majority of baptized Catholics in our country have essentially never practiced the faith or have abandoned it.
Many reasons exist for this complex and sad phenomenon, but this reality should not lead us to despair or surrender.
On the contrary, we live in one of the most exciting and fruitful periods in Church history.
That assertion may sound strange in light of the deep and difficult problems we face as a nation and as a Church.
Nevertheless, even as we witness the dissolution of institutions, structures, and certainties that consoled and strengthened us, we hold in our hands in this very moment golden opportunities to share the faith in new ways, engage young people who have had no experience, positive or negative, of religion, reach out to those suffering and hurting because of the pandemic, and unleash a refreshed generosity towards those in need.
I have been inspired and strengthened in witnessing how so many people have really stepped up to give, sacrifice and love even more in these challenging times.
This past Sunday, I also was part of two first Masses of newly ordained priests in Milwaukee, both of whom I have known since they were children; indeed, one I Baptized.
God is raising up a new generation of young Catholics who, despite the noise and confusion of our culture, have heard the gentle and urgent voice of Christ calling them to follow Him, the same voice that the Apostles heard at the Sea of Galilee 2,000 years ago.
They may be fewer in number than we would like, but they want to live the faith in its integrity and they sincerely love Jesus.
A rebirth on Pentecost
As we approach Pentecost this Sunday, I contemplate the vagaries of Church history — moments of intense growth, vitality, and holiness, and other epochs of diminishment, crisis, and even collapse.
In my homily at St. Aloysius, I commented that there is no place in the Gospels that mandates that a parish will always stand on the corner of 92nd and Greenfield Ave. in West Allis, Wis., but we do have the enduring promise that the Church as the Body of Christ, as the Bride of Christ, as the People of God, redeemed by the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ and anointed in the Holy Spirit, will always endure and flourish until the end of the world.
I love the Roman Catholic Church! She is our Mother, formed from the pierced side of Christ, sent to proclaim the Gospel to every creature, and to make disciples of all nations.
She gives birth to us in Baptism, feeds us in the Eucharist, forgives our sins in Reconciliation, speaks God’s Word to us, and leads us to a saving relationship with Jesus Christ, which will culminate in the glorious life of Heaven. She calls us to a life of heroic charity and faith.
The Church was there when we were born and She will be there when we die.
The Catholic Church is maligned, misunderstood, persecuted, and attacked.
She has suffered heresies, scandals, divisions, and failed leadership.
In those historical moments when all seems lost, we cling to Jesus’ enduring promise that He will be with us until the end of time.
May you feel a fresh effusion of the Holy Spirit within your heart and upon your life this Pentecost Sunday!