OA Online, by Bob Campbell: Like all churches, the pandemic hit the Catholic Diocese of San Angelo hard and Bishop Michael Sis says that recovering from it required a special effort.
The Most Rev. Sis says it has been a time to count one’s blessings and trust in God.
“I believe the most important reason to attend church is because it is a matter of justice,” he said. “God deserves our worship.
“God created and sustains all that exists and he gives us 168 hours of life every week. The least we can do is to give him back one or two hours of worship each week in church.
“I believe that weekly church attendance is an expectation of God. In the Ten Commandments God tells us to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy, Exodus 20:8. In my faith tradition this includes attending Mass every Sunday and holy day.”
Sis said the Catholic Church’s primary effort to bring people back is a three-year initiative called the National Eucharistic Revival to reawaken members’ appreciation of what the Eucharist is about.
“We Catholics believe that Jesus Christ is present in the Eucharist in a more powerful way than in anything else we do,” he said. “We believe that what we are receiving in communion in our Mass is the true presence of Jesus Christ himself.
“The bread and wine are actually transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ. Our Mass is more than just a memorial of a past event of the Last Supper. It’s more than just a community meal of fellowship. It’s also a participation in the sacrificial Death and the Resurrection of Christ.
“In the Eucharist, we participate in and apply the sacrifice of Jesus Christ to our needs today. The more we appreciate this profound truth, the more committed we will be to come and receive him.”
Sis said attending church provides a social support network where members can meet people and form new friendships.
“We open ourselves to God in prayer,” he said. “It helps us to let go of our self-pity and our tendency to ask, ‘Why me?’ And it helps us to count our blessings and trust in God.
“It helps us to examine our conscience, ask for God’s forgiveness and forgive ourselves. It reminds us of the importance of forgiving one another.”
Sis said going to church helps spouses to connect better with one another.
“In our faith tradition, we say that a couple that prays together stays together,” he said. “This was certainly true for my parents.
“They went to church together every Sunday and holy day and their Christian marriage lasted almost 70 years before my father passed away. Shared beliefs and values help to reinforce the bond of matrimony.”
The bishop said church attendance offers an opportunity to volunteer in good causes, serve the community and help those in need.
He added that singing together in prayerful song lifts members’ hearts to God and feeds their souls.
“St. Augustine of Hippo said, ‘The one who sings prays twice,’ Sis said. “What he meant was that, besides praying the words of the song, the very use of our voices in singing is itself an act of love for God.
“Attending church helps us to strike a healthier balance between work and life. It gives us a chance to step off the treadmill of our work routine and simply be.
“Without the need to perform, produce or accomplish tasks, we can just bask in the presence of God, who accepts each one of us unconditionally.”
Sis said church attendance strengthens Christians to face the stresses and struggles of life and gives them a sense of purpose and meaning. “It helps us to put our pains in their proper perspective and it reminds us of our ultimate goal of eternal life in Heaven.”
During the COVID pandemic, he said, many Catholics temporarily suspended or severely restricted their services out of concern for public health in an attempt to save lives, which led some to get out of the regular practice of attending church on Sundays.
“Those congregations who found creative ways to gather safely and to maintain good communication with their members are the ones whose attendance bounced back most successfully,” Sis said. “When life gets hard and this world is unfair to us, it is easy to blame God.
“However, God never promised us a rose garden. He never promised that life would be easy. God is with us in our pain, healing us and giving us strength. In fact, going to church helps us to find God’s presence and guidance in our times of struggle.
“It helps us to learn from our experience and to practice healthy coping skills when life gets difficult.”
Sis said people’s weekend schedules are sometimes full of activities such as out-of-town travel for sports competitions and that in the Permian Basin work schedules in the oil field sometimes make it very difficult to get to church.
“In the pursuit of profit in a highly competitive environment, employers often ignore the basic human right to practice one’s religion,” he said. “I have a high regard for those companies that respect their employees’ desire to go to church.
“This is good for people’s well-being and it is good for the family.”
The bishop said offering a variety of worship times makes it more possible for members to attend church when they are not scheduled to be at work.
“For example, many of our parishes have services on Saturday night, Sunday morning and Sunday evening,” he said.
“Another reason why some don’t come to church is because they face a big struggle to get their children ready, in the car and on the way.
“The families who go to church consistently are the ones who teach their children that it is a non-negotiable and it is a part of our identity as believers. I suppose that, for each different Christian church, the approach will be different.
“Some will work on creating more of a sense of welcome and hospitality. Some will develop their music program. Some will try to improve their preaching.”
Prophetic Link:
“In our work, we are to watch for special opportunities to do effective labor. When the minds of the people are agitated regarding Sunday laws, it is an opportune time to enlighten them concerning the principles involved. We are to teach in a positive way the binding claims of God’s law, rather than to attack or denounce men, some of whom may be acting conscientiously, and possibly are susceptible to the truth, if it is presented in a winning way.” Review and Herald, March 9, 1911
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