In the midst of a faith crisis — the stakes are high

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By David Cooley.

I have read many religious resources that state that there is a crisis of faith among Catholic young people. I don’t doubt that at all. Recent studies estimate that only 20 percent of young Catholics are practicing their faith by the age of 22. But I wonder, is there not also a crisis of faith among older generations? I, personally, don’t think the spiritual struggle has an age bias. I think it’s fair to say that young Catholics aren’t going to see their faith lives as important if their parents and relatives don’t see their faith lives as important, at least while they are still in their formative years.

You have to give children and young adults a little credit, they can tell if you really believe or not. They can see how important going to Mass is to you and how much time you spend praying. If you spend most of your time on a cell phone or watching Netflix, that’s probably how they are going to spend most of their time, too. But, we must ask ourselves, is our Catholic faith important enough to spend time on; to sacrifice for? We simply can’t escape the fact that if we are going to pass down the faith we have to know and understand it ourselves. Moreover, we can’t truly understand our faith unless we have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The failure to center our lives on Christ has serious consequences, especially for young people who look up to us for answers.

There is a lot of pressure growing up in today’s world. Youth have to deal with a lot of things that we didn’t have to deal with growing up (social media for example!), and if we do not meet our children where they are they will be bombarded by a culture and a way of life that leads them to nothing but emptiness and sadness.

Three different secular news articles recently caused me to pause and reflect on that fact. The first was from USA Today and was titled “‘Deaths of despair’ from drugs, alcohol and suicide hit young adults hardest.” It reported that drug-related deaths, alcohol deaths and suicides among millennials — a generation typically defined as those born between 1981 and 1996 — soared 108 percent, 69 percent and 35 percent respectively. An analysis of the data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention found that the increase for these three “deaths of despair” for people who are 23 to 38 years old were higher than for baby boomers and senior citizens. The article went on to site possible reasons for this, including burdensome levels of debt, difficulty in starting careers and the opioid crisis. Since many millennials have families of their own, these addiction struggles and overall poor mental health conditions could have a serious impact on multiple generations for years to come.

The second article from Daily Mail was titled “Loneliest generation: A quarter of millennials say they have no friends.” The article described an unprecedented sense of loneliness among young adults despite the ability to call, text, e-mail, snap, tweet, post and live stream one another from anywhere on the planet. According to the article there is a vicious cycle involved — isolation takes a toll on mental health, which in turn makes people withdraw and then they become more isolated and depressed. I don’t think it is a far stretch to assume that this sense of isolation is also part of the blame for the surging rates in deaths of despair.

The third and final article was titled “From binge drinking to blacking out, the disturbing epidemic putting America’s kids in danger,” which was featured in CBS News. In short, this article stated that there is a silent pandemic having to do with “the pervasive and problematic drinking culture among American youth.” Binge drinking has not only been normalized but it is also a “marker of social status.” In other words there is a lot of pressure to drink enormous amounts of alcohol at once because “all the cool kids are doing it.” Almost 2,000 college-aged youth are dying every year on college campuses, and it doesn’t seem like this tragedy gets the attention that it deserves.

Millennials and Gen Z seem to be the most stressed out, isolated and depressed generations in recent memory, despite what some might argue, thanks to technological advances, is an easy life. So, what are we missing here? Experts say that millions of young people are turning to drugs and alcohol to numb themselves and escape their stress, and on top of all that we are in the midst of some kind of loneliness epidemic. So much for the carefree days of youth! Isn’t there something else they can turn to? Can’t some of us, who have already learned some truths the hard way, guide our youth toward something better?

People are desperately looking for something to fill a void in their lives. As Catholics we know, as St. Augustine said, that our hearts our restless until they rest in the Lord; however, our society and our culture often remove God from the equation completely or at the very least put him on the back burner as an afterthought. The Church has a wonderful opportunity to once again rise to the occasion to remind a darkened world about the Way, the Truth and the Life. No matter where you are, you are in mission territory. If we don’t do our best to help our youth and our peers understand that life has a purpose and that each one of us is an irreplaceable human being that is loved and made in the image and likeness of God, the consequences will continue to be devastating. Of course we have to first believe all of this ourselves. We must focus on the joy of the Gospel, the goodness and beauty in our world; because, whether you believe it or not, there is so much to live for, to hope for and to share with each other.

David Cooley is co-director and office manager of the Department of Catechesis and Faith Formation in the Diocese of Covington.

Independent review of priests files is underway

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In gratitude, Bishop Maes entombed at cathedral

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Laura Keener, Editor.

On the day Bishop Camillus Paul Maes was buried, May 15, 1915, the U.S. Department of Agriculture recorded the weather for that day, “Heavy rain throughout the morning and into the afternoon, clearing about 3 p.m.; the wind will be from the east at 6 miles per hour.” The temperature at the time of the funeral was 64 degrees.

“Yesterday’s forecast for today was from the National Weather Service,” said Bishop Roger Foys, Oct. 26, at the requiem Mass and entombment of Bishop Maes. “‘Heavy rain throughout the morning and into the late evening. The wind will be from the east at 6 to 10 miles per hour and the high is forecast to be 64 degrees.’ I would say that I think that Bishop Maes is pleased.”

Nearly 700 people attended the requiem Mass and entombment of Covington’s third bishop — Camillus Paul Maes — at St. Mary’s Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, Covington. Bishop Maes was the longest serving bishop of the Diocese of Covington (1885–1915). It was his leadership that built the Cathedral.

In fulfilling Bishop Maes’ wish, and in gratitude for Bishop Maes’ impact and contributions to the Church in Northern Kentucky, Bishop Foys has brought Bishop Maes home to the Cathedral he loved. The former baptistery, located under the choir loft, has been transformed into the Maes Chapel and Bishop Maes has been entombed in a marble sarcophagus bearing his image.

Bishop Foys was the main celebrant of the solemn ceremony with retired Bishop Robert Muench, the ninth bishop of the Diocese of Covington, concelebrating, along with over 60 diocesan priests. The procession consisted of about 100 people — about 40 deacons, the diocese’s 13 seminarians, Dominicans from St. Gertrude Monastery and representatives from the Knights of Malta, Knights and Dames of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre, Knights of Columbus, Knights of St. John and the Catholic Order of Foresters.

They passed the casket containing Bishop Maes’ remains. Lying on the casket were symbols of the episcopacy — a white miter and a purple stole. At the foot of the casket, the Book of the Gospels was opened to the passage of “The Conversion of St. Paul.” During the ordination of a bishop The Book of the Gospels is held over the head of the bishop-elect until the prayer of consecration is completed. Paul is Bishop Maes’ middle name and St. Paul is the patron of the Diocese of Covington.

Around the casket were six lighted candles. The candles were made of unbleached beeswax — the same type of candles that would have been used to surround Bishop Maes’ casket in 1915.

Bishop Foys began his homily reflecting on the Gospel reading from St. John, “Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.” (12:23-26)

“Not just physical dying but also dying to our own ambitions, dying to our own will, dying to our own selfishness … giving our talents, our gifts,” Bishop Foys said. “A meaningful life is a life lived in service to others. A meaningful life is a life lived in the faith.”

He told those present that Bishop Maes would be happy they were here. His homily then shifted to Bishop Maes, painting a picture of the diocese the young bishop inherited and of Bishop Maes’ commitment to unity and of his love for the people of Covington.

“It wasn’t an easy time for him when he first came to the diocese,” Bishop Foys said. “The diocese was relatively young — only 32 years old … with a huge territory, very few priests, six churches, a lot of ministry to be done, a lot of work. It could never have been accomplished unless those who were in the ministry and those they served were willing to come together for one common cause — to bring the Gospel of Christ to life and light to their friends and to their neighbors.”

Bishop Maes inherited a diocese with crushing debt. When Covington’s first bishop, Bishop George Carrell, came to the diocese there was not a cathedral. He built one but was unable to pay for it. Bishop Foys read excerpts from correspondences Bishop Carrell had sent to the Vatican.

“In a letter to Rome he wrote, and this is sad, ‘I sometimes have to leave my house and go to the country to avoid my debtors.’ Another letter to the Propagation of the Faith says, ‘Perhaps you were too hasty in making Covington a diocese … I don’t think its priests or its people want a diocese or a bishop,’” Bishop Foys said.

Bishop Augustus Toebbe, the second bishop of Covington, “inherited the same cross that Bishop Carrell carried,” Bishop Foys said. “Both bishops worked as hard as they could to bring the Gospel to the people, to proclaim the Gospel, to bring the faith to all those they met.”

The other big challenge was what Bishop Maes referred to as “the narrow vision of parishes.” The priests and people of the diocese did not see themselves as part of a diocesan local Church, but instead focused on their own parishes — their own problems, their own concerns.

“He (Bishop Maes) declared, ‘The narrow vision of the parishes will now be obsolete. We are one Church. We are one local Church. This portion of the Kingdom of God known as the Diocese of Covington.’ And that is why he would be happy to see all of you here today — to see all the priests here — at the Mother Church of the Diocese of Covington. Yes, from individual parishes but coming together as one people of God — the local Church,” Bishop Foys said.

Bishop Foys said that to a great extent Bishop Maes succeeded in unifying the priests and people of the diocese.

“If he were not he would never had been able to build this beautiful Cathedral,” Bishop Foys said. “He had faith. He had faith in God, he had faith in himself, but most of all he had faith in God’s people. He had faith in God’s people that they would come together — that they would realize that they are the local Church; they would realize that something like this gives honor and glory not to the bishop, or to the priests or religious, but to all of God’s people. This Cathedral stands not as a testimony to one man or one people or one age it stands as a testimony as a witness to faith in God. It is literally a concrete sign of the faith of the people of this local Church known as the Diocese of Covington — people coming together with one mind, one heart and one faith.”

In closing Bishop Foys recounted the final days of Bishop Maes’ life. Seven years before his death Bishop Maes was diagnosed with diabetes. At that time, insulin had not yet been discovered. The only treatment for diabetes was a strict carbohydrate-free diet. Bishop Maes suffered greatly; walking was extremely difficult although he often refused assistance.

Bishop Foys said, that when he was told that he only had a few months to live, Bishop Maes said, “God’s will be done.”

He then entered a period of self-imposed seclusion saying to the sisters at the hospital, “I wish to see no one but to be alone with God. Tell my best friends to pray for me; especially have the children in school pray for me.”

Bishop Foys said that he then received extreme unction and holy Viaticum. The next day he dictated messages to his friends and relatives in Belgium and to his priests and to the people of the Diocese of Covington. A week before he died he said to a caller, “When I am gone I hope my people will remember me and will pray for me.”

“It’s hard not to remember him,” said Bishop Foys. “I remember him every time I walk into this Cathedral church and today we gather to pray for him. I think we can agree, by his life and certainly by this magnificent tribute to God, he has left a legacy — a legacy of devotion to God’s people, of untiring ministry and compassion and love.”

Bishop Maes’ last recorded words before he died were, “This has been a quiet, peaceful, restful day. I feel that I have done good work. I am ready to go home.”

Bishop Foys concluded his homily saying, “While we pray here today for Bishop Camillus Maes, we pray also for all those who have gone before us, those who have sacrificed and lived their faith in so many ways and we pray for those who continue to do that to this very day.

“Sometimes we see dark days in our lives, in our country, in our world and even, unfortunately, in our Church, but we must never lose sight that Jesus Christ is in our midst. He lives in every one of our churches, he is present in the Eucharist, he is present in the chapel and he is present in each other. Thank you for coming today for fulfilling the third bishop’s dream of coming home.”

Catechesis, confidence and courage

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By David Cooley.

Since becoming co-director of the Office of Catechesis and Faith Formation, I have been reflecting on what I call the three C’s — catechesis, confidence and courage. These three C’s are connected in many ways. One thing they have in common, unfortunately, is that they are often lacking in today’s society. The reason we see so much sorrow and pain in our culture is because catechesis, confidence and courage are in short supply or are compromised for lesser things.

Catechesis is one of those words that when you are Catholic and you use it all the time you forget how strange it sounds to someone who is unfamiliar with it. The word catechesis originates from the Greek word meaning “instruction by word of mouth.” In the Church it refers to the basic Catholic religious education of children and adults. A book that summarizes the teachings and principles of the Catholic faith is called a catechism. A trained instructor is called a catechist.

Every baptized Christian is called to be a catechist, to evangelize the faith, to go forth and “make disciples of all nations.” (cf Matt 28:19) We are all called to be teachers of the Gospel and we are all called to live out our life according to God’s will. It is in pondering that mission that we discover the great adventure of our lives. Yes, we are to make disciples of all nations, but in order to do that we must first make disciples of ourselves.

It was the Baltimore Catechism that very succinctly answered the big “why are we here?” question. Officially the question (#150) was “Why did God make you?” and the answer, of course, was (and is) that “God made me to know Him, to love Him and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him forever in the next.”

The very next question in the Baltimore Catechism was “Why is it necessary to know God?” The answer: “It is necessary to know God because without knowing Him we cannot love Him; and without loving Him we cannot be saved. We should know Him because He is infinitely true; love Him because He is infinitely beautiful; and serve Him because He is infinitely good.”

So, we must ask ourselves: how well do we know God? Do we take the time necessary to listen to him, through his Word, in our studies, and in the silence? Do we seek out the answers to the more difficult questions in life that can be found in countless resources provided by the Church?

We must know the faith to have faith. We must have faith to experience the joy of the Gospel. We must experience this joy — which can only come from the Lord — if we are going to have the confidence to share it with others. That confidence to share the Gospel with others also comes from a noble motive – love. Love is willing the good for our neighbor simply because they are our neighbor.

Not unlike the disciples on the road to Emmaus, when we encounter Jesus and hear the Word of God our hearts burn within us. And it is that burning that we feel which gives us confidence to share the Gospel with others. If our hearts are on fire we can’t help but try to set the world ablaze. The more people are converted to Christ the more the world will be renewed.

It takes courage to be a follower of Christ. It always has and it always will. There is a lot of pressure to just go with the flow and become what the world wants you to become. Remember, the world rejected Christ first and he promised his followers that it would reject them too. Picking up that cross and following him every day is not for the faint of heart.

The Christian adventure is not for anyone looking for an easy way out. This brings me to another important word that begins with “c”— Catholic. There is no doubt that it takes an extra amount of courage to be Catholic today.

Yes, catechesis is a word that we should all get more familiar with. Catechesis leads to confidence, confidence leads to courage, courage leads to community, community leads to Communion, and Communion is in Christ.

David Cooley is co-director and office manager of the Department of Catechesis and Faith Formation in the Diocese of Covington.