November 2024
Vocations Awareness Month

I recently read a review of a documentary film called Join or Die. (I cannot recommend the film because I haven’t seen it.) The movie is based on Robert Putnam’s “Bowling Alone” research. Putnam noticed that the tendency for people to invest in their communities by joining – joining churches, clubs, fraternal organizations, and leagues – has been decreasing in the United States for decades. He further notices that societies and governments whose citizens invest in these kinds of social institutions tend to endure and remain strongly unified, while those who do not decline. He ties our increasing isolation and individualism to many of the ills that seem to be tearing at the fabric of our communities, resulting in division, polarization, and inactivity. 

These ideas obviously relate to our life together in the Church. We can’t help but notice that many of our young people are no longer active members. Consultants advise pastors to accommodate the trend. They say that we should appeal to younger people by inviting them to single events or ad hoc efforts that require less commitment.  

Here’s the problem. Christianity is essentially communitarian. We are called by God both as individuals and as a people. We are baptized into Christ and united with others to become his Body. We are confirmed in the Holy Spirit to become part of the living mission of Jesus. We are a league, an association, a corpus. We are an assembly – the Church!  

This is not something we can do sitting home alone on a couch. Luke describes the ideal life of the early Church in the Acts of the Apostles: “All who believed were together and had all things in common… (See Acts 2: 42-47 and 32-35). (We’re grateful that we have the TV Masses in the Diocese, but they are for those who can’t join us in person and for evangelization of those who don’t yet know Christ and the Church. They are not for us able believers.) 

So, our Catholic faith calls for an “all-in” life of community around Christ. Our culture, on the other hand, increasingly promotes withdrawal from society and the choice to be at home alone, with immediate family, or a few chosen friends. It invites us to go it alone. 

The Theory of Cognitive Dissonance describes what happens when we hold two deeply held, contrary beliefs like “we are called to community” and “better to just stay home.” We minimize the beliefs that invite us to change. We undermine the authority of the people and institutions proposing those beliefs. We come up with reasons that the demanding belief doesn’t apply to us. After a time, we tend to change our belief structure to match our behaviors rather than the other way round. We lose faith. 

This is the current we are struggling against when we ask young people to place faith at the center of their life. This is the cultural resistance to developing holy families that are integrated into the life of the Church and society. This Bowling Alone trend works strongly against us as we encourage young men to take their place at the center of the life of the Church, where we are all encouraged to become so closely linked and involved – so together – that we can be described as the Body of Christ. 

The five men who are in seminary for the Diocese of Covington feel the draw to live beyond their private time and entertainments. They long to be part of something that is both holy and larger than themselves. Somewhere in their being, God whispers to them that the health and holiness of Christ’s community is something worthy of their life’s effort. We know that God is calling all of us to live life in the Communion of Saints. We need to help more young people listen to that voice that is still so small in our society today. Our happiness in this world and the next may depend on it.

Young people, you do not have to go-it-alone. Join the crew of the Bark of Peter. God may be calling you to go outside yourself as a priest, as a member of a consecrated religious community, as a holy Catholic spouse and parent, or in any number of holy vocations and roles of service. Here’s the one thing God will never call you to – selfishness, isolation, or to a small and unhappy world.  

If you are discerning your place in the world, or any major decision in life, call Fr. Conor Kunath (Vocation Director) or Fr. Michael Hennigan (Promoter of Vocations) at (859) 392-1500. They will help you listen for God’s invitation to service. I’m not saying, “join or die,” but the joyfulness of your life, the health of our community, and our hope for life together in Christ may depend upon our shared ability to seek God’s will for our common good. You don’t have to take that journey alone. Call today. 

+Bishop John Iffert