Catholic leaders from both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland report an increase of up to 30 percent in Mass attendance since early this year. The two countries have been hard hit by economic recession, with a reported 1,000 people losing their jobs each day.
"People are experiencing deep crisis for the first time in their lives," said Bishop Joseph Duffy of Clogher, County Tyrone in Northern Ireland. "The pace of this economic collapse has been so swift, I think it is causing people to stop and search. This naturally finds a home in coming back to church. People are seeing the need for deeper values, for moral values that lead on to a search for spiritual values. People are certainly searching for something deeper."
Many stateside Catholic churches have noticed a surge in Mass attendance as well, though not to the extent of those in Ireland are seeing. Though delighted by the overall renewed spiritual interest, Father Robert O'Connor of New York City's Church of the Blessed Sacrament has noticed similar trends in the past during economic downturns.
"There's a funny saying: When times are really good, Protestants go to church. When times are really bad, Catholics go to church," he said. [irishcentral.com, 5/6/09; Catholic News Service, 4/21/09]
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There is a very disconcerting and real concern that this "funny saying" brings to light. When Protestants or Catholics "GO" to church a divine reality is being missed. First by supposing that there is division in the body of Christ (supposing to be Protestants or Catholics), and second that the Church-the Body of Christ is summed up in spaces "designated" for service to God presided OVER by His "anointed".
The divine reality that is being missed is the Christians are those who live in Christ and therefore belong to God. Those who live in Christ are the sum of His body. Not all who meet in a particular type of building called a "church" are part of His body, nor are those who live in Christ excluded from His body for reason of not meeting in a building so designated.
Those who live in Christ are ALL His anointed, sanctified, and called saints-THE CHURCH His people is who they are (united), and not a place where they meet and become divided. What did Jesus say about a house divied against itself? Quote
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