From the desk of the Tar Heel disciple:
April 11, 2026 (#89)
After Easter?
Lately, both Catholic and secular media sources are reporting with increased frequency about the marked increase in the number of converts to the Catholic Church in the United States and in some European countries. And in the face of other declining statistics, such as the closing of numerous churches and parishes, especially in the Northeast and Midwest, and the continued precipitous decline in the number of baptisms, marriages, and ordinations to the priesthood throughout the country, this is good news, and it should be celebrated with prayers of thanksgiving to God.
The attention on the number of converts comes with the Church’s liturgical focus on the rich ceremonies of the Easter Vigil and subsequent Masses of Easter, when these converts are usually baptized, confirmed, and receive their First Communion. And so it should be. The spiritual life ebbs and flows, and Lent and Easter are rightly emphasized as times of spiritual and liturgical climax. In nuptial terms, it is a special time of grace in which the celebration of the union with Christ and his bride, the Church, is made uniquely real and present for the individuals involved and for the whole world. And, evidently, the world is watching.
But as with a wedding and the subsequent honeymoon, the real work begins in the daily union of life and love which takes place at home after the marriage is consummated. And, unfortunately, the special prayers, ceremonies, instructions, retreats, and other spiritual supports in which parishes, OCIA programs, sponsors, candidates and catechumens had invested in preparation for “the big day” often disappear all too soon after the Easter Vigil is completed. The Church, like a good mother, envisions a period of mystagogia, during which the newly initiated are introduced over a lengthy period of time to the fullness of the mysteries of faith and the regular life of the Church. Few are the parishes and faith communities which undertake a serious approach to these essential steps of assimilation into the life of the Church and its mission. Perhaps it is a cynical question, but it is an important one: How many of these received into the Church in this blessed period of grace persevere in the faithful living of the Gospel and reception of the Sacraments after a few months? A year? A couple of years? Unfortunately, the matter is not studied enough, but the indications are that many of these new sheep are soon lost.
This Tar Heel disciple will humbly offer some suggestions for consideration in subsequent blog postings during this Easter Season. Happy Easter!
