Years ago, many years ago, in Sherborne, one of my co-workers in the parish said to me that I was a "community builder." I took this as a compliment. However, community could not be built at that time in that parish for several reasons. Some of us tried to do our little bit. We had the priest over on Saturdays for tea, and sometimes the nuns there. We also were friends with the Anglicans, building community by sharing in charity works in the town.
I have talked for decades to young people about setting up real communities. Some wanted to do so, but not enough people in their areas were interested. I especially remember one young man and his wife who were very keen on community, but could not get anyone interested in their Catholic family, their town, or their parish.
If there is a community there in his small town, I praise God. But, my idea of Catholic communities dotting the landscape of Great Britain and America has not come to pass. This is, to be blunt, a tragedy which will be clearly seen in days to come.
Catholics, to quote an often-stated truism, are not good at building communities. I have thought about this since 1972. 42 years is a long time to be considering the need for Catholic communities. From 1972-1979, I was part of a large community, which, sadly, no longer exists. At its peak, this community had 2000 members. Much of my formation for prayer and for learning to read the signs of the times came from that community experience. In those years, we were discussing the times we now see. We anticipated persecution. We talked and prayed about the decay of America. Many of us have been active in the Church since those days. A study over twenty years was done on our community and the vast majority of youth stayed in the Church as middle-aged people and were active, orthodox Catholics. Interesting.
Why most Catholics are not good at community building has been a mystery to me. I think there are several reasons and some readers will not like these points, but these must be considered. It is not too late, in my opinion, to create real communities.
1) Idolatry of the family-too many Catholics spend too much time with nonbelievers. If that energy was put towards building community with Catholics, the nonbelievers would see "how they love one another" and want to become a Catholic. Idolatry of the family also means too much of an inward looking emphasis for those with children, and the lack of effort to reach out to singles and the elderly.
2) Idolatry of independence. This is a curse of both the Americans and the British. Too many people want to spend the entire day doing what they want to do when they want to do it, not realizing that most of the time, they are indulging themselves. I speak mostly of those who could be building community, such as single people and retirees. Community means inter-dependence, and many people simply do not want this.
3) Attachment to things and to sin. Community demands sharing worldly goods and a sharing of self. If one is attached to things and to self-love, one will not want to engage with others. Too many people are "house proud" in the States and only want to entertain at parties rather than opening their houses for the sake of community building. Some British people do not want "intrusions" by people and only want to talk to people on Sunday at Church. This is very sad. And, one reason why people talk in Church in England is that they rarely see each other during the week.
4) Thinking it is too hard. It is hard, but not that hard. Some communities begin with Bible studies or shared pro-life work. Some start with home schooling moms and dads who get together with the children and parents of other home schooling moms and dads. Some start with parish projects and Adult Faith Formation classes.
5) Just plain selfishness. Community building demands time and effort. It demands sharing. Some people do not want to share. Some people do not want to share time and do not want others to know what they are doing. Period. In a good community, a balance can be made for the introverts and for the extroverts, but this takes selflessness.
6) Not seeing the absolute necessity of community. Many Catholics will fall away in the hard times because these times will be hard. The stronger members need to reach out to the weaker ones. This is a concept really lacking in Catholic circles.
7) Many Catholics, still after all this time and these posts and the warnings of others, do not believe there will be persecution of the Church. These people are lying to themselves. Communities would strengthen the Church in times of trial.
8) Catholic communities are an excellent way to raise children, but some people do not understand the need for faith formation in children. Children need to be formed with other children who are also being formed. And, Catholics communities are good for parents, to get input, and even time to be a couple without the children as shared babysitting can be set-up.
9) Some people lack creativity regarding how to set up shared activities and projects in order to build community. Catholic communities can be Adoration or Mass centered and should be. Then, in persecution, these communities can aid priests in doing their work.
10) A problem may be irregular or mixed marriages, especially in England. Communities support marriage. In this day and age of gross hatred for God's idea of marriage, community can give support and even guidance. But, couples must be willing to be involved in order to see their marriages grow in holiness and Catholicism.
11) Too many people are Sunday Catholics and do not see the need to be living their faith daily. See point #3.
12) Many Catholics do not love Jesus or His Church. The essential root of community is conversion, continual conversion to Christ and love for His Church. Love and obedience to the Magisterium are essential for Catholic communities.
To be continued