YOUTH: The New Normal

The New Normal

Throughout this unprecedented experience of quarantining, social distancing and intense precaution, much has been said and asked about what the future holds. Will shaking hands to greet someone be consigned to history? Will we ever again feel comfortable bumping up against people at a packed concert? Will masks in public become standard practice? And the big one circulating through the Catholic world: “Will there be an increase of faith or an even bigger decline?”

There is one sentiment that every single person I have spoken to in the past two months has been sure of: There WILL be a new normal! But it is less often expressed as a statement than the question, “What will the new normal be?” Along with these questions, there is a somewhat contentious debate moving through the religious segments of our society. The subject is whether or not God sent this pandemic as a wake up and/or a chastisement to our culture. Regardless of which side of that debate you fall on, we can be confident that, like a good parent, our Father certainly can and will use this experience to teach us and bring good out of it. However, the choice is ours as to whether or not we learn the lessons and embrace the good. This pandemic has given us a chance to pause and reflect upon so many aspects of our lives, which I see as a silver lining in what is otherwise a tragedy. For us Catholics, I believe the biggest question we face is, what will be the new normal for our Church and for living out our faith? We are at a crossroads. Since before the pandemic, Catholicism and Christianity in general, have been in steep decline in our country. This is a reality we cannot simply ignore or explain away as a passing phase after which “the pendulum will swing back.” All the evidence coming from reliable firms, such as Pew Research, indicates the decline is actually speeding up. Casein-point, according to a Pew Research study conducted during 2018 and 2019 and has been widely corroborated, “Nones” (pronounced like “nuns”; the segment of the population that do not affiliate with any religious group) are now the single largest segment of the population in the United States in terms of religious affiliation. Nones make up 26% of the population (up from 17% in 2009)—that’s more than any single Christian denomination including Catholics (the largest denomination) who now make up just 20% of the population (down from 23% in 2009). No one knows how the pandemic will affect religious fervor in the short-term or the long, and there are studies that have been conducted over the last two months that indicate many people have prayed more in those same two months than in several years before. However, does anyone really think that, because of the pandemic, the new normal will include some sort of drastic revival of faith? I say we cannot afford to just wait and find out. We must decide for ourselves what the new normal will be! For far too long, our normal has been governed by the assumption that faith in Jesus will spread itself. But the reality is, just like Covid-19, faith is spread by people, and now, perhaps more than ever before, it is time to be a people of intentional evangelism. Why not decide our new normal will be to embrace the missionary call we received through our baptism and confirmation to “make disciples of all nations…?” (Matthew 28:19, RSVCE) Why not decide our new normal will be to establish a family prayer and scripture reading tradition, thereby turning our homes into the “domestic churches” they are meant to be? Why not decide our new normal will be to stop looking solely to the priests and catechists to teach our children our Catholic faith, and rediscover our responsibility to do so? Why not decide our new normal will be to strive to “…love the Lord our God with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our strength, and with all our mind; and our neighbor as ourselves.” (cf. Luke 10:27, RSVCE)

After this pandemic is over, one thing is for sure, there WILL be a new normal, but it is up to us what that new normal will be. God is not calling us to wait and see if tragedy and fear will inspire faith. God is calling us to be the generation that turns the decline of faith into a resurgence, and we will show the world that faith in Jesus Christ, shared through joy, enthusiasm and love, is far more contagious than any virus. Author’s Notes: In future issues of The Catholic Connection, I plan to offer some simple and effective ways we can evangelize everywhere from our dinner tables, to the grocery store, to our workplaces.

Mark Loyet