Our Lady Queen of Martyrs<\/a> <\/strong>in Forest Hills, New York, seats close to 1,000 people, and I\u2019d wager that most the liturgies had at least 700 people \u2014 a few had over 1,000. There were standees at some of the Masses over the weekend, and some even spilled into the vestibule. (As I ventured back there during the sprinkling rite on Sunday, I called out, \u201cIf anyone is still dry, raise your hand!\u201d ) There were a lot of faces I recognized, and many I didn\u2019t, and that\u2019s often the way it is at Christmas and Easter.<\/p>\nThere were a few women with hats \u2014 or, I guess, bonnets \u2014 and I noticed some wearing veils. I spotted a couple little girls wearing rabbit ears. Some men wore jackets and brightly colored ties. Most folks were dressed in the usual Catholic Sunday attire: comfortable casual. Polo shirts were big.<\/p>\n
The first thing that struck me as unusual (for Easter, at least) was the number of people attending the Masses who actually seemed to know what to do and how to do it. There were very few awkward communions \u2014 you know the kind, where they approach with both their hands outstretched and their mouths open and don\u2019t know what to say, so sometimes just say \u201cHappy Easter, thank you.\u201d\u00a0 But most of those I encountered approached the sacrament with a spirit of cheerful piety and familiarity. Some parents carried their children \u2014 I noticed a few little girls wearing what appeared to be their white baptism outfits \u2014 and the overall demographic seemed younger than what we usually have at my parish. I presumed they were children of parishioners, visiting from out of town.<\/p>\n
But a priest in the parish pointed out something I otherwise wouldn\u2019t have noticed: it may have been packed,<\/em> but it wasn\u2019t mobbed<\/em>. \u201cIt\u2019s not what it was,\u201d he mentioned later over coffee in the rectory.\u00a0 \u201cI remember Easters when it was jam-packed at every single Mass, even the 8:30.\u201d<\/p>\nHe\u2019s right. The numbers are definitely down.<\/p>\n
My most vivid memory of the Easter crowds was in 2006, the Easter after John Paul had died. The world had watched hours of coverage of the most extraordinary funeral rites in modern memory, as thousands in the square called out \u201cSanto Subito\u201d<\/em> \u2014 sainthood now! It was spellbinding. And it reminded Catholics \u2014 and many others \u2014 of the ancient and venerable history of our faith, and just what it represents. Perhaps it tugged at people\u2019s memories of the Church they grew up in, and it made them yearn to be a part of it once again.<\/p>\nSo maybe we shouldn\u2019t have been surprised when the following Easter brought hordes of people to church \u2014 some, perhaps, after years of being away. I remember going back into the vestibule that Easter to give out communion and being amazed. Not only were they packed in, shoulder to shoulder, but the doors were open and people were spilling out into the sidewalk. It was incredible. I\u2019ve never seen anything like it, before or since.<\/p>\n
I wonder if we\u2019ll ever see anything like it again.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\nThe crowds this Easter were impressive but not like that.\u00a0 And, in fact, there\u2019s been a steady slide in attendance for the big liturgies at my parish over the last decade or so. This year\u2019s drop was noticeable. But I imagine it\u2019s been happening slowly but persistently for a long time. Masses that used to be SRO may still have standees, but when we process in for the beginning of Mass, I can\u2019t help but notice a lot of empty spaces in the pews. I wonder who those spaces belong to, and where they are today. I wonder what we can do to draw them back.<\/p>\n
You can offer a lot of theories for why this is happening: changing demographics in the community, a growing indifference toward religion, the still-unfolding scandal, etc. All, I\u2019m sure, tell part of the story.<\/p>\n
The priest I was talking with Easter morning remembered a conversation he had with our late pastor one Easter, about the incredible crowds that kept showing up. \u201cI used to tell him,\u201d he remembered, \u201cJoe, can you imagine if we had this many people every week? We wouldn\u2019t know what to do with them!\u201d<\/p>\n
It would be a nice problem to have.<\/p>\n
Yet, there are many who still want to be there. Despite the decline, there is an impressively large number of faithful who show up on Easter morning \u2014 to hear the music, to smell the flowers, to inhale the clouds of incense and take the host in hand and know, in their bones, they are clasping the divine. Greeting them after Mass on Sunday, standing under the bright April sun, they cried out \u201cHappy Easter\u201d and wished me well.\u00a0 You couldn\u2019t help but have a sense of abiding joy.<\/p>\n
This, I thought, is Easter<\/strong> \u2014 the miracle of new beginnings, the glory of \u201cthe one morning star who never sets,\u201d the radiance of Christ\u2019s light being carried into the world, believer by believer.<\/p>\nThis is what Easter truly is \u2014 even if, in some places, Easter just isn\u2019t what it was.<\/p>\n
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Well, yes, the church was packed.\u00a0 It started that way on Thursday and continued all the way through Easter Sunday. Our church, Our Lady Queen of Martyrs in Forest Hills, New York, seats close to 1,000 people, and I\u2019d wager that most the liturgies had at least 700 people \u2014 a few had over 1,000. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":132,"featured_media":297751,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[305],"class_list":["post-297748","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-my-world-and-welcome-to-it","tag-easter"],"yoast_head":"\n
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