Letter from the Pastor
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May 21, 2023On the cover of our bulletin are the names of the 71 children who received their First Holy Communion these past few weeks. Everyone remembers their First Holy Communion Day, even Napoleon. The story is told when asked of Napoleon, what was his happiest and most memorable day, he reportedly said, his First Communion Day. What makes that day so special? I think it is the realization that our Lord comes to visit us within our heart, our soul and our body. To know we can receive our Lord, true Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity every day, if we wish. It is the greatest treasure that our Lord gave us, Himself. We are never alone in this world, since our baptism day, the Holy Trinity abides in us; we are the Temple of the Holy Spirit. It is important to remember, that it is more important, to remind our children of the Divine Presence within us.The Surgeon General of the United States testified before Congress recently that it is his opinion that loneliness is the latest public health epidemic. The Increase of premature death, heart attacks and strokes, depression, anxiety disorders and dementia. Widespread loneliness poses health risks as deadly as smoking a dozen cigarettes daily. Dr. Vivek Murthy said that about half of the U.S. adults (47%) said they’ve experienced loneliness. Research shows that Americans who have become less engaged with churches, synagogues, or mosques, community organizations and even their own families have increased feelings of loneliness.
The loneliness epidemic is hitting young people, ages 15-24 particularly hard. This age group reported a 70% drop in time spent with friends from 60 minutes down to 20 minutes daily. It was found that nearly half of 18-to-29 year olds (Generation Z) reported “feeling down, depressed, or hopeless, 44 % have experienced loneliness at least several days in the last few weeks; 46 % reported “little interest or pleasure in doing things”; and 55 % said they felt “nervous, anxious or on edge.” The Millennials
(ages 25-40) were the runner-ups.
What is interesting is that the loneliest people are also the least religious. In a study taken last year by the Survey Center of American Life of the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), it concluded, Generation Z (ages 18-29) is the least religious generation; 34 % of them are religiously unaffiliated while 18 % are agnostic or atheist (split evenly between the two). In contrast, 9 % of baby boomers (ages 59-77) and only 4 % of the silent generation [those in their eighties and nineties] identifies as atheist or agnostic. The AEI study also found that Generation Z was the loneliest, followed by the Millennials.
From the very beginning, as told in Genesis, God knew when He saw Adam alone and said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone.” Humans are social animals, we need others, and we need communion. If you know God is within you, and God is watching over you as a loving parent, then “loneliness” fades away. For a believer, there is a great difference between loneliness and solitude. Just because you’re alone doesn’t necessarily mean you’re lonely. You can spend a lot of time by yourself in solitude without feeling the pangs of loneliness. Loneliness is that feeling of emptiness, helpless, separated, or discriminated; feeling abandoned, overwhelmed and without support.
There is an important distinction between solitude and loneliness. Solitude connects us with God and others and self, heals us, refreshes us, restores us to communion, and bears much fruit. Loneliness is the opposite of communion.
When we see ourselves as God’s adopted children, and we are in communion with all the saints and creation, we move slowly from the pain of loneliness to the joy of solitude. Most of all, we trust in the promise the Lord Himself made to us:
“I will not leave you orphans…”
Maybe that’s why we called it Holy Communion.
