Tuesday, May 8, 2018

Fr. Chuck's Column, May 6, 2018


The Easter Season is moving right along. First Communion is this weekend. In several Dioceses on the East Coast the Feast of the Ascension will be celebrated this Thursday, but here in Texas, as in most of the country, Jesus will ascend on Sunday.
This parish is strong in inter-personal relationships. A few weeks ago, we had a wonderful Volunteer Appreciation Sunday. At each Mass the priest read a long list of various groups and activities that go on here. Many parishioners stood to indicate their participation in one or more of the activities. None of these ministries is done alone. They all involve active participation with others, whether that is lecturing, taking Holy Communion to patients in a hospital or nursing home, working on the Finance Council, the Prayer Blanket Ministry, or Small Christian Communities. And in addition to the wonderful service these ministries provide, the participants also get to know many other parishioners. There is a bonus to all these volunteer groups because they not only provide a needed service, but they do so much to strengthen the bonds of friendship and personal knowledge that make this a parish community.
This is so very important. Over and over again studies show how social capital, the informal bonds and connections that make society work, are declining in this country. People do not have as many friends, do not belong to as many clubs and organizations, and do not know as many people as they used to. Some people blame our reliance on electronic devices, and there is much to be said for this. I have several times seen three or four college age people seated together at a table and instead of interacting with each other, they are all focused on their own phone or electronic device. This has gotten to be such a common sight that we no longer comment on it.

But this phenomenon of growing social isolation was well underway even before the common usage of cell phones. Our society puts a very strong emphasis on independence and individuality. These are good things, but easily get carried away and emphasized out of proportion. Texans are justly proud of the “Lone Star” state, but too much emphasis on the lone star can end up as a lonely star. Since the days of Alexis de Tocqueville, perceptive commentators of American society have identified the danger of so much emphasis on independence and individuality that it leads to social isolation.

This was very much a part of the analysis of the founder of the Paulists, Fr Isaac Hecker. He saw the need for some countervailing force to balance an extreme individualism. For him, that counter force was the Catholic Faith, with our strong emphasis on the communal, the Communion of Saints. We are very much connected, by the Holy Spirit, a connection that not only is real but perdures for all eternity. Hecker liked to say that he could be all the better American by being Catholic, and all the better Catholic by being an American. Of course, I agree with him.
So while the many interpersonal bonds that form the St. Austin Parish and School community are certainly a blessing and strength for our community, they also are a blessing to all those individuals involved in these activities, and even a blessing to the wider Austin community by building up the social capital of our community.

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