Have Your Say 

Recent Comments

1. All for more evening Masses to make it easier for families, but maybe first they should present priesthood as a credible option to their sons so that we can actually have those Masses.
   Also, isn't it just pandering to current social trends to move Mass to a last-minute, Sunday evening thing? Sunday is God's day. That is the real issue at stake.
   If people aren't willing to commit to the teaching of our Lord and the Tradition of the Church in full, then maybe they don't really believe?

   Posted By: MG

2. Much is spoken about the drop in Church attendance and the need to make it more relevant to the the younger generation.
   I usually attend the earliest mass available, as that way I personally find it an atmosphere more conducive to worship - any time after that and it is just pandering to the latest social trends.
   Has anyone ever thought that people stop going to mass because 'catholic-lite' frustrates them?

   Posted By: LM

3. MG: Noble of you to assume the 'high' ground on moralism on Archbishop Wilson's suggestion about Sunday evening Masses.
   You might ponder your pietistic dismissal of the ritually unclean masses.
   And your reference point might be the teaching and, above all, the example of Jesus Christ.
   He went out of his way for people, going well outside of his own comfortable territory.
   MG, ever heard the one about the Syrophoenecian woman and her tormented daughter. She even had the humour to call herself a bitch, 'Yes, Lord; for even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs.' It's a good read.

   Posted By: David Timbs

4. Great comments Archbishop Wilson. A study of the NCLS in 2001 pointed this out and youth ministers have been promoting it for years.
   We must first go out to, or provide opportunities to engage with, young people and their families in times and places that they are available. Only then can we hope to evangelise young people and call them into a life in a Catholic faith community where they can deepen their faith and relationship with Christ.

   Posted By: MH

5. Sunday evening Masses have been on in some Parishes for many years, but I have not seen increasing participation by the young in any of the Parishes I have been.
   What about really going 21st Century and having Masses in shopping centres on a Thursday evening when we have late night shopping?
   The liturgy needs to be more updated for the young and also the beautiful, but old-fashioned music has to change.
   Just go to the many fundamentalist churches in this country on a Sunday morning and see the thousands of enthusiastic young people and families who spend 1 1/2 hours with praise, worship and listening to preaching.

   Posted By: Peter M

6. The broader community, not unreasonably, does a good job in encouraging sporting teams, activities, etc etc over Friday through to Sunday.
   That is coldly, meaning, accurately, what is now part of the social fabric.
   Archbishop Wilson's view, perception, potential invitation, hopefully reality is to encourage families, teenagers to say -- hey, this is great, no big deal, we can go to a Sunday evening Mass without stuffing up our basketball, whatever, team. Parents should come on board... let's not be too purist about all this. And I'm ancient, but we had five kids in local weekend teams, and now the grandkids do the same.
   Let's loosen up, and explore a new dimension in which we have Eucharist. Have a coffee and relax.

   Posted By: bill holligan

7. The Archbishop's call makes sense in our changing social environment. My wife and I like going to Mass on Sunday mornings but we have seen the vibrancy of the Sunday evening masses - full of younger people and quite edifying.
   I think this call is quite timely, given the appeal of Pope Benedict XVI for a New Evangelisation.

   Posted By: brendan scarce

8. At last! The wisdom of someone who can see that young Catholics don't do Sunday morning 10am and are more likely and able to gather on a Sunday evening.
   This has been the case for twenty years+, yet many dioceses chose to stop the Sunday evening liturgies. Pleased to see that Archbishop Wilson is prepared to be flexible with young people.

   Posted By: Greg

9. I've never heard a non-Church goer say they don't go to Mass because Mass time conflicts with their other Sunday activities.
   To David T, so eager was the Syrophoenician woman to get what Jesus was offering, she was prepared to humiliate herself in front of Him. I can't imagine those Catholics who choose sports over Sunday Mass to be that eager to take what Jesus has to offer.
   Maybe Archbishop Wilson should listen to Jesus' words to his apostles re the shaking of dust from their feet... (Matthew 10:14). But that of course requires people to first reject the Church's message, and they can't do that if they've never heard it in full.
   But if by chance they do get to hear and accept the Church's message they too may become like the Syrophoenician woman, ready to humiliate themselves for Jesus, or at least give up Sunday sports.

   Posted By: Kevin

10. Given that we went to Sunday night mass last night (a beautiful, new-translation mass, incidentally), I have to agree with Archbishop Wilson.
    I'd also like to commend Fr Byrne of the Sacred Heart parish in Toowoomba for his great love of our Lord, our Lady and his parishoners.
    It's this love that makes it easier for us to 'render unto Caesar what is Caesar's, and unto God what is God's.'
    
    

    Posted By: Paul Keen

11. Jesus welcomes us to come to His Father, through Him, especially by offering His sacrifice at Mass, at any time.
    However, if we want to encourage young people to worship our loving God, particularly on Sundays, it's not enough to just increase the number of evening Masses.
    I believe our priests must begin to warmly welcome all of us, including young people, into God's presence before He says: "In the name of the Father", and help us to realize just why we are gathered there together to give God thanks, praise Him, and ask Him to grant our needs.
    When we feel welcomed by Jesus, through our priests, then I believe our attendances will steadily increase, no matter whether it be Sunday morning or evening.

    Posted By: John Spora

12. Interesting. I remember many years ago, there was a Rock Mass at 6pm Sunday night at the Cathedral in Adelaide.
    I used often travel past the Cathedral after they came out. The street outside was full of young people, a truly inspiring sight.
    However, someone at the Cathedral decided this type of service was not on and after it ceased no more crowds of young folk.

    Posted By: Chris P

13. We used to sing at a Sunday evening Mass in our parish. It was good for us because we could commit to doing it almost every Sunday and still be able to visit family in Toowoomba or Sydney or go somewhere else over the weekend.
    Unfortunately, that Mass got dropped after a parish amalgamation.
    Now, we sing at a Sunday morning Mass, so if we have a commitment with family or friends elsewhere, we can't attend Mass in our parish.
    We also can't go on weekend trips away with our family unless we drop our commitment in our parish.

    Posted By: Gen

14. The view of the Archbishop must be taken seriously by priests.
    Sometimes priests want to be comfortable in the presbytery.
    We see the decline of the young people at mass and the culprit is sports. Balancing life must be in order.
    

    Posted By: Frank

• » Advertise in CathNews

Email to Friend Please fill out the following details (fields marked with a * are mandatory):
Send To Email Address*:
Send To Name *:
Sent By Email Address*:
Sent By Name *:
Text to include in email:
Captcha validation:	please enter the code above:

^ Page Top

Comment on this article

More from this section

1. Call for law change over school enrolment rejection

   A lesbian couple's experiences with a Catholic school in western NSW have sparked a call to amend anti-discrimination laws, reports the ABC.

2. First priestly ordinations in Wollongong in five years

   Bishop Peter Ingham will ordain the first priests in five years in the Diocese of Wollongong tomorrow - retired police officer Geoffrey Allen and psychology graduate Duane Fernandez, the diocese said in a statement.

3. Protesters grill water minister over Murray-Darling plan

    Water Minister Tony Burke has copped criticism from thousands of protesters, including Catholic priest Father Andrew Grace, over the Murray-Darling basin rescue plan, reports the Age.

4. Govt urged to act against aged care funding shortfall

   The Federal Government must act now to avoid the most recent funding shortfall in aged care becoming an ongoing problem, according to Catholic Health Australia, reports the Catholic Weekly.

5. Selective high schools dominate NSW HSC top ten

   The stellar performance of students at NSW selective high schools continues apace with only one private school, Moriah College, making the top 10 of the Sydney Morning Herald's annual list of top-performing schools as judged by HSC results, the newspaper said.