Why are young people leaving the Church?

I  was pressed into my seat. We were moving about 500km/h as the plane pointed towards the sky and we lifted off from Johannesburg airport towards the United States. This was it: the beginning of adventure. God had called me to be a missionary in New Orleans, Louisiana, and I chose to go. I was nervous about going to another country for eight months, but this was what I needed to do and so all I could do was have faith that it would all work out.

There are many young Catholics in our Church today who might say that our faith is boring, restrictive and unnecessary. Or they don’t really know why they go to Mass. I was there once too. My faith was empty ritual with little joy. In spite of being brought up Catholic and going to catechism, it still felt like a lot of rules and way too much sitting and standing. At one point I even left the Catholic Church for a year to attend a Protestant church because I didn’t really feel welcome or as if there was meaning in my going to Mass.

Something I’ve come to realise, as a growing number of young people have, is that our Catholic faith definitely isn’t empty and boring. That plane trip which was taking me to go and be a missionary intern is only a small part of the adventure that God has called me into.

I was looking for a “what” before—going to church and looking at the “rules” and commandments. I wasn’t looking for a “who”, a relationship with our God. When I came to realise that it was God that I was searching for, I began to actively listen. It became less about what I was doing and more about who I was being with. My Catholic faith took on new meaning and I knew I needed to go somewhere different to serve, learn and grow closer to God.

I believe that many young Catholics find our faith boring and irrelevant because they haven’t experienced Christ and don’t have a deep relationship with him.

God has been faithful. As tough as this journey has been, it has been one of the most fruitful and exciting things I’ve done.

The good news which I’ve experienced in the US is a Church where young people are experiencing Christ in our Catholic faith in all it’s timeless wisdom and beauty, rather than in focssing on the “rules”.

They are meeting weekly, even daily, for Mass, prayer, worship, adoration—times of community where they grow in relationship with him. There is fellowship, encouragement, support and freedom.

I’ve witnessed young people who are growing in holiness and challenging others to do the same. I feel excited and blessed for the amazing experience I’ve had in the States, but I’m even more excited about what God is doing and going to do in our young Church of today in South Africa.

Yes, there are good things happening in our own Church, but imagine if we had more nights of prayer, adoration and worship that brought together young Catholics. Imagine if we had gatherings where Catholics from around South Africa could gather together for fellowship, fun and prayer—thriving times of faith and community.

Imagine the fruit of 1000 or so young people coming back on fire after World Youth Day in Madrid at the end of August after experiencing Christ in the Universal Church.

Imagine if there were more groups of young people who truly saw the value of those around them and visited HIV/Aids respite wards, assisted regularly with charitable organisations such as the Society of St Vincent de Paul, or helped build homes in poorer areas.

God is at work in our Catholic Church. Our faith is alive if we choose to dive a little deeper and follow Christ.

What signs of life have you seen in our Catholic Church in South Africa? Have you seen apathy or have you seen young people looking for Truth? Is there a ministry in your parish or area that is succeeding in bringing young people to Christ? Let’s share the hope and the fruit!