…
I grew up in a parish with 14 priests (for some 18 thousand parishioners), and attend Masses now in a parish where there is two resident and a visiting priest for 350 families. The number of the priests is more important than the priest/family ration.
Almost certainly the future will be mega Churches for the densely populated areas, even for the suburbs. The present 2-3 mile radius for a parish will be extended to 8-12 mile radius.
The downside is the call for the dying will be served poorly, especially for** the rural areas.
**
Also the personal relationship between some faithful and the priest will loosen, but even now this is involving may be 10% of the faithful. The priests will have each other in better level than now; the lonely laity will suffer. This problem could be helped by permanent deacons and even deaconesses. if the Church decides so.
WI is mostly rural. I lived in a rather large town of 7,000. The next Catholic church was 15 miles away and the diocesan cathedral was 25 miles away.
My thoughts had been comparing the number of priests in rural areas with the number of doctors. It is in the rural areas that you find the greatest shortage of both.
There also tended to be fewer laity willing or able to volunteer their time for the various ministries. I read or acted as EMCH almost every weekend.
The parish priest did talk about small community groups that meet in homes to discuss faith matters. This is one of the things that large churches do to minimize the isolation and lack of intimacy that can be found in smaller churches.
I love telling Evangelicals that I belong to a “Mega Church.” It’s always a provocative statement and I love the puzzled look as they try to figure out what church it could possibly be as I tell them that my Mega Church has 70 million members in the US alone.
I"ve been told that St. Catherine of Siena in Kennesaw Ga is 56th biggest in the world. The biggest challenge I face is getting quality time with a priest. It’s like seeing a doctor these days… you barely sit down and start to open up before he stands up to shake your hand, thank you for stopping by and show you to the door for his next appointment.
I’m thinking that he does…
The Dwelling itself you shall make out of sheets woven of fine linen twined and of violet, purple and scarlet yarn, with cherubim embroidered on them. The length of each shall be twenty-eight cubits, and the width four cubits; all the sheets shall be…
For the entrance of the tent make a variegated curtain of violet, purple and scarlet yarn and of fine linen twined. Make five columns of acacia wood for this curtain; have them plated with gold, with their hooks of gold; and cast five bronze pedestals for them…
Etc.
-Tim-
Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand persons were added that day. [Acts 3:41]
The early Church was a megachurch with only 12 “priests” to serve everybody.
Its also the manifestation of the talents of a man, and interpreted by the taste of another
The Church is the people of God. We are the Body of Christ, temples of the Holy Spirit.
The talents of man are given to him by God. They can be used to glorify Him.
By analogy from those who teach dress for success, our clothing reflects our inward disposition. If we feel good about ourselves we will dress according. We will not be sloppy even if our clothing is not “haute couture.” Our posture likewise reflects our attitude.
I was watching a story on either Euronews or Aljazeera about a man in Italy who has been building a church for the last 50 years. It is about half completed and made from mostly leftover/scrap materials. He does have one helper. There is concern that this man’s uncompleted labor of love will be destroyed after he dies.
My small church in NC is the mother church for the other churches in the city. It is over 100 years old. An individual paid to build one of the churches in 1956. Before I moved to the city, the diocese asked the Marian priests to take over, to “rebuild” the disinterested parish. It is now back in diocesan hands. While the church is beautiful architecturally, it is not the church where I am most comfortable praying. I prefer the organic feel of wood of my church to the marble of the larger church. More people were involved in raising the funds for the new church in a nearby parish giving them greater ownership. This new larger church replaces one built in the 1970s that simply could not hold everybody. All three churches/parishes are within a few miles of one another. The city also has two other churches. One is a small church run by the Vincentians in the “poor” part of town, close to my downtown parish and another large parish on the western outskirts of town. The city could definitely use a church to the northeast.
There is a fairly new “megachurch” about 10 miles from where my daughter lives. It is the closest Catholic church. The crucifix is suspended in such a way that when you walk in, it does not appear at an angle. This same architect responsible for this church was chosen for the new church in my city. I still need to see final construction.
