Sy,
Well… that’s a bit unfair way of looking at it.
Being baptized is one thing. Having 1st Communion, Confirmation and Church participation is another.
However, we do not have as many “on fire” people for some other reasons.
One is that our Mass is a reverent way of worshiping God. Not a rock concert with a hip Pastor speaking today’s catchy jargon. “On fire” is sometimes associated with being emotional.
On the other hand, we are not as open about sharing the Faith as our Protestant brothers. Probably some of our guilt theology gets in the way. You know, I’m not approaching people on the bus and saying: “Have you gone to confession today? Amen! - I really got my Priest the last time I went 5 months ago… I’m still doing penance about it!”
We don’t have the accept Jesus into your heart and you are set for life - “I got, one ticket to paradise!”. Or, say “You are sure going to love the 6 months of classes before being received in the Church! That is, unless you are remarried… Are you divorced and remarried? We need to talk more… and you might need to wait 5-10 years before being received and… yeah, we need to talk more”.
No it doesn’t go like that, lol. Normally it goes where I share Christ in my life and then they ask what Church I go to and I say Catholic and… then it starts… Do you guys worship Mary? Does the Pope tell you what you can and cannot do? and stuff like that. It turns into apologetics real quick. So the best approach I’ve found is to say “I go to Church on Sundays and sometimes during the week, we have a great retreat coming up and our fellowship is amazing, why don’t you come with me this Sunday? or another day you are more comfortable.” It’s easier to go an experience Mass and then build from there. All the symbolism, all the Scriptures, it is a great spiritual experience and a visual experience as well, it also doesn’t make us look like a bunch of lunatics worshiping statues and stuff, which is probably the picture they have in their minds.
So yes, I’ll admit to the faith sharing being a little more complicated and elborate than when I was Pentecostal or Non-Denominational, where we’d go to service and grab a coffee and chit chat and then sign up for one of the Bible/Social studies.
We have things like Sunday obligation and Holy Days obligation, instead of Sunday Worship and Remembrance and Holy Days of Fellowship.
On another hand we have a really tight community that comes together for those suffering in the hospitals, cooking for the families of the ones suffering, emergency funds, we manage a house to feed and clothe the poor, mission trips with other dioceses - a lot of them in the U.S. - we have a lot of poor and suffering in this nation - nothing against the ones abroad but let’s skip the exotic trip and take care of business here too. You come out of confession and one of your buddies goes: “walking lighter today ah?” You can only get it if you are Catholic, lol.
I do have to give kudos to the St. Paul Street Evangelization Group, they are kicking it up a notch and really making a difference on the streets and even visiting other denominations and setting the record straight for Catholicism in a very charitable manner. God Bless them!
You also have very devote people that are constantly praying around the clock for others, how much faith you need to do that!!! To even remember regularly to think of others and intercede? That sure is being on fire!
So it all boils down to what you understand what it is to be “on fire”.
. I will probably be scarcer around here next week because of it.