Get ready for new chance to welcome people back to Church

By John J. Boucher
Special to The CFP

Millions of young adults and others who are not otherwise active in the practice of faith took time this past Lent to receive ashes and engage in Lenten customs like Friday fasting and church visits. This is a sign of hope for the Church, a new chance to welcome and invite them back to Jesus and the Mass.
Earlier in 2023, before Lent this year, the Youth and Young Adult Ministry and the Parish Renewal and Evangelization (P.R.E.A) Committee of the Diocese of Worcester co-hosted an online workshop, "Hope from the Ashes: Welcoming Inactive Young Adult Catholics and Others during Lent." (View at https://neworcester.org/hope-from-the-ashes.)
The speaker was Paul Jarzembowski, associate director for the laity in the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Secretariat of Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth. He is also the author of Hope from the Ashes: Insights and Resources for Welcoming Lenten Visitors (Paulist Press, 2022).

CFP: How did you become interested and involved in Catholic evangelization?
When I was in high school, I vividly recall when Pope St. John Paul II encouraged me and hundreds of thousands of youth and young adults from around the world who had gathered in Denver for World Youth Day (1993). He said, "Do not be afraid to go out on the streets and into public places ? This is no time to be ashamed of the Gospel. It is time to preach it from the rooftops!" It was at that very moment that my involvement in the Catholic Church transformed from an inward devotion to an outward attention to others, longing to accompany and support them along their journey toward Christ.

CFP: Can you tell us more about yourself and your background?
I was active in the Catholic Church throughout my childhood, teenage, and collegiate years in the Diocese of Gary (Indiana). After a few years working in marketing and public relations in Chicago, I discerned that ministry leadership was the path to which God was calling me. I then worked in parish youth and young adult ministries in the Archdiocese of Chicago while studying for my master's degree in pastoral studies at Loyola University Chicago. I became the diocesan director for young adult ministry in the Diocese of Joliet (Illinois) in 2006 and, in 2013, moved to Washington, D.C. to begin my current work at the USCCB.

CFP: How do you see Catholic parishes/dioceses rising up again as the pandemic subsides? 
It is truly the Holy Spirit at work in the Church when the emergence from the pandemic, a global Synod on Synodality, and a nationwide Eucharistic Revival all coincide. The pandemic revealed fissures within society and the Church as we isolated from one another. Now more than ever, we can come together in communion and dialogue, learn to trust one another and rebuild a sense of belonging and community for all.

CFP: What will effectively bring inactive Catholics who stopped Mass-going to return?
During the pandemic, the Church recognized that many people are struggling with mental health and wellness, more so than we might have previously realized. One way that we can effectively reconnect Catholics (and others) with faith is by investing in pastoral measures to support people who are experiencing anxiety, grief, mounting pressures, and depression. When people know that the Catholic Church is authentic in its care and concern for their well-being, trust can be rebuilt, relationships can form, and reconnection with faith can be facilitated by generous individuals willing to accompany others with love and compassion.

CFP: What led you to write the book, Hope from the Ashes?
In working with young adults, I read countless studies about young people and they are collectively disconnecting from religious institutions like the Catholic Church. It has caused widespread anxiety, guilt, and fear for their parents, grandparents, and church leaders. Yet hidden in plain sight, amid those sobering statistics, was also something wonderful. I discovered one trend-line: Lent. On Ash Wednesday and throughout the Lenten season, otherwise-disconnected individuals were returning to practices of faith, if only for a moment. I wrote this book because I wanted to know how church leaders could pastorally respond to this incredible phenomenon - and turn moments of return into milestones of faith and evangelization.

CFP: Lent 2023 is over. How can parishes, ministries, and individuals prepare to reach inactive young adults and others?
Lent is over, but the next Lent is only 10 months away. The genius of the Church is that we will do Lent again, and this prime opportunity to evangelize will come around once more. We need to reimagine our approach to Ash Wednesday and Lent throughout the next year in preparation for this incredible moment of return. Here are some steps to take:
1) Read and study the findings, activities, and suggestions in Hope from the Ashes.
2) Invite the whole churchgoing community to learn about Lent (and why it holds such power for disconnected Christians), as well as the potential returnees and the best practices in responding to those Lenten visitors with love and compassion.
3) Practice evangelizing skills with the "art of accompaniment" (Pope Francis, The Joy of the Gospel, 169) that calls us to patiently journey and build trust with each other.
4) Tell other active Catholics about your newfound awareness of the evangelizing potential of the Lenten season and encourage them to learn how they can respond to inactive Catholics.
5) Reflect on your own story: your deepening spiritual journey toward Jesus Christ, the Church, the sacraments, and your vocation and mission in the world. When we know and share our stories, we are more likely to be open to hearing others' stories, which is key to evangelization.