Young people ponder being religious, spiritual

By Tanya Connor
 The Catholic Free Press

Community – leading to Christ.
That’s a key reason to be “religious,” not just “spiritual,”  according to Father Donato Infante, associate pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Charlton.
He was speaking Tuesday at The Compass Tavern in Worcester for Theology on Tap.
 These monthly gatherings for people ages 18-39 are organized by the diocese’s youth and young adult ministry, New Evangelization Worcester for Youth & Young Adults.
Father Infante said that, when he was asked to speak at this gathering, he prayed and consulted a priest-friend and young adults, and felt he should talk about the common claim people make, “I’m spiritual but not religious.”
He said Dominican Father Romanus Cessario gave a talk called “Spiritual AND Religious: Why We Owe God an Hour a Week” in 2016 in New York.
Father Infante addressed the topic by giving some of his own reasons for being both spiritual and religious.
All human beings are spiritual, he said.
“Spirit corresponds to what in us is not material,” he said in a written version of his talk, which he referred to occasionally. “We yearn for something beyond.” He also talked about being spiritual by responding personally to Christ’s call; a call that is different for each person.
Speaking about not being religious, Father Infante said some people use the term to mean they don’t practice religion or attend church.
But, he said, religion is the way human beings reconnect with the Divine. Ancient Greeks tried to placate gods. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says God created human beings to share his life and calls them together in the Church. People think of Church as an institution, but it is a community of assemblies, a communion, Father Infante said.
Christ died to reconnect sinners with God and provided a way for them to participate in his sacrifice – bringing their little sacrifices to Mass. They also touch him through time and space through the sacraments, accessible only through the community, Father Infante said.
“God is using that community to draw me out of myself,” he said. “Christ calls me to be in communion with these people” – even those you’re uncomfortable with or hurt by. The community can remind you that you need to forgive.
The community across time and place also helps reveal biases of a particular age or culture that are not Christ’s way.
 Father Infante gave the example of Christians in the past wanting the Church to say dueling to the death was not murder, just what Christians do to settle disputes.
“You laugh,” he told incredulous listeners. “That’s, like, obvious to you. We also have our own cultural biases.”
In response to a question about the Church’s own biases, Father Infante noted that the Church is composed of human beings who sometimes do bad things like enslave or kill people, things the Church doesn’t condone.
Afterwards Catherine Doyle, one of Father Infante’s parishioners, said attending such an evening can be helpful in reaching out to others – she can talk about it when asked what she did that night.
Christopher Mendicino said neighbors invited him and he found it very interesting as a Christian who isn’t Catholic.
“It gave a pretty good opportunity to discourse,” said Giovanni Caban, who goes to Our Lady of the Angels and other parishes.
    Timothy T. Messenger Jr., director of New Evangelization Worcester for Youth & Young Adults, said  that NEWorcester also is planning Mass mobs – a play on the term flash mob – to gather young adults for Mass at a different parish each month. The first is set for 4 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 20, in St. Paul Cathedral’s basement chapel, with Bishop McManus celebrating. A reception follows.
    Responding to a question about Church rules that seem to run contrary to Christ, Father Infante called for researching a rule’s origin. For example, he said, witnesses were instituted for weddings to protect women, at a time when men kidnapped women and claimed the women married them in secret.
    Responding to a question about the requirement to attend Mass on Sunday, although weekday Masses are also gatherings of the community, Father Infante said the commandment is not, “Give God an hour a week,” but “Keep holy the Sabbath,” and the Christian community as a whole gathers on the day Jesus rose. He likened it to visiting your mother on Mother’s Day, even if you saw her a few days before. Daily Masses were not originally part of the Church, he said.
    Father Infante referred a question about developing a personal relationship with Jesus to listeners, who shared things that help them, such as praying the rosary, conversing with and listening to God, meditating on Scripture, sharing Christ with others and becoming Christ for others.
    Asked about encouraging someone to return to the Church,  Father Infante said he would first say, “I am so sorry that you felt unwelcome,” start with common ground, and proceed based on the response. For dealing with homosexuals, he suggested the books, “Why I Don’t Call Myself Gay” and “Gay and Catholic.”
    After a discussion about respecting and helping friends ensued, Father Infante said, “Forcing someone is not evangelization.” He talked about the Cursillo movement’s method of bringing others to Christ by being a friend. He also called for getting out of the way so God can do the work.
    Afterwards Catherine Doyle, one of Father Infante’s parishioners, said attending such an evening can be helpful in reaching out to others – she can talk about it when asked what she did that night.
    Christopher Mendicino said neighbors invited him and he found it very interesting as a Christian who isn’t Catholic.
    “It gave a pretty good opportunity to discourse,” a chance people don’t usually have with priests, said Giovanni Caban, who goes to Our Lady of the Angels and other parishes.