The Pope isn’t happy with us Aussies. We’re not going to mass on Sundays.
He is quoted today as saying that our nation’s Catholics should head back to mass rather than playing or watching sports.
According to Julie King we should go back to living in the 50s. But does Julie actually believe that? Of course she doesn’t or she wouldn’t be out at a sporting fixture on a Sunday.
However, the Pope’s message found fertile ground with mother of three Julie King, who said she agreed with every word of his message.
“As a country we’re sports-obsessed. Sunday should be a family day – mass and then a baked dinner afterwards. Like it was in the 1950s,” she said.
Despite her views, she admitted the call to mass was not as strong as the call to watch her son play in his cricket team’s final.
I absolutely believe that we should set time aside to worship. But is the Pope telling us that we’re a naughty nation that should go back to mass going to achieve anything?
Surely people first need to connect with Jesus. The need to avoid a hell they don’t believe in is not a great motivating factor. It is only when they see the church as applicable to their lives that they will want any part of it. No one is obliged to attend church or mass and I wouldn’t want to see churches filled with people there out of a sense of duty anyway.
We need to go out to find those people who aren’t at church on Sundays. Not to drag them back to church, but to introduce them to Jesus.
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Good one Rodney.
Walking around the lake recently I noticed the geese & ducks making their way towards me … looking for food I’ll bet! It struck me that no one was forcing them to come – they were doing so because they hoped to get something.
Come to think of it – isn’t that why the ordinary people flocked around Jesus? Maybe there is something in that about church – when it is functioning the way that it should people will come and enjoy it.