Dear “Part-Time” Catholics,

How are you?

It’s been a while. You only show up some of the time, like Easter and Christmas (hence, the nickname “Cr-easters”), so we don’t know each other very well.

But, I think I like a lot about you.

You probably expected me to be all fire and brimstone about getting to church. Think about this, though: we don’t even know each other.

There are so many things I want to ask you, but I’ll pick the most important: Do you know you weren’t made for this world?

I’m not a parishioner at your parish. I’m not your parish priest. There is no quota I’m trying to meet. I have no seats to fill. 

And, like I said, I don’t know you. What I do know is you have a soul, and that is more important than statistics, budgets, and any other worldly matter.

Sometimes, I’m sure, you might think the Church is just another business because we do have to do finances and fundraisers, which are sometimes a bit hokey. And, that one time you went when it wasn’t Christmas or Easter, it was “info-merical Sunday” when the bank account status and charity programs hijack the homily.

Sorry! It happens. All the full-time Catholics must deal with it, too. We just are there for the much better homilies as well, which I wish you would hear.

We must live in this world, which includes paying those bills, but we aren’t of this world. None of us are of this world. We’re made for the next life. This is just the passage to eternity, where we use our free will to choose to know, love, and serve God—or not. To be frank, not showing up to Mass and not living out your faith as a habit and not reading Scripture is not loving God very fully or very well.  

The devil’s best tricks are confusion and discouragement. The best weapon against that evil is living your faith full-time.

And, seeing you there with one foot in the door and one foot out the door, concerns me. You might take your foot out completely and not follow Christ to Heaven!

Following Christ completely is worth it. You might miss some sports games, concerts, or vacation sleep-ins. You will very likely be ridiculed by the world. 

You might also end up becoming the saint you were made to be. Maybe the world never knows your story but up in heaven, they are all rooting for you! You’re as famous as Mother Teresa in heaven.

Don’t think it’s entertaining to be at Mass? It’s not there for your entertainment, first. Secondly, imagine you told that to your date.

Imagine you said, “Honey, we’ve been dating for a while, but you’re just not entertaining enough. You’re all here for me. You saved my life. You love me unconditionally. But there’s just not enough action and enthusiasm about us being together, and I would rather stay home  and ignore you.”

Now, being that your hypothetical date is God, Who is perfect, He won’t dump you, but you’re walking away from perfection for cheap thrills elsewhere. You’re walking away from eternity for a fruitless life on earth filled with curiosities and distractions.

If you’re curious about anything, be curious about the Body and Blood of Christ. It’s real, and no stage is good enough for Him. No introduction can prepare you to meet Him. No amount of smoke machine (or incense) will set the mood enough. No Hollywood flick can romanticize His passion for you accurately enough.

Maybe your mind is trying to reason why you stay home. Stop right there! No excuse is good enough, and Matthew Kelly knows this when he writes in 33 Days to Eucharistic Glory:

“Those who believe this single truth [Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist] may feel like they are not being fed, they may disagree with the way their priest is doing things, they may not like the direction the music is moving in, they may have different liturgical preferences, they may get divorced, and they may feel unseen and unwelcome in their parish community. And yet, despite all these things that have led millions of people to leave, they stay. Why? They believe Jesus Christ is truly present in the Eucharist and they know that only the Catholic Church can offer this gift to them. They might be able to go down the road and experience better preaching and more dynamic music, but they are simply not willing to give up the Eucharist in exchange for that. Why? Because it’s a bad deal. But you have to know and believe that Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist to understand how bad a deal it is to give that up for what is trivial by comparison.” (Page 17)

I think you are a part-timer because you have a taste of that, and truly engaging with the Eucharist can turn you into a daily Mass attendant, an adoration chapel holy hour taker, and full-time Catholic Christian.

Maybe, just maybe, that’s why there’s still one foot of yours in the door. You’re not quite like the Catholics who have left completely. You are still looking back, not wanting to give up Who is in that tabernacle. I think you know everything I said, somewhere inside you.

Try putting both feet in the church door instead of keeping one foot in and one foot out, and stay—not for any reason but that you love God back and you’re there for Him because He’s physically here for you.

Faith-filled life is better than your favorite epic adventure story or inspiring rom-com. God will never fail you. You are walking out on Him, missing dates, telling Him you’ll be there next week… yet He’s still there. And to love Him back, you might need to endure the crazy aunt’s Thanksgiving interrogation and your “funny” uncle’s off-color jokes. You might need to break up with your live-in boyfriend who has dragged you down a wayward path—or he might come with you. You will need to accept, through endless prayer, difficult truths. You could be called to trade life-long dreams for the better ones for which God made you.

But you must put both feet in the door because your King, Savior, Hero, Knight in Shining Armor… He’s always waiting for you, pulling you back in—despite the gravity of the world. He’s True Love. He knows you inside and out because He made you. He will embrace you like the Prodigal Son, but you must go to Him.

You can’t stay the son or daughter that only comes home once a year as if that’s enough to be a member of a family. God does not force Himself on anyone. He set the date, every week, and waits for you to show up—all in. It’s not a surprise—Sunday happens every seven days.

Please, don’t let any worldly reason stand between you and eternal life. Only Christ gets you there; only the Eucharist is truly His Body and Blood, right there in your parish.

I think that’s why you still have one foot in the door, and I am so happy and hopeful for you.

See you at Mass,

A Fellow Catholic

Image: Photo by Gabriella Clare Marino on Unsplash