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Pew: Online worship still satisfying, but in-person worship now more popular

Posted on by Our Sunday Visitor

A new study indicates Americans are pleased with virtual religious services, but more prefer to attend in person now that the Covid-19 public health emergency has officially ended.

About a quarter of U.S. adults regularly watch religious services online, with 21 percent using apps or websites to aid Scripture reading, according to a report released June 2 by the Pew Research Center.

Pew surveyed more than 11,000 respondents in November 2022, well after the pandemic’s peak but before the U.S. government officially declared it over. Over half (57 percent) said they do not generally attend religious services, either in person or virtually.

Researchers said the online and television worship driven by Covid lockdowns remains popular with 25 percent of those surveyed. Two thirds of those polled said they were “extremely” or “very satisfied” with the experience.

“When asked why they watch religious services online or on TV, many regular viewers cite multiple reasons,” Pew stated in a summary of the survey data. “But as the Covid-19 pandemic recedes, convenience is the most-commonly selected option — not fear of catching or spreading any illness.”

Worshippers who opt for a mix of in-person and online worship strongly favor the former by a margin of 76 percent to 11 percent. Black American adults were found to be “more engaged with digital technology in their religious lives,” with 48 percent saying they watched religious services online or on television at least once a month, according to the study.

Yet respondents who attended in person expressed even greater enthusiasm for their experience, with 74 percent extremely or very satisfied with the sermons and 69 percent with service music.

The preference for in-person attendance is “not shocking,” said Father Thomas Dailey, professor of homiletics and social communications at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania.

Post pandemic, the challenge is to use livestream worship creatively as a tool for driving authentic community among the faithful, he told OSV News.

“The number of people who said in the survey they watch online because they can’t otherwise get there is, to me, the reason for continuing to livestream,” said Father Dailey, an Oblate of St. Francis de Sales.

Of Catholic adults who regularly watch religious services online or on TV, 16 percent said an illness or disability preventing them from attending in person was a “major reason” for watching religious services on TV or online, and 23 percent identified it as a “minor reason.”

Father Dailey stressed that “the fullness of liturgical participation is hearing the word and receiving the Eucharist.”

“Obviously, you can’t receive the Eucharist online,” he said. “But if there is some mechanism by which we can provide the Eucharist to those not physically present at the celebration of Mass, that’s something that enables people to participate more fully.”

Livestreamed liturgies, combined with extraordinary ministers of holy Communion for the homebound, can do just that, he said.

“The person who can’t get to church can participate in the worship online, and then receive the Eucharist from that Mass with an extraordinary minister bringing it to them,” said Father Dailey. “Obviously, there’s a time gap, but you facilitate participation in the Mass as best one can.”

The same arrangement can benefit merged and rural parishes, where priests are stretched thin to cover the celebration of Mass, Father Dailey said.

“You can imagine Mass being celebrated in the nearest city or deanery church, livestreamed to the distant rural churches, where the faithful gather and can receive the sacrament” from permanent deacons or extraordinary ministers of holy Communion, he said.

That approach avoids “sitting at home watching Mass,” he added.

“Our worship is by definition communal,” said Father Dailey. “It’s about communion with God, yes, but also with one another.”

— Gina Christian, OSV News

Movie review: ‘Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse’

Posted on by Our Sunday Visitor

Can there ever be too many iterations of everybody’s favorite amalgam of arachnid and human? Not according to the sequel “Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse” (Sony) which eventually boasts a superabundance of variations on the character.

The parade of Spideys is something of an inside joke and may prove confusing to the uninitiated. But the film overall – which is safest for grown-ups but also possibly acceptable for mature adolescents – is a lively crowd pleaser and will likely be catnip for hardcore fans.

Surprisingly, the Marvel Comics-derived proceedings get off to a downbeat start as we’re reintroduced to Gwen Stacey aka Spider-Woman (voice of Hailee Steinfeld). Full of teen angst, Gwen is at odds with her police officer dad George (voice of Shea Whigham) who considers her alter ego a criminal.

The mood brightens once the focus shifts to the Brooklyn-based titular hero (voice of Shameik Moore) whose continuing adventures are enlivened by witty dialogue. This time out, Miles Morales – as he’s called when not web slinging – tangles with mutant mad scientist Dr. Jonathan Ohnn, alias the Spot (voice of Jason Schwartzman).

Spotty blames Spidey for the unfortunate transformation that riddled his body with interdimensional portals, and he’s out for revenge. Since the Spot’s increasing powers threaten cosmic destruction, however, he also becomes a target for the Spider Society, an elite and colorful crew of crime fighters Gwen is asked to join but Miles, initially at least, is not.

Co-directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers and Justin K. Thompson, this follow-up to 2018’s “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” features artistic visuals and rapid-fire action.

Thematically, plot developments eventually create a dilemma for Miles by pitting his personal happiness against the greater good. A dichotomy is also established between destiny and individual freedom.

But don’t expect all this to be resolved in a neat wrap-up. Instead, the conclusion leaves viewers hanging by a silken thread.

The film contains much stylized violence, a few mild oaths and about a half-dozen crass terms. The OSV News classification is A-III — adults. The Motion Picture Association rating is PG — parental guidance suggested. Some material may not be suitable for children.

—John Mulderig, OSV News

Obituary: Deacon Stephen Ratte

Posted on by Submitted Article

Deacon Stephen Ratte died June 5 surrounded by his family.

He was born on Oct. 1, 1935, in Burlington and began his education at Christ the King School in 1940, the year the school was founded. When the family moved to the North End of Burlington in 1943, he entered Nazareth School. In 1945 another move landed them in the family homestead in Fairfax. He graduated from St. Mary High School in St. Albans in 1953.

He married Pauline Boissonneault on June 14, 1958.

After graduating from Johnson State College, he earned a master’s degree in teaching from St. Michael’s College in Colchester.

He was a member of St. Luke Church in Fairfax since 1945 and served on the Parish Council. He also was active in the establishment of the original Fairfax Zoning Board, on which he served as a committee member for several years.

He taught school in Colchester, Milton, and Winooski, primarily at the high-school level. For numerous summers, he was employed as a U.S. immigration inspector at the Highgate Springs Port of entry. Eventually he left teaching and became a full-time immigration inspector. After seven years at the Highgate Border Station, he transferred to the Eastern Regional Immigration Office in Burlington, where he worked in personnel until his retirement in 1995.

Deacon Ratte was ordained a permanent deacon for the Diocese of Burlington in 1983 and served at St. Luke Parish for 38 years, retiring in 2021. He was active in the Catholic Cursillo Movement, serving as a team member for a number of retreat weekends.

He served as a volunteer in prison ministry for more than 26 years, with the last 12½ years spent serving as prison ministry coordinator for Vermont Catholic Charities Inc.

He is survived by his wife, Pauline, and their six children: Denise Cota (Larry), Marc Ratte (Chantal), Stephanie Jenkins (Jeff), Bernard ‘Bert’ Ratte (Jackie Odre), Michael Ratte, and Jennifer Shepherd (David); nine grandchildren; five great grandchildren; two brothers-in-law; one sister-in-law; and several cousins, nieces, and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents Maurice and Mary (King) Ratte.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on June 13 at 10:30 a.m. at St. Luke Church, 17 Huntville Road, Fairfax.

There will be no public calling hours.

 

Pope plans to write document dedicated to St. Thérèse of Lisieux

Posted on by Catholic News Service

Individuals become Christian because they have been touched by Christ’s love, not because they have been convinced or coerced by someone else, Pope Francis said.

The Catholic Church needs missionary disciples who have hearts like St. Thérèse of Lisieux and who “draw people to love and bring people closer to God,” he told people at his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square June 7.

“Let us ask this saint for the grace to overcome our selfishness and for the passion to intercede that Jesus might be known and loved,” he said.

The pope continued his series of talks about “zeal” for evangelization by focusing on St. Thérèse, the 19th-century French Carmelite nun who is patron saint of missions and a doctor of the church.

Before beginning his general audience talk, the pope walked with his cane to a large reliquary containing the relics of St. Thérèse that was placed on a table near where he sits to deliver his catechesis. He placed a large white rose before the ornate reliquary and stood a few moments in prayer.

During his catechesis he announced he was planning to dedicate an apostolic letter to her to mark the 150th anniversary of her birth this year.

Pope Francis has said he has a special devotion to the saint, once telling an interviewer that he used to keep a photo of this 19th-century French Carmelite nun on his library shelf when he was archbishop of Buenos Aires. He told journalist Sergio Rubin in 2010, “When I have a problem I ask the saint, not to solve it, but to take it in her hands and help me accept it, and, as a sign, I almost always receive a white rose.”

St. Thérèse displayed patience, trust in God and a “spirit of humility, tenderness and goodness,” that God “wants from all of us,” Pope Francis has said.

During his Wednesday general audience talk, the pope asked Christians to find inspiration in the life of St. Thérèse, who lived “according to the way of littleness and weakness,” defining herself as “a small grain of sand.”

She lived in poor health and died at the age of 24, but “her heart was vibrant, missionary,” the pope said.

The Carmelite nun wanted to be a missionary and served, from her monastery, as a “spiritual sister” to several missionaries, accompanying them through her letters and prayers, he said.

“Without being visible, she interceded for the missions, like an engine that, although hidden, gives a vehicle the power to move forward,” Pope Francis said. “Such is the power of intercession moved by charity; such is the engine of mission!”

Therefore, missionaries are not only those who “travel long distances, learn new languages, do good works and are good at proclamation,” he said. “No, a missionary is anyone who lives as an instrument of God’s love where they are” so that “through their witness, their prayer, their intercession, Jesus might pass by.”

St. Thérèse’s daily resolution was to “make Jesus loved” and to intercede for others, the pope said. “Following the example of Jesus the Good Shepherd, her zeal was directed especially toward sinners.”

Apostolic zeal never works with proselytism or coercion, he said. “One does not become a Christian because they are forced by someone, but because they have been touched by love.”

“The church needs hearts like Thérèse’s, hearts that draw people to love and bring people closer to God,” he said.

The pope ended the audience with his usual greetings to special guests and then went to Rome’s Gemelli hospital for abdominal surgery that was scheduled for that afternoon. He was expected to remain for several days, according to the Vatican press office.

— Carol Glatz, Catholic News Service

Missouri-based network connects abortion survivors worldwide

Posted on by Our Sunday Visitor

Melissa Ohden said she never planned to start an organization.

Ohden, who joined the Catholic Church in 2014, belongs to St. Andrew the Apostle Parish in Gladstone, Missouri. She leads the Abortion Survivors Network, the world’s only organization dedicated to providing “a safe place for (abortion) survivors to finally share their story, be themselves, be vulnerable, to finally heal.”

Ohden first became involved with pro-life ministry in 2007, sharing her own story of having survived a saline infusion abortion in 1977 at 31 weeks.

As she shared her story at various events, other abortion survivors began asking her for help.

For years, Ohden connected survivors with other survivors, guided them to counselors, helped them write their testimonies and invited them to policy groups. Mostly though, she just helped survivors, including Kim Marvin of Kirkland, Washington, heal from the emotional and spiritual wounds they suffer as a result of the abortion.

Born in 1961, Marvin’s mother sought the services of an OB-GYN in Seattle whose clientele consisted mostly of patients seeking illegal abortions (abortion was illegal in any state until 1967) and underwent a saline injection abortion when Marvin was around two months gestation.

About 10 years ago, Marvin tracked down Abby Johnson, a former abortion industry worker whose story is told in the 2019 movie “Unplanned,” after a pro-life event and begged her for the name of someone with whom she could talk. Johnson gave Marvin Ohden’s contact information.

Marvin’s first phone call to Ohden lasted nearly two hours. Ohden encouraged Marvin to write her story.

Meanwhile, Ohden was serving other abortion survivors and praying for all of them, including Marvin. In 2019, Ohden said she realized God had been calling her to a ministry for abortion survivors all along and officially started ASN with one specific purpose.

“My long-term vision would be for ASN to be so well-known and understood — not just in the pro-life movement, but in our culture — that survivors and families know that they’re not alone and that they have a place to go to for healing and hope.”

“Folks like me,” she continued, “and people like my biological mother deserve to know that they’re not alone, and they deserve to have their lives transformed. . . . So, that’s what I’m in the business of doing now — serving these abortion survivors with community support and healing support.”

ASN organizes and facilitates confidential healing groups using a curriculum she wrote specifically for abortion survivors. In 2020, nine years after the first phone call, Marvin called Ohden and asked to be connected with other survivors.

Now, Marvin serves as the international coordinator for ASN, regularly meeting online with abortion survivors from countries as far away as Germany, Australia and Sri Lanka.

Marvin described meeting other survivors as “a gift from heaven,” a gift she would not have experienced had it not been for Ohden’s willingness to share her story.

“It’s really hard to get this message out because people don’t want to hear it,” Marvin said. “We have to educate that we exist. That, to me, is the biggest hurdle because I’d say 80 to 90 percent of the population does not know that you can survive an abortion. … With that statistic, that’s an uphill (battle), but it’s an opportunity as well.”

—Marc and Julie Anderson, OSV News

Pope asks Catholics to welcome everyone, create communion

Posted on by Catholic News Service

The Holy Spirit invites the faithful to share in God’s love and to make the Church a loving home whose door is open to everyone, Pope Francis said.

“Our God is a communion of love: and this is how Jesus revealed Him to us,” the pope said before praying the Angelus with some 20,000 visitors gathered in St. Peter’s Square June 4.

In his talk, Pope Francis reflected on the solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit celebrated that day.

He said this “God of communion” can be seen “through the image of a family gathered around the table, where life is shared.”

The Holy Spirit invites the faithful “to sit at the table with God to share in his love,” which is “what happens at every Mass, at the altar of the Eucharistic table, where Jesus offers himself to the Father and offers himself for us,” he said.

The pope asked that Catholics reflect on the following questions: “Do we bear witness to God-as-love? Or has God-as-love become in turn a concept” that no longer invigorates or generates life?

“If God is love, do our communities bear witness to this? Do they know how to love?” and “do we know how to love in the family? Do we keep the door open always, do we know how to welcome everyone — and I emphasize, everyone — to welcome them as brothers and sisters?” he asked.

“Do we offer everyone the food of God’s forgiveness and Gospel joy?” he asked, or does the Christian community feel less like a home and more like an office or privileged place “where only the elect can enter?”

Pope Francis asked that the faithful “commit ourselves to bear witness to God-as-love, creating communion in his name” and living “the church as that home where one loves in a familiar way, to the glory of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.”

— Carol Glatz, Catholic News Service