The Church Makes Itself Irrelevant by Imitating the World - Bishop Varden
He said that people are turning to Catholicism "because it is true", as many grow disillusioned with other options. "With so much collapse — of old certainties and institutions — and the fragility of our political, cultural, ecological and financial lives, people are looking for parameters that promise to withstand the flood."
Regarding the increase in attendance at Mass in the Roman rite, Bishop Varden noted that this is happening "in some places, not everywhere". It is linked to a search for beauty, which the Church can offer.
He urged simply celebrating the liturgy well and follow the rubrics: "Do the red and say the black."
Referring to the Chartres pilgrimage over Pentecost, he observed that the young participants were impossible to categorise, ranging from people who attend charismatic services to those who attend the Roman rite. "If we keep pigeonholing people into narrow categories, we will not understand what is going on," he said.
Varden also warned against using faith for political or secular purposes: "Faith must enlighten and enrich the secular realm, but cannot be taken hostage by it."
He criticised the Church's attempts to imitate the world by "speaking as it speaks, using its signs and getting onto TikTok and Instagram". "If we continue like this, we are simply condemning ourselves to irrelevance because we will always be at least ten steps behind everyone else."
However, if the Church speaks "the language of Scripture, the liturgy, our rituals and the sacraments", it can express itself in ways that are "astonishingly fresh, original and beautiful".
Rejecting the idea that modern people are fundamentally different from those of the past, he pointed to the 3,000-year-old Epic of Gilgamesh: "Look at that guy. He is just like you."
He said that the greatest obstacle to encountering God is "truly believing that we are loved".
What he wishes for human beings today is to understand "their potential for eternal life".
Picture: Erik Varden © wikipedia, CC BY-SA, #newsZcpnwkshir