( I’ve changed the name of this blog from “Resurrection in Chicago” to “Resurrecting Chicago.” The main reason is so that people can find the site easier. Search engines have quirks and now my site comes up first or second using the new name.)
I once asked a pastor what he thought of the difficulties that some churches are having in Europe with migration from terrorist dominated countries.. His answer was that as far as he was concerned, the Catholic Church is what he experiences in his own parish. It was not that he didn’t care about the persecution of Christians in Syria nor the fall-off in church attendance in the US. He wanted to keep his focus on the issues and needs of the people in his own parish.
It is so easy to forget the morning mass crowd, or the Knights of Columbus and their fish fry, or the parish need for an audit, when the world is full of dramatic religious upheaval as is happening in the mid-East right now.
The truth is that our hearts are roomy enough to include our local brothers and sister as well as the members of the worldwide Catholic Church. No one makes this point better than Pope Francis. He visits the parishes of Rome and takes international trips to show solidarity with the poorest countries of the world.
We should remember we are a part of the world-wide body of Christ while at the same time attending to our local family of Catholics. We all need attention. We all need prayer.